My Grandma Rose Siciliano and Grandpa Louie Scrivo both came to this country as children in about 1907 from southern Italy.  Their peasant families sought refuge from the poverty, exploitation and violence that gripped their daily lives. They dreamed of a better life.

Like today’s immigrants, they and their families left all they knew – friends, family and homes. They came: without any papers, without knowing English, without any job prospects and without having any family here.  My grandparents later met and married, worked hard and raised three sons including my father, Bill Scrivo.

Spending time recently near the Arizona-Mexico border with a group of Unitarian Universalists ministers, I got a glimpse of what a more difficult journey it is today for those seeking refuge and sanctuary in the United States. Since returning, I have been pondering what my UU faith calls me to do.

Experiencing the Desert

Our group stayed about 25 miles north of the Mexican border at a place called Kenyon Ranch. Built in 1937 as a dude ranch nestled between two mountain ranges, it is now a rustic retreat. We stayed in simple casitas made of adobe and stones from the ranch.

I felt grounded in the ever-changing desert landscape dotted with mesquite trees and the many different types of cactus. The cold morning air steadily heated up to hot afternoons as the sun rose and then turned chilly after sunset. The vast blue sky transformed at night to  deep indigo and tinkled with more stars than I have ever seen.

Throughout my trip, I thought about the many migrants headed for the border searching for a safe place, enough to eat and a job. For this, they endure the harsh night desert air, the blistering heat, the parched landscape riddled with rocks, cactus, rattlesnakes, scorpions and spiders.  And they risk being sent back, kidnapped, raped or even killed along the way.

So many stories, so many reasons for making the journey.  And yet, not all that different than my grandparents’ stories.

Civil rights advocate Michelle Alexander – now also a New York Times columnist — recently wrote about a 19-year-old pregnant woman who scaled a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Hours later she gave birth to a boy on U.S. soil.

Ms. Alexander asked, Does the boy “deserve citizenship because he was born here but not his 3-year-old sibling? Or does the family now deserve citizenship because of the birth? Or does no one deserve citizenship because the parents crossed the border illegally?”

There may be easy legal answers, she says, but no easy moral answers. “After all, none of us born here did anything to deserve citizenship.  On what grounds can we deny others’ rights, privileges and opportunities that we did not earn?”

Seeing the Faces of Those Detained

Before my trip, I had read about the criminalization of those trying to cross the border. But seeing the faces of 75 immigrants brought into Tucson District Court, individually shackled — chains around their hands, feet and waist — broke my heart. Most were young men about my son’s age, along with a few women and older men.

These were not people charged with murder or other violent crimes.  They were not drug lords operating large smuggling operations. They were charged with entering the United States without legal papers – just like my grandparents and their families a century ago.

Our group was there with a local Samaritan humanitarian group, which does daily silent witnessing of immigration hearings. We sat in same seats where other clergy members in 2015 disrupted the proceedings — loudly protesting one-by-one this travesty of justice.

Prior to 2005, most unauthorized border crossings were civil violations.  Now they are considered criminal offenses: illegal entry for the first attempt, or illegal re-entry for subsequent ones. Those found guilty are sentenced up to 6 months in prison for illegal entry and up to 2 years for illegal re-entry.

As a result, many agree to plead guilty in exchange for lighter sentences — usually time already served in detention for illegal entry and up to 180 days for and Illegal re-entry.

At the hearings we attended, those charged were brought before the judge in groups of about six. They were given headphones to listen in Spanish. The judge asked each one if they understood changes, the maximum penalties and the consequences of pleading guilty. The formal Spanish translation didn’t help those who spoke indigenous languages or a local version of Spanish.

Still each person responded “Si,” some looking confused, whispering to the attorneys standing behind them. Some of the attorneys were public defenders but most were private attorneys, making a $180 per client – for a 15-minute meeting beforehand and accompanying them for the 2 to 3-minute court appearance.

During the hearing, those fleeing from immediate threats of death cannot request asylum. They can only do so after serving time.

The sad truth is that studies show this criminalization of border crossing doesn’t deter people from trying again or dying in the desert trying. The only way to end this is to address the real causes of border migration.

Closing Thoughts

Since returning from the border, I have been searching for what I can do.

I have attended the UUSJ Immigration Task Group and also hope to join the UUSJ Advocacy Corps in visiting lawmakers on Capitol Hill.*  I am also participating with other people of faith in DMV Sanctuary Congregation Network– Prince George’s Cluster in its work of companioning immigrants as well as CASA de Maryland’s efforts to protect immigrant’s rights.

My UU faith calls me to work for the respect and dignity of all people, justice and compassion in human relations and to build a free, fair and peaceful world.  This and the memory of my grandparents and their journey will not me rest until we are all free.

 

In Faith and Solidarity,

 

Karen Lee Scrivo

Community Minister

Paint Branch Unitarian Universalist Church in Adelphi, MD

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Rev. Karen Lee Scrivo is a community minister working on justice issues.  Affiliated with Paint Branch Unitarian Universalist Church in Adelphi, MD., she initiated and serves as a consultant for its Community Social Justice Project. Karen was ordained in 2017 by the Goodloe UU Congregation in Bowie, where she has been a longtime member. She served as the first full-time intern minister for the UU Legislative Ministry of Maryland from 2015-16 and received her master of divinity degree from Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley in 2015. She and her husband Ken Shilling are the parents of Kelson Shilling-Scrivo, a neuroscience Ph.D candidate.

 

* Editors Notes:

• Want to join UUSJ’s Immigration Task Group? The task group meets by Zoom on most alternate Thursdays at 4pm ET. For more information contact Charlotte Jones-Carroll at cjonescarroll@aol.com.

 

• Want to join UUSJ’s Capitol Hill Advocacy Corps? The Advocacy Corps goes to the Hill the second Tuesday of the month. Visit our Advocacy Corps information page on UUSJ.org or contact advocacy@uusj.org for more information.