Three numbers to remember: 2, 16 and 20,000. What’s the story behind three such different numbers, and how are they all related?
Let’s start with 16, which is the number of human remains found in the month of March 2022 in Pima County, Arizona, on the southern border of the United States. Some of these remains were recent, others were old. This is not an unusual month. Mike Kreyche from the Humane Borders program tracks each individual’s remains found in the county. The actual number of dead is significantly higher than the number of remains found, because the environment is harsh and replete with predatory animals who prey upon flesh of any kind. But this gives an idea.
So, the obvious question: Why did these people enter the Sonoran Desert in the first place?
Finally, the number 20,000 is the number of dollars – $20,000 – sometimes set as the required bond for indigent Central Americans to be released from detention in southern Arizona. Fortunately, some detainees are able to petition the judge to set more reasonable amounts.
Back to our two little boys: Pima Monthly Meeting, the Friends Meeting in Tucson, Arizona, actively supports its Migrant Action Committee (MAC), faithfully clerked by German and Bea Quiroga. MAC bonds out as many people as possible on a very limited budget. Each person’s request is considered individually. Special concerns such as physical or mental illness, LGBTQ status, or responsibilities as parents enter into each decision. Whenever possible, other community organizations contribute along with what the families themselves can raise.
So, our two little boys are holding their sign (roughly, “Thank you for helping our daddy. God be with you today and always.”) and their faces say it all. Their daddy is now free to continue his years-long journey through the asylum process, and free for now to be daddy to these beautiful boys.
For more information about the Bond Fund at Pima Monthly Meeting – and how to support it – please contact migration-action-committee[at]pmm[dot]life or linneamontana[at]yahoo[dot]com
Linnea Wang is a member of Bozeman Worship Group (NPYM) and travels each winter (as a “snowbird”) to Tucson, Arizona, where she worships with Pima Monthly Meeting (IMYM).