(RNS) — To the World Relief volunteers in a mobile welcome center parked outside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash., it was clear that the woman released from the center moments before had been separated from her children while seeking asylum at the United States border with Mexico.
The woman, called “Karla” to protect her identity, was smiling as she got into a car with Robin Jacobson, a board member with Advocates for Immigrants in Detention Northwest, which runs the welcome center.
But as soon as the car door closed, Karla burst into tears.
In the short drive to Jacobson’s home, it all spilled out, with help from the Google Translate app: how Karla and her family had fled gang violence in El Salvador, how she’d been separated from her two daughters, how the 6-year-old hadn’t wanted to let go, how Karla hadn’t known where her 13-year-old was for 25 days, how the time spent in detention was marked by “unexpected suffering.”
Now Karla had a plane ticket to reunite with her family the next day in California, where she would stay while her case is pending.
Jacobson volunteers with a team from her church, hosting people coming out of detention through World Relief. After Karla had a night’s sleep, Jacobson drove her to the airport,…
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