We are happy to share that we have a new family residing in our Sanctuary apartment at B’nai Keshet. Brenda and her 12-year-old son Josue (the last name is being withheld for privacy and security) moved into the apartment in early February, after being referred to us by the counselor at Buzz Aldrin Middle School, where Josue is a student.
Brenda and Josue come from Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, where Brenda worked for the government under a prior administration. Under a new regime, Brenda was targeted and subjected to discrimination and harassment. As a result, they decided that they had to flee Honduras.
The family was held in detention by ICE after crossing the border from Honduras last year. They were released in their own recognizance and told to report to the office in Newark, NJ in seven days, which they did. They were further released and their next required report-in date in Newark is April 1, 2020. It is not clear what will happen at that time if they don’t secure an attorney and file a petition for asylum.
During their nine months in New Jersey, Brenda and Josue have had a number of unreliable living arrangements. Most recently, they were staying in a corner of a living room just four blocks away from B’nai Keshet, but they were being forced to leave that space. Luckily, we were able to extend the invitation to stay in the apartment at Red Gables supported by the Montclair Sanctuary Alliance (MSA).
We have two immediate priorities to support this family:
- Assisting the family in finding an attorney to help them file their asylum case. If you can assist with this please email Eric Scherzer at montclairsanctuary+Eric@gmail.com.
- Hosting Brenda and Josue for dinner or sometimes Josue alone since his mother has to work some nights. We are encouraging folks who speak some Spanish to sign up now.
If you would like sign-up to volunteer on an ongoing basis with the Montclair Sanctuary Alliance (MSA) you can do so by clicking – SIGN-UP or you can contribute financially to support the work of MSA by clicking – CONTRIBUTE.