They never saw it coming. It is like being in a car crash. The light is green and your car is in the middle of the intersection. The car that hits you has a red light but ignores it for whatever reason and crashes into your car. Even though you are not at fault you are damaged. Abrego Garcia was following the rules. He trusted the country he was in, the USA, also was following the rules as a democracy… “home of the free and the brave”, a country of justice and rule of law. He was arrested and sent to El Salvador's torture prison, the infamous CECOT. But wait, surely the USA, the leader of the countries of the free world would correct the mistake, as the government of our USA said it was an “administrative error”. The government said it was wrong. He surely would be sent back. No, the government claims it has no recourse. They can falsely send a person to another country's horrendous prison where people have a good possibility of dying, but they, the US government, cannot bring a person back.
Does this have any relevance to a person in Sierra County? How does it not have relevance to a person to Sierra County? We are no more protected than a person in New York (Abrego Garcia) or one in Florida, who exclaimed as he was arrested that he (Andry Hernandez Romero) was gay and a barber and not a gang member. No one swept up for the trip to El Salvador was given the opportunity to make their case or present their evidence to a court that they were not a gang member and should not be deported to El Salvador. We, however, have not come from a country south of the USA. Or, maybe we have or our parents or grandparents or great,great grandparents have come from south of the USA. Not to worry. We live in the USA, the “home of the free and the brave”.
Buenos Dias,
Linda Guffin
Downieville
P.S. A sign carried by one of our property owners in the recent April 5 protest In Downieville said, “'Hands Off!' Don't deport our neighbors”.
