BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A growing number of immigrants are being released from ICE custody in Bakersfield, often hundreds or even thousands of miles away from where they were first detained, and local organizations are raising concerns and stepping in to help.
According to immigrant rights advocates, some detainees released from ICE custody are left on their own, often without money, transportation, or a way to get home. Advocates say that can also contribute to homelessness in Kern County.
Jeannie Parent, with the nonprofit Kern Welcoming and Extending Solidarity to Immigrants, or KWESI, says some people released from custody have no idea where they are.
"I have met some that don't even know where they are. Imagine there was a fellow that had been in the country 20 years from Cuba. He was arrested in Puerto Rico. He'd lived in Puerto Rico 20 years, and he's out here. He has to get back to Puerto Rico. They don't even know the nearest airport," Parent said.
KWESI is an all-volunteer organization that sometimes gets a call when someone is about to be released.
"We get them a phone. We get them some food. We give them some cash if they need it, and then we help them navigate their way home," Parent said.
Parent says she believes ICE should be more responsible for that journey.
In an email statement, ICE said, in part, quote:
"Prior to release, detainees are allowed to make a phone call to coordinate transportation or contact family, counsel, or other support...The (ICE) facility in Bakersfield is located near public transportation, including bus stations, which provides aliens a way to continue to their destination after release."
Jim Wheeler, the executive director of Flood Bakersfield Ministries, which helps people experiencing homelessness, says he is concerned that detainees being released are putting a strain on city resources.
"We don't have enough shelter beds for all the people that want to go to the shelter. We have 100 people a month that want to go to shelter. We don't have a shelter bed for them and so that's just straining the already strained system of care that we have and that's what really irritates me," Wheeler said.
Wheeler says Flood Ministries' goal is to get homeless people off the streets, regardless of immigration status.
For now, nonprofit groups appear to be the main, and in some cases the only, source of support helping many immigrants find a way back home after being released from custody.
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