January 12 Abigails Program - Immigration and Detention in the Era of COVID-19

The Skidaway Abigails welcomes you to join us as we greet the new year at our first program of 2021. Please notice that we are meeting on a Tuesday evening at 7 PM this month.

Our advocacy group, Women Advocating for Georgians (WAG), will present

Immigration and Detention in the Era of COVID-19

Speakers Marilyn McGinnis and PJ Edwards of El Refugio will speak to us about recognizing the full humanity of people in detention and their families as they cope with the restrictions and dangers of COVID-19. El Refugio is an interfaith ministry of hospitality and visitation serving immigrants detained at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, GA, as well as their families and friends.

How has COVID-19 impacted your life? Has it threatened your survival, made you sick,  kept you from friends and family, or inconvenienced you? Now, imagine coping with the pandemic as an immigrant detainee, far from home and family, locked in a private, for-profit prison with nearly 2000 other frightened, bewildered detainees of various backgrounds, temperaments, and health conditions.  

Founded by a group of friends, who had witnessed first-hand the trauma and challenges of immigrants and asylum seekers, El Refugio provides free lodging and meals for families who visit loved ones at Stewart; visits individuals who don’t have family and friends in the Southeast to visit them; sends books; and connects people with resources. In addition, El Refugio’s Post-Release is helping to reunite immigrant families while being present for them as they journey back to their families, homes, and communities in the United States, and being there for them during the transition from detention to freedom.