chapter
31
I was a faithful woman, but right about now that faith was truly being tested. Forty-eight hours had passed and I was still in jail, or a detention center, or whatever you called this place. I didn’t care what the name was. All I knew was that I wasn’t at home. I knew my children had to be losing their minds. Thank God for Paco because despite all the grief that he had given me over the past few years, Alejandro, Maria, and Miguel loved him something crazy. So I was sure he was keeping them entertained and, hopefully, keeping their minds off my absence. Though that gave me some comfort, I was still ready to get out of here. Last night a fight had broken out between two women over a blanket, and after the officers separated them, I’d been unable to go back to sleep.
Because I was so tired, I’d been dozing off and on. In fact, I had just dozed off when I heard someone yell, “Hey, isn’t that her?” My eyes opened to see several people staring at me, and then at the screen.
“Hey, J.Lo, you’re on TV,” the three-timer said to me.
We all jumped up, including me, and raced to the bars and peered through to the forty-two-inch screen mounted on the wall of the ICE office.
All of the officers were tuned to the TV, where Savannah Graham had just finished saying something.
“Turn it up,” somebody from the cell yelled.
“Sit down and shut up,” one of the guards replied.
“Come on, man,” the three-timer said. “That’s her.” She pointed at me. “Let her see herself.”
The female officer who had let me use the phone walked over, picked up the remote, and turned the volume up.
“. . . And so, Anna Rodríguez said all she wants is to build a better life than the one she was born into,” Savannah said.
Then my face popped up on the screen again, and I couldn’t hear what words I said because the people in the cell started yelling.
“Shut up so we can hear the TV,” someone standing next to me said.
They quieted down as my interview continued. This all seemed surreal for me, a person that had never wanted any type of attention. I had now been thrust stage front and center.
My interview concluded and Savannah wrapped up her report with “The Freedom Coalition plans to picket this evening and are working to get Rodríguez released on her own recognizance.”
“How’d you get so lucky?” someone yelled from behind me.
I couldn’t answer that. I didn’t know what I’d done. Other than try to stay faithful in even the darkest hour.
“Shoot, we’re all here illegally,” someone else said. “Where is our story?”
The three-timer turned to the people throwing out questions. “Everybody ain’t meant to take a divine path. Some of you are worthless and need to be sent home. So lay off her and let her get her blessings.”
“Ummm, isn’t she a career criminal?” someone muttered from the back.
“What did you say?” the three-timer muttered as she stomped over to the person who’d said it.
I blocked them out of my mind as I clutched the necklace bearing my children’s names. I thought about the divine being that had laid this all out so perfectly. My only hope was that it would make a difference. My report wrapped up and the guards put the TV back on mute and everyone slowly went back to their respective spots.
+ + +
The cornucopia of thoughts had kept me tossing and turning all night. I couldn’t help but wonder what, if anything, would come of the interview.
That’s where my mind was when an officer approached the cell just after they’d given us our breakfast of dry toast and lumpy oatmeal.
“Anna Rodríguez?” he said.
I jumped up, wiping the sleep from my eyes. “Yes, that’s me.”
“Your attorney is here.”
“My attorney?”
He didn’t reply as he opened the cell to let me out. I followed behind him to the attorney-client room, where inside I saw Jerri from the Freedom Coalition and a distinguished-looking balding man. He smiled as he saw me.
“Hello, Mrs. Rodríguez.” He extended his hand.
“Hi,” I replied, shaking his hand but looking at Jerri for answers.
“My name is Oliver Johnson, and I am an attorney with the law firm of Johnson, McHarden, and Olympia.”
Jerri was grinning behind him, but I was still clueless. On the list of things I’d hoped for, I hadn’t even thought about an attorney. “I know this is all overwhelming because things are moving pretty fast, but Oliver saw the story and immediately contacted me,” she said.
I waited for her to continue.
Oliver snapped open his briefcase as he picked up the conversation. “I am very excited because you are the perfect candidate that we’ve been looking for to represent in a groundbreaking immigration case. Our firm is a leader in immigration law. With the recent deportation enforcements, we’ve been looking for a case to highlight our struggle, and we think yours is perfect.”
I was speechless.
“Please, have a seat,” he said, motioning to the chair on the other side of the table.
Jerri couldn’t stop grinning, which to me was a good sign. Oliver removed a piece of paper from his briefcase and slid it across the table to me.
“I have already filed a motion to have you released, and it will go before the judge in the morning,” he said.
“In the morning?” I said. “So, you mean I could go home tomorrow?”
Jerri nodded. “That’s exactly what he means.”
I couldn’t help but smile as my heart danced with relief. “Oh, that is so wonderful. But what happens after that?” I said.
“Well, it will be a long journey, but because of the president’s travel ban and all of the attention to his crackdown on immigrants, we expect we’ll get a lot of publicity.” Oliver took out another piece of paper and passed it to me. “This is our standard agreement to represent. If you’re amenable, we’ll immediately move forward to have the charges against you vacated.”
“But . . . but I broke the law,” I said.
“And you will probably have to pay a price for that, but because you have been here so long, because your children are American citizens—and in the past, the court has been sympathetic to parents of American citizens—our hope is that we can convince the judge to give you some type of probation. Have you check in with an immigration officer and then—”
Jerri cut him off. It was obvious that she could no longer contain her excitement. “Let me tell her.” She smiled at me. “And then begin your path to citizenship.”
I was floored. “You mean, I could really become a citizen?”
“I can’t make any promises,” Oliver said. “But that’s our goal. It’s a lengthy and extensive process, but if there’s ever been a candidate that America should welcome into its ranks, it’s a person like you.”
I couldn’t help it. I stood and threw my arms around Oliver. The move must have caught him off guard, because he said, “Wow. Okay. Well, that’s what I like. I always like to be paid in hugs.”
That made me stop, and I stepped back. “Oh, my God. I can’t afford you,” I said as if that problem had just dawned on me.
Jerri spoke up before he could. “That is the least of your concerns,” she said. “The Freedom Coalition has that part all taken care of.”
“But—”
“But nothing,” she replied. “Now, if you are looking for some way to return the favor, we have an opening in our main office for an assistant. It’s full-time, not a whole lot of money, but probably more than you made at the Markham. And if you don’t have office skills, I can train you. So, what do you think?”
I stared at her in disbelief. “I think, yes. Absolutely, yes!”
She smiled and hugged me again. “Now, you just give Oliver here everything he needs, and we’ll make sure he is properly compensated.”
“This is a calling for us,” Oliver said. “We work with Jerri and the organization. We don’t want you to be concerned with that.”
“Thank you, Jesus,” I said.
Oliver flashed a warm smile. “Yep, He was definitely looking out for you today.”