A local man has worked for us several times. After the first very good painting job he did for us we brought him back twice, the last time to paint our shop building. When friends came over while he was working I took the group to see his work trailer, a marvel. Paint hoses, ladders, extension cords, every bit of equipment had a place and all of it was organized and clean. He showed up on time, worked hard, and cleaned up before he left each day. When he was finished one friend was so impressed she hired him to paint her house. I don’t usually hug household workers but before he left we hugged.
He held a green card. Last January he had an appointment in Seattle to sign “immigration papers.” He arrived as requested and was handcuffed and arrested on the spot. He has been in a detention center since.
I don’t know the details of his case but I do know this is a decent, honorable, hard-working man. He has a wife, children, and extended family. The adults all work and work hard. If they’re guilty of anything it is of seeking a better life.
Plenty can be said about immigration, on all sides. But at the end of the day it’s a story about human lives. I’d like to think that we can treat people better than this.
