3/12/20

By Lee Goodman

Aboard the plane home I wear a mask. I am told it will not protect me, but it might protect other people in case I carry a virus, which I don't think I do. We don't shake hands anymore. We don't hug. We try to avoid crowds. We are tying to protect one another. We do what we can.

Aboard the plane home I look out the window and see the spot along the fence where earlier today I stood and watched deportees being loaded onto a plane bound for Central America. We watch so the people forcing them onto the plane will know we are watching and so we will be able to tell about what is happening. We do what we can.

We observe immigration court hearings. We welcome the very few who are granted asylum as they walk into our country carrying their papers, smiling hugely. We help reporters and visitors who will go into the refugee camp in Mexico understand what they are about to observe. We answer questions from passersby. We do what we can.

We don't know how effective we will be in changing our country's immigration policies. We know how large the task is. We know that people are worried about other things right now. So are we. We get discouraged. We comfort one another. We will all do better if we all do what we can.