Leaders of Tallahassee’s faith-based community are asking the federal government to rethink its approach to illegal immigration, and for the chance to visit immigration detention facilities in Florida.
Preachers of all different denominations, led by the Rev. R.B. Holmes Jr. of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, gathered at the church Jan. 30 to stand in solidarity with the nation’s immigrant community. Among those in attendance was Pastor Lee Johnson, husband to Dot Inman-Johnson, and attorney Daryl Parks, currently running for the mayor of Tallahassee.
Their message: It’s time for those who oppose President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda to speak up in light of the escalating violence.
“We are gathered today because we can no longer treat injustice with abstraction. It is happening in our cities, in our neighborhoods, to our brothers and sisters,” Holmes said. “Families are being torn apart. Men, women, and children are being detained without dignity, without due process and too often without regard for basic civil and human rights.”
The press conference was in response to, among other things, an ICE agent fatally shooting 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good and another group of officers killing ICU nurse Alex Pretti. Both were in Minneapolis and have sparked nationwide outrage.
Holmes also is inviting the community to a “Unity and Dignity” prayer service, 3:30 p.m. Feb. 1, at his church, 224 N. Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. in Tallahassee.
Following that service, people are invited to join in a group prayer to be held in front of the Florida Capitol at 4 p.m., he said.
‘Command that this government allow us to visit … those facilities’
Holmes said “this nation was built by immigrants” and “ICE, as it operates today, has too often become cold-hearted and disconnected from the values we claim to uphold.”
He called upon state and federal elected leaders to let spiritual leaders into detention facilities: “Now is the time for bishops and pastors and leaders to command that this government allow us to visit men and women in those facilities, unless you have something to hide that you don’t want us to see.”
The pastors are working with Tallahassee-based immigration lawyer Elizabeth Ricci to draft documents to send to the Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM), requesting access. There are two facilities up and running, known by their nicknames: “Alligator Alcatraz” in South Florida and “Deportation Depot” in Sanderson, Baker County.
Church leaders have worked for months to secure access to the facilities to set up a kind-of prison ministry in the south Florida detention facility.
According to previous reports, Democratic Florida lawmakers were also turned away when they tried to visit. They said state law grants elected officials access to inspect state-operated facilities. But not only did FDEM deny their request, they said, state officials hung up on them mid-call. Some were ultimately allowed in months later.
In addition to lack of access, one global human rights organization has alleged inhumane treatment of detainees at Alligator Alcatraz, claiming some are subject to what they say is “torture.” Amnesty International claims detainees are being mistreated at the center in the Everglades and the Krome North Processing Center, a federally-run immigration detention and processing center in Miami.
State and federal officials have disputed the allegations, saying detainees have access to legal counsel and medical care and that conditions at the facilities meet required standards.
“We say this: United States citizens have rights, permanent residents have rights, those with legal status have rights,” Ricci said. “Due process is not optional. The Constitution is not a suggestion.”
Arianna Otero is the trending and breaking news reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com and follow her on X: @ari_v_otero.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Faith leaders in Tallahassee call for compassion on immigration