From Foreigner to Family Member

By visiting local ICE detainees, a Denver church learned the power of faithfully showing up.

It took Martin Akwa almost three months to make it to the US-Mexico border from his native Cameroon. As part of the English-speaking western minority in Cameroon, Akwa says he had been marginalized for a long time.

In retribution for his protests against the French-majority government, he was assaulted and left for dead. His father was arrested on the family farm as Akwa and other workers fled gunfire. One Sunday, Akwa endured tear gas while leaving church along with his mother and four younger siblings. He says he and his family had to flee their home for the bush, where his mother and siblings remain. His father is still in jail.

After months of traveling alone, passing through unfamiliar countries, and staying in refugee encampments, Akwa arrived at the US-Mexico border in early 2018. After claiming asylum, he was sent to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Aurora Contract Detention Facility just outside of Denver, Colo., unsure of how to proceed and completely on his own. While working on his immigration case without any legal help, he quickly fell into isolation and despair.

But his situation changed when he heard about local volunteers who visited detainees on request who had no nearby family or friends. It may not have been the community he was used to, but, for Akwa, it was enough.

“I never had anyone that I could explain my feelings to,” Akwa said. “I was so very happy to see the volunteers. I was there by myself with no one to talk to. So when I saw people visiting me, I felt relief. I felt sometimes good. It made me feel happy, it almost made me feel like I was back home.”

For the last two years, a small group from The Embassy Church in Denver has been visiting detainees every Sunday ...