Krome
It has been about a month since I started working and I finally got to visit the Krome Detention Center. It is one of the most notable immigration detention centers in the United States and it holds about six hundred detainees. The long drive from work to the prison made my expectations of Krome very high. I figured since it was in a secluded location, it would be an enormous, ominous compound. That was not the case, although there was a prison that fit my schema of what I thought Krome would look like next to it. Krome was a building smaller than your average high school and its status in the country made that very surprising for me.
The reason for our visit was to assist an attorney on giving “Know Your Rights” presentation to the detainees. However, we were also there to listen and learn because I became one hundred percent more knowledgeable on the different routes to gain status after I saw the presentations. On the other hand, it was grueling and hard to stay awake, but listening to the detainees’ conversations helped. Being in the actual facility was surreal because I would have never thought I’d visit a detention center. So many of my experiences have been similar to what I see on television. However, after visiting, I have a new outlook on how prisons and law have been commercialized. We watch these shows for our entertainment, and it is odd because in actuality, the people in these facilities are fighting for their lives while networks are collecting money by recreating their struggles.
Court
On the other hand, I went to immigration court to shadow the law students at the Immigration Help Desk which is a resource that gives a free consultation to people seeking help in obtaining legal status for themselves or their family members. My experience there was eye-opening because one client’s story was tragic. I won’t go into detail on the story but it made me angry that some people are so opposed to accepting immigrants into the U.S., which even results in them taking action to suppress immigration into this country. Their ignorance has failed them because if they were to come from a country that doesn’t have the same opportunities as we do or where the risk of being harmed or arrested is constantly existent, then they would understand why people fight so hard to come to this country.