THANK YOU to everyone who contributed and supported our efforts to get our friend Hisham released from the Miami Detention Center! 

As you know, Hisham had been essentially imprisoned for the past 6 weeks.  On Thursday, the day before the Muslim holy celebration of Eid Al Adha, Hisham was transported back to Trinidad where he was released.  

It's unclear what the next steps in his case are, or how long his journey back to the States will be, but for now he is free and with his extended family where he can at least be gainfully employed and work towards coming back if he decides to do so.

Don't let the label of "detention" center fool you into thinking it was merely a secure holding facility, from Hisham's account, it was a prison where detainees were treated like incarcerated inmates.  He witnessed a lot of violence and experienced a great deal of hardship, but remained strong and steadfast in his trust in God's plan for him.  

While detained, Hisham was allowed short regular calls with his family and was able to exchange a few emails - some of which they shared with me which recounted incidents of men beating each other to the point of near death, individuals wailing in their cells out of fear, frustration and despair and just a general sense of helplessness.  Many of the people being held in these facilities aren't hardened criminals...they're individuals who either made an error in their immigration paperwork, or violated the terms of their stay in the country by accident.  

I'm gonna get a little political for a second....while some of these individuals are probably undocumented, and we all agree that violates immigration law...but it doesn't put them in the same category as those who have committed serious and dangerous crimes. Hisham was working a full-time job and supporting his family, he's a college graduate and had done a lot of admirable work in his community.  He isn't someone who should have ever been incarcerated.

There are many flaws in our nation's immigration policies and practices...this is just one more example of how it is hurting good, decent and hardworking people under the guise of "strengthening our borders".

UPDATE 8/8/17 - Hisham has another hearing date, on Aug 18th, 2017.  His family is hopeful that he will be released at that time. His lawyer is no longer pursuing the bond option, so the new priority is to help the Assing family raise money for legal fees.

Please continue to spread the word and send your support to the family in any way you can!

https://www.launchgood.com/project/dcarea_bro_detained_in_miami#/