Protestors outside Irwin County Detention Center sing “We Shall Overcome” to show support to the immigrants who are awaiting deportation trial.

OCILLA — Singing “We Shall Overcome” and carrying signs in support of immigrants, a group of around 50 attended a candlelight vigil outside of Irwin County Detention Center, (ICDC) on Martin Luther King Jr Day, Jan. 21.

The vigil was in honor of the 22 people who died inside immigrant detention centers since 2017. The group showed support and solidarity for the immigrants currently held in Ocilla by marching with signs and candles while chanting supportive chants.

The two organizations responsible for planning the vigil and getting the word out were Somos South Georgia and members from South Georgia Immigrant Support Network (SGISN). The two groups focus on helping people affected by the current immigration laws.

SGISN was founded in Tifton, and their members frequently visit and write letters as pen pals to inmates in ICDC that houses approximately 1,000 inmates.

Jess Usher, assistant professor of history and political science at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, spoke to the crowd about why detention centers are unnecessary.

“Immigrant mothers in Georgia are detained in this facility, they are separated from their children,” said Usher. “Their children cry themselves to sleep every night over simple minor civil infractions. These are not criminals, they are our human brothers and sisters.”

Efrain De La Rosa was one of three people honored and mentioned at the vigil. De La Rosa died in Stewart Detention Center on July 10, 2018 after being held in isolation approximately 10 days.

Kevin Joachin, a member of Somos South Georgia and SGISN, participated in the march.

“The detention center in Atlanta was shut down from peaceful protests putting pressure on ICE,” said Joachin. “That’s why I feel hopeful about getting ICDC shut down.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the closure of the detention facility in 2017.

Groups like SGISN and Somos South Georgia are working towards advocating for more sanctuary cities to accommodate the growing immigrant population in rural South Georgia.

Joachin also addressed the current negotiations being discussed over the longest-ever government shutdown.

“When Trump asks Democrats for his wall, he does it at the expense of our lives. Some think we should compromise, but at what expense? The lives of our parents? Let me be clear, our communities are not for sale. His [President Trump] negotiations are extortion,” he said.

Immigrants that lack citizenship status in the US can get arrested by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) for having civil infractions, traffic tickets, misdemeanors and felonies. Immigration lawyers from Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative (SIFI) represent clients who are incarcerated in detention for crimes that were committed as far back as 10 years ago.

According to Elizabeth Matherne, an attorney for SIFI in Ocilla, the candlelight vigil was the first protest held outside ICDC. Matherne represents people who face deportation by assisting her clients with bond motions and parole requests with ICE.

“It’s an extreme challenge because [of] the limited infrastructure,” said Matherne. “There’s almost 1,000 immigrant detainees and there is one attorney/client room.”

She is one of two permanent lawyers that assist immigrants inside ICDC. For help, she relies on volunteer attorneys that share a passion representing the people stuck in the immigration system.

Volunteer attorneys come daily to assist the Ocilla SIFI office with representing clients behind bars in immigrant detention. On a given day Matherne could have as many as 10 attorneys ready to represent inmates, but only having one attorney/client room available to speak to clients, makes it difficult to use the volunteers to their full potential.

Detention centers like ICDC have been here since before President Trump took office. There are more than 200 private detention facilities in the United States, which can earn upwards of $100 per day to house one inmate.

When Matherne attended a similar protest outside of Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, the protestors also sang “We Shall Overcome.” The inmates inside Stewart Detention Center who could hear the people singing from outside spoke about the event for months after it happened. She told this story to encourage those at the candlelight vigil to sing loud for the immigrants inside detention in hope that they could hear their voices.

To close the vigil, Ric Stewart from the Irwinville Primitive Baptist Church lead the group in prayer. In the prayer he said, “As we have so much discussion in our country of a prospect of a wall around our southern border, make us mindful of the walls that exist already in our communities, such as the one behind us now.”