Volunteers In NYC Show Support For Immigrants At Court Appearances Appointments : NPR
Jean Hale
Volunteers In NYC Show Support For Immigrants At Court Appearances   Appointments A new type of volunteer opportunity has taken off in New York City . Hundreds of people are going with immigrants to court appearances and appointments with immigration officials . With President Trump ' s crackdown on illegal immigration   they want to show solidarity   and be a friendly support system . ROBERT SIEGEL   HOST : A new type of volunteer opportunity has taken off in New York City . Hundreds of people are going with immigrants to court appearances and appointments with immigration officials . With President Trump ' s crackdown on illegal immigration   the volunteers want to show solidarity . WNYC ' s Beth Fertig brings us this story . OK   tell me your name . BETH FERTIG   BYLINE : On a recent weekday morning   Marissa Lohse is gathering her troops in a coffeeshop in lower Manhattan . LOHSE : Perfect   perfect . FERTIG : Lohse is with the New Sanctuary Coalition . It ' s a network of congregations and individuals who accompany immigrants facing deportation to the Federal Building   which is just down the street .  Jean Hale  is a first - time volunteer .  She  doesn ' t know what to expect .  HALE  : I think it may be just emotional support and perhaps a big hug . FERTIG :  Hale  says  she  ' s horrified by the Trump administration ' s aggressive enforcement of immigration laws .  She  ' s 73   a retired English as a Second Language teacher . The volunteer program took off in 2010 during a previous crackdown under former President Obama . But Lohse - herself an immigrant from Argentina - says it ' s now bigger than ever . Several hundred volunteers came forward after Trump took office . A lot are retirees like her . They call the immigrants   friends . LOHSE : Before   I was just going by myself with a friend . Now it ' s just   thank God we have so many volunteers . So I do it   and I cry when I think about it . FERTIG : There ' s a lot on the line . These volunteers are joining people at immigration court hearings to determine whether they can stay in the country . Others are bringing them to check - ins with Immigration and Customs Enforcement . Many undocumented immigrants were allowed to stay as long as they regularly met with ICE . These check - ins used to be routine . Now   some immigrants are detained without any warning . Lohse has seen that firsthand . LOHSE : I ' ve been one time when I was with a wife of a guy . Then   the ICE agent came out with a pair of glasses and a wallet . Your husband wants you to have this . They didn ' t give a chance for her to say goodbye . FERTIG : This type of volunteering is not easy . It ' s emotional   and the issues are thorny . At a training session   volunteers are told all immigrants deserve support   even those who have committed crimes . That gave one man pause . ED STUBIN : I can accept that the criminal justice system isn ' t always right   but I ' m troubled having to go with some people that I don ' t think should be on this earth   much less in this country . FERTIG : That ' s Ed Stubin   a business owner who says his father was an immigrant . He decides he will volunteer   however   when a coordinator assures him that immigrants who commit serious crimes are usually held in detention . On the day of the coffeehouse meeting   about 40 volunteers are joining eight immigrants . One of those immigrants is Inez   a young mother seeking asylum who doesn ' t want us using her full name . She ' s got her 3 - year - old son with her   and she ' s grateful to have six of the volunteers going with her to immigration court . INEZ : ( Foreign language spoken ). FERTIG : The group includes  Jean Hale   the retired teacher and first - time volunteer  .  They  spent four hours in the waiting room outside court . Mostly    they  played with Inez ' s toddler . Finally   Inez had her hearing . The judge gave her three more months to find a lawyer . Afterward   outside the federal building    Hale  said some undocumented immigrants deserve to stay .  HALE  : I would like to see our laws changed so that people could remain who have come to our country . FERTIG :  Hale  also said  she  ' ll continue to volunteer . For NPR News   I ' m Beth Fertig in New York . ( SOUNDBITE OF THE NEW GARY BURTON QUARTET ' S " CAMINOS ") Copyright © 2017 NPR . Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www . npr . org for further information . NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm   Inc .  an NPR contractor   and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR . This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future . Accuracy and availability may vary . The authoritative record of NPR ’ s programming is the audio record .
Volunteers In NYC Show Support For Immigrants At Court Appearances   Appointments A new type of volunteer opportunity has taken off in New York City . Hundreds of people are going with immigrants to court appearances and appointments with immigration officials . With President Trump ' s crackdown on illegal immigration   they want to show solidarity   and be a friendly support system . ROBERT SIEGEL   HOST : A new type of volunteer opportunity has taken off in New York City . Hundreds of people are going with immigrants to court appearances and appointments with immigration officials . With President Trump ' s crackdown on illegal immigration   the volunteers want to show solidarity . WNYC ' s Beth Fertig brings us this story . OK   tell me your name . BETH FERTIG   BYLINE : On a recent weekday morning   Marissa Lohse is gathering her troops in a coffeeshop in lower Manhattan . LOHSE : Perfect   perfect . FERTIG : Lohse is with the New Sanctuary Coalition . It ' s a network of congregations and individuals who accompany immigrants facing deportation to the Federal Building   which is just down the street .  [TGT]is a first - time volunteer .  [TGT]  doesn ' t know what to expect .  [TGT]: I think it may be just emotional support and perhaps a big hug . FERTIG :  [TGT]says  [TGT]  ' s horrified by the Trump administration ' s aggressive enforcement of immigration laws .  [TGT]  ' s 73   a retired English as a Second Language teacher . The volunteer program took off in 2010 during a previous crackdown under former President Obama . But Lohse - herself an immigrant from Argentina - says it ' s now bigger than ever . Several hundred volunteers came forward after Trump took office . A lot are retirees like her . They call the immigrants   friends . LOHSE : Before   I was just going by [TGT] with a friend . Now it ' s just   thank God we have so many volunteers . So I do it   and I cry when I think about it . FERTIG : There ' s a lot on the line . These volunteers are joining people at immigration court hearings to determine whether they can stay in the country . Others are bringing them to check - ins with Immigration and Customs Enforcement . Many undocumented immigrants were allowed to stay as long as they regularly met with ICE . These check - ins used to be routine . Now   some immigrants are detained without any warning . Lohse has seen that firsthand . LOHSE : I ' ve been one time when I was with a wife of a guy . Then   the ICE agent came out with a pair of glasses and a wallet . Your husband wants you to have this . They didn ' t give a chance for her to say goodbye . FERTIG : This type of volunteering is not easy . It ' s emotional   and the issues are thorny . At a training session   volunteers are told all immigrants deserve support   even those who have committed crimes . That gave one man pause . ED STUBIN : I can accept that the criminal justice system isn ' t always right   but I ' m troubled having to go with some people that I don ' t think should be on this earth   much less in this country . FERTIG : That ' s Ed Stubin   a business owner who says his father was an immigrant . He decides he will volunteer   however   when a coordinator assures him that immigrants who commit serious crimes are usually held in detention . On the day of the coffeehouse meeting   about 40 volunteers are joining eight immigrants . One of those immigrants is Inez   a young mother seeking asylum who doesn ' t want us using her full name . She ' s got her 3 - year - old son with her   and she ' s grateful to have six of the volunteers going with her to immigration court . INEZ : ( Foreign language spoken ). FERTIG : The group includes  Jean Hale   the retired teacher and first - time volunteer  .  They  spent four hours in the waiting room outside court . Mostly    they  played with Inez ' s toddler . Finally   Inez had her hearing . The judge gave her three more months to find a lawyer . Afterward   outside the federal building    Hale  said some undocumented immigrants deserve to stay .  HALE  : I would like to see our laws changed so that people could remain who have come to our country . FERTIG :  Hale  also said  she  ' ll continue to volunteer . For NPR News   I ' m Beth Fertig in New York . ( SOUNDBITE OF THE NEW GARY BURTON QUARTET ' S " CAMINOS ") Copyright © 2017 NPR . Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www . npr . org for further information . NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm   Inc .  an NPR contractor   and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR . This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future . Accuracy and availability may vary . The authoritative record of NPR ’ s programming is the audio record .