By Victoria Koch
It’s Saturday, Sept. 5, and we’re driving up I-5 heading to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma for a La Resistencia Solidarity Day Protest. I got involved with the Unitarian Universalist Church in Eugene’s Immigrant Justice Action Group and signed on to be a driver.
As I drive the four hours north, we have lots to share, and I mostly listen. But always on this particular highway, I am in awe of our Pacific Northwest beauty: the abundance of trees, farmers’ fields, grazing sheep, majestic mountains, brilliantly clouded sky. I am soaking up Oregon’s environmental beauty, alongside our freedom and privilege to even be traveling, in preparation for the cruel and depressive scene and speakers who will be sharing the truth of what is happening in these American concentration camps.
Soon we are entering the outskirts of Tacoma. Perhaps because I am the driver, I am riveted by the landscape and our surroundings. We are literally in an extremely depressive, low income, dilapidated industrial outskirt of this city. There are no people; it is eerily silent. As we come to the main street stretched out before the detention center, there are volunteers motioning us where to park. We are in a daze as we park and walk briskly to the protest site in front of the detention center.
The NWIPC (formerly the Northwest Detention Center) stretches lengthwise along the whole street. A huge wire fence stretches out in front making it look like a prison. There is no visible way to see people inside this extremely run-down structure. People gather in front of the center, where booths with canvas awnings have been set up displaying funeral altars for those who have died in a detention center, along with booths selling T-shirts and handing out vital detention and immigrant information.
I need to stretch my legs and start walking down along the fence line away from the protest. I am surprised to see two young, well-dressed Latino men coming out of one of the possible detention entryways. I am not shy, I smile and ask them about the center. I am surprised when I hear they have been visiting family. I smile again and know I can’t ask them more. I walk back to the La Resistencia gathering where the singing and talks have begun.
I am deeply impressed by the speakers. One young Latina woman is especially sadly poignant. She has been part of a progressive, migrant farm in California and shares the destruction this farm has endured with the forced imprisonment and removal of its legitimate workers. The deep emotion of this protest is further brought forth from an inside live talk with one of the detainees. He shares his horrendous story:
Meals are haphazardly given. One dinner was at 3 o’clock in the morning and the produce was extremely poor. Medical help is not a priority. He has been suffering from heart, pain and other dire ailments (even a seizure) and has only been given aspirin or told to go and lie down.
With the help of Singing Resistance members who lead us in several songs, we all try to sing as loud as we possibly can so hopefully the immigrants inside can hear us. Flowers are placed into the wire fence and short supportive letters to detainees were written ahead to randomly be delivered to those inside. With our songs and our letters and flowers, we hope these immigrants will know there are humans who have compassion and don’t condone our beyond cruel American actions that have increased under President Donald Trump.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, back in 2018 there were seven detention deaths, which now has exploded beyond 30 deaths (including one child) so far in 2026. I hope people are becoming aware of the ever increasing cruelty of our American government under the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Separation of immigrant families — picking up young children and putting them in special children detention centers, returning migrants and immigrants with legal status who have been here for decades, sometimes not even to their original homeland.
Billions of our tax dollars are going to this racial washing of our society and large companies such as GEO, which runs NWIP, are making huge profits from our inhumanity. At a recent Unitarian Immigrant Justice Meeting, I took note of a recent statistic: We are deporting 15,000 human beings a month!
As we walk up to the fence to wind our flowers through the wires, my heart is aching. There is a definite sober mood in the car as we drive back to Eugene. Have we helped in any way to soften the cruel conditions facing our mostly Latino immigrants? Our voices must be raised for immigrant justice. What can we do beyond continually voicing our disagreement with our immigration policies to members of Congress, to our president, to our city councils, to our concerns about Oregon not enforcing our sanctuary status?
Starting with something local and small has helped me. Send messages of support, solidarity and hope to the Tacoma detainees. Keep it brief and real: “You are not alone! We want you all free!” Write in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, Nepali, etc. Send them to the La Resistencia Office, 621 Tacoma Ave. S, Ste. 504, Tacoma, WA 98402, where they can be hand-delivered. Get involved with or give money to a local immigrant defense group (La Resistencia, OCAN, Interfaith Alliance with Migrants, Rapid Response of Lane County) attend protests such as the Interfaith Singing Protest on Tuesdays at noon at 7th and Pearl and No Kings rallies. And simply be a loving, compassionate human being to clerks and cashiers and librarians and gas station attendants and everyone you meet.
Victoria Koch is a retired teacher, writer, gardener and lover of the positive human spirit. On Wednesday, Nov. 11 there will be a Immigration Advocacy Pop-Up with folks who visited the detention center at 6:45 pm at the First Congregational Church, 1050 E. 23rd Avenue. And 11:30 am Nov. 15 there is Fundraising and Letter Writing to Tacoma Detainees with La Resistencia, at the UU Church, 1685 W. 13th Avenue.