Last night I was #1of18 Jews arrested for an act of Civil Disobedience while protesting against the US government’s systematic inhumane treatment of immigrants. Many people have written about why we did this:
- Everybody deserves to be treated with dignity
- Never again means never again
- The USA is a nation of immigrants
- Immigration is a good thing
- Eighteen, in Judaism, signifies life – Chai – we are fighting for people’s lives!
- And so many more…
I’d like to share with you what the experience was like:
Preparing for the protest
It is hard to wrap my brain around how many amazing people were involved in putting this protest together. I will not share all the details, for a variety of reasons, but I will try to share enough to help each of you understand how amazing this all was. First of all, this was not organized by any one particular organization. It was a mix of Jewish people, with various backgrounds and beliefs, all coming together to say: This is not ok! Never again! The Jewish organizers teamed up with organizers from Movimiento Cosecha, which is an immigration rights organization who primarily focuses on the experiences of the LatinX community and has a lot of experience with these types of actions. Second of all, there were so many moving pieces! The first large group was the group who organized the rally at the New England Holocaust Memorial. There were people putting together a speaking program, people organizing the marshals to ensure all participants were safe, there were medics, there were photographers, and so many other pieces I’m not even aware of. Then there was the team organizing the civil disobedience. This team comprised of multiple teams, each of which had a specific job and coordinated with one another flawlessly to ensure each of us were trained and safe throughout the process. I am so grateful to each of those organizers. Truly. The 18 could not have done any of this without them. We had trainings, people we could reach out to throughout the preparation to voice any concerns, ask any questions, or simply talk, and a call was organized with lawyers to help answer any legal question we had about the process.
The Protest
After the rally, the team of 18 met up to check in and make sure we were each ready. We were given water, food, all of our emergency contact information was collected, and we handed off our personal belongings except for our IDs and $40 to pay the bail clerk. As the march approached South Bay Correctional Facility – where ICE rents out a unit for their detainees – we joined and led them to the Jail. As we approached I was nervous. It was like that feeling you get as a rollercoaster is going up the first steep incline very slowly and you know it is about to be a crazy ride, you’re not quite sure what it is going to be like, but you know you can’t get off. But I also felt empowered. We marched arms locked with each other chanting:
“We’ve got ancestors at our backs…
We’ve got generations forward…
We’ve got land and spirit in our bones…
Never Again!
Para Nadie!”
As we approached the jail we saw a row of Sheriffs lined up at the top of the steps. We walked towards them, were told to stop, turned around and sat on the steps with our arms locked. Marshall=s made sure no other protestors joined us as to not risk their arrest unknowingly. We sat there chanting, singing, and listening to stories. Above us, we could hear and see people in the windows of the jail waving, smiling, and holding signs of love and appreciation. I cannot even begin to imagine how powerful it was for them to see hundreds of people standing there chanting and singing in support of their human rights.
It was then determined that at a specific point we would all stand up, turn around, and attempt to walk towards the jail. Before we did this, we were fully aware that the moment we stepped onto the top step, we would be arrested. So, as we entered the second round of the above chant, we stood up, turned, and walked. We were immediately arrested. Each of us were placed in zip-ties and walked to a police vehicle. The three protestors who were perceived as male-presenting were placed in one vehicle (I will from here on refer to them as “The Three”), while the fifteen who were perceived by the police to be female-presenting were placed into two vehicles (I will from here on refer to us as “The Fifteen”). We did not resist arrest. We placed our hands behind our backs and marched while singing loudly to the vehicles.
I was in a police van with (I believe) 12 other individuals. We sang Jewish prayers and other protest songs the entire way to the police station.
The Police Station
Here’s the thing – as our lawyers told us today in court – the system is designed to dehumanize and intimidate people. When The Fifteen arrived at the police station we were all placed, still in zip-ties, in a pre-holding cell. Several of the individuals were in extreme pain from the tightness and positioning of the zip-ties. We very politely and gently tried informing the officers that we were concerned about the well-being of two individuals specifically. One even had a medical note in her pocket, which they said only a female officer could remove and that there were no female officers available. We said things like:
“Excuse me officer, this person’s hands are turning blue. Could you please remove the zip-ties and place new ones?”
“Excuse me officer, we have somebody in here who needs medical attention. Their wrist is dislocating.”
Each time, if we received a response at all, it was something like: “Just wait a minute…”
Because of how the system works, they are only able to process one person at a time. The process was as such:
- Removal from the holding cell
- Handing over all personal belongings, including jewelry, shoelaces, money, ID, hair ties, and anything else we may have had on us
- Getting fingerprinted
- Getting mugshots taken
- Signing that we were presented with out Miranda rights and handed over our belongings
- Some – not all – were offered a phone call. I was able to call my dad and let him know I was okay.
After this we were taken to other cells which were intended for one individual each but we were placed three people per cell. Each cell had a concrete slab for a bench/bed, a metal filthy toilet and a small sink above the toilet.
The process of booking all fifteen of us took over 4 hours. This means that some of the individuals were in zip-ties for that long.
(Without going into too much detail I will point out the The Three were offered food, taken out of their zip-ties shortly after arriving at the station and before being booked, and home before The Fifteen had even finished the booking process – You can read more about the experiences of one of The Three – Jonathan Kamens –Â here)
But here’s what I really want to focus on – as terrible as our experience was being in jail for eight hours – it was nothing compared to what immigrants and other people go through in our system. There are many articles and blog postings detailing the horrific conditions in ICE detention centers – especially at the border. Children being separated from parents (my child knew were I was, was safe, and supported what I was doing!), crowding dozens of people into cells, and much more. We chose to get arrested. We spent time singing – Jewish prayers, protest songs, songs from musicals (Rent is always a great soundtrack!), and even doing some choreographed mermaid dancing to The Little Mermaid soundtrack! We played games, we checked in with one another to see how everybody was doing. We were in community. We felt supported. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY – We knew there was an entire team of people on the outside waiting for us and supporting us and that we’d be going home to our families that night.
There was a beautiful moment that I must point out. After a while in the pre-booking holding cell, several of us were quite hungry. A few people had granola bars, almonds, and other small treats in their pockets or fanny packs. But here’s the thing, we were all still zip-tied so nobody could reach their own belongings. So what did we do? We each reached into one another’s pockets to find food and then bent over towards one another’s hands to share bites of the small amounts of food that we had. I got to enjoy one almond, two bites of a delicious granola bar, and two Smarties. Each from the hand of a different individual with whom I shared that space. We also scratched one another’s itches, fixed each other’s hair, and helped readjust zip-ties to try to be in less pain.
As the night went on, we decided amongst ourselves who would be the next to be booked – depending on medical needs and the need to pee(!) because we did not have the option of using a bathroom until after we were booked. No matter what. At some point after 2:00 a.m. we had all been booked and then began the process of waiting to be released.
Being Released
My cell door opened, my name was called, I walked out to meet the bail clerk. I paid him a $40 nonrefundable fee in exchange for him bailing me out, I signed papers, collected my confiscated belongings, and walked out of the jail.
In the lobby I was greeted by several members of our Jail Support Team who hugged me, cheered loudly for me, handed my facial wipes and hand wipes, and offered me bottled water and snacks. (I will briefly mention that the Jail Support Team was in touch with each of the 18’s families according to our personal requests throughout this entire process!)
When I walked out of the precinct, I was greeted by an even larger number of people – Jail Support and others of The Fifteen who had been released before me. They all cheered and clapped again. I did a little dance 🙂 Hugs were offered all around and there was more food available. We also spent a few minutes reading some news articles that had already been published about the protest.
Then, after a brief explanation of what to expect in court the following day, a Jail Support Team member – who also happens to be a very close and amazing friend! – drove me home. I got home at 4:30 a.m.
Court
All I want to share about court is that we were all in it together and represented by two attorneys who worked Pro Bono because they believe in what we were doing. Boston’s District Attorney, Rachael Rollins, has publicly said that she does not approve of ICE. The DA’s office, under her supervision, declined to prosecute and all eighteen cases were dismissed before arraignment – meaning that non of us have a criminal record from this action.
As each of our names was read, we each stood up and were greeted with a “Good Morning” from the judge. We laughed and smiled as the Clerk attempted to read each of our names, and greeted the judge in return. Once all eighteen of us were standing, it was announced that the cases were being dismissed. We cried tears of joy and hugged one another. The Assistant DA saw this and began crying herself. Our lawyer was given the opportunity to speak, so on the record he said how much we each believe in the humane treatment of all individuals, do not regret participating in this act of Civil Disobedience, and will continue to fight for this cause. I believe the judge was in agreement with us as well. We were even approached by an attorney in the courtroom who had nothing to do with our case who just said to us – Don’t ever forget to use your first amendment rights! Smiled at us, and walked out.
Sometimes the system works. When we elect good people into important roles, the system can work. I recognize that it worked, in this case, for a group of 18 mostly white people. I recognize that it does not work for most people – especially people of color. But this moment gave me hope. It gave me the smallest glimmer of hope that if more of us take these issues seriously, if more of us with privilege put our freedom on the line to protect those who cannot protect themselves, that the system will continue to work better and better.
Many people have publicly and privately thanked me for taking action. But here is my message to each of you: What I did was not heroic. What I did was necessary. None of us did it to get praise. It is necessary that we all act. Talking is not enough. Saying what we believe in is not enough. We must act. We must act now. So, please, if this matters to you, if you believe that all people deserve to be treated with dignity, find a way to do something!
You can volunteer to support an organization that works with immigrants, you can participate in actions, you can donate money. Here are a few links and suggestions – there are many more:
Donate to the Never Again Action: https://www.gofundme.com/support-jews-saying-never-again
Donate and/or volunteer with BIJAN: https://beyondbondboston.org/
Donate and/or volunteer with Movimiento Cosecha: https://www.lahuelga.com/
Get Involved with Never Again Action: https://www.facebook.com/NeverAgainAction/
Support Casa de Paz in Colorado: https://www.casadepazcolorado.org/
A single mama's thoughts 