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MADBURY, NH – Beginning in Manchester, moving to the Strafford County House of Corrections in Dover, and ending in Madbury, the Solidarity Network Day of Action on Sunday was an effort to help gain release of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees being held at the Dover jail and throughout the country.
The rally ended at the Maranatha Indonesian Church of Christ in Madbury. The Rev. Sandra Pontoh, dressed in the red and white of the Indonesian flag, welcomed groups that have worked to advocate for immigrants of her community, including those still detained and those who gained asylum, marking this month’s 75th anniversary of Indonesian independence.
Pontoh noted local Indonesian people, including many of the approximately 2,000 who live in the Somersworth area, running businesses and raising families, have been threatened with deportation. Because of the support of people like those who rallied Sunday, the local Indonesians got right to a hearing of each case, and she said about half have been granted asylum.
“My friends did not get deported in 2017,” said Pontoh. “They are still here because you stood for them. You prayed for my beloved Indonesian friends. I thank you all, but thanks are not enough. You did not stop, you stood with us through it all, and are still doing it.”
One of those families, Poppy, Freddy, and their son Timothy Sombah attended Sunday’s event to tell their story.
“When my parents came here, they filed for asylum,” said Timothy. “In 2010, their case was rejected, and they could not appeal. I became eligible for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). Three years ago, they got a deportation notice. They were told to come to their next check-in with tickets in hand. Can you imagine my feelings as I had to buy those tickets?”
The day before his parents were to leave from the District Court in Boston, a judge halted the deportations and granted hearings. In the end, the family was granted asylum…
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