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JASMINE: Hi. My name is Jasmine Franco and I'm 18 years old.
I was born in Chicago but my parents are from Guatemala
but they had lived here in the U.S. for 19 years.
NARRATOR: This is a story of resilience, faith, and compassion...
but, most of all, this is a story of a church
strengthened by love and justice.
This is Jasmine's story.
JASMINE: So, this is where my parents and I lived,
we moved here when I was ten.
NARRATOR: November, 22nd 2008, in Ypsilanti Michigan,
Jasmine's childhood came to an end.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, came calling.
Her 12 year old sister opened the door.
JASMINE: They just pushed in. They flew her across the room.
They just busted in the door and told all of us
to get on the floor. They did have guns with them.
And one of them was pointing at us they were yelling like we
were criminals and just get on the floor and put your hands in
the air and when I looked in the room, my mother's face.
She just looked at us and I saw tears running down her face just
cause she knew what was going to happen
they were either coming for her or for my father.
That's my dad, Hector and Gloria my mom,
and that's my sister when she was in elementary school.
NARRATOR: In the early 1990s, before Jasmine was born,
her parents illegally entered the U.S.
They were desperate to provide for her brother, Albin,
who was a baby at the time.
They were living in poverty in Guatemala.
With broken hearts, they left him with relatives and made the
arduous journey across the border.
JASMINE: They had to cross rivers.
And they had to walk through the desert and they would go days
without eating and that's not what my mother wanted to put her
11-month-old through.
NARRATOR: For most unskilled Hispanic/Latinos,
entering the United States legally is simply not an option.
JASMINE: You need to have a certain amount of money,
a certain amount of land, to even get a Visa.
And of course my parents did not have anything.
NARRATOR: Once in the country, they quickly found steady
employment and sent money home for the care of their son;
occasionally they ventured back to visit him.
Later, in the U.S., Jasmine and Jennifer were born
and not far from Ypsilanti United Methodist Church,
Jasmine's family settled into the American dream.
But, authorities were tipped off about her mother's
undocumented status. That's when the nightmare began.
(door slams)
JASMINE: That's where I went to high school for four years.
NARRATOR: Jasmine was a junior in High School, not quite 17,
when her mother was placed in deportation proceedings.
For months, she and her sister would skip school every week to
visit their mom through a jail house window.
JASMINE: But I think the hardest thing for her was when an
Immigration agent took the pictures we had sent her by
mail and some letters that we, my sister and I and my father,
had wrote to her, and ripped them in front of her and threw
them on the floor and she told her to pick them up
and put them in the trash can.
NARRATOR: Her mother was deported without even
being able to say goodbye. ICE was aware now of
her father's undocumented status so, Jasmine begged him
to self-deport and return to his home country.
At first he resisted but, eventually agreed that he
could not put his daughters through such trauma again.
And, he felt that his U.S.
citizen children would fare much better in the Michigan
than to live in poverty in Guatemala.
Shortly after he left, Jasmine's realized her
part time cleaning job couldn't cover living expenses.
Unwilling to see her little sister go hungry,
Jasmine sent Jennifer, a U.S. citizen, to live with her parents.
JASMINE: When she was going hungry like I was,
on the weekends, and that's when I just said she can't stay in
this situation she has to go back.
She didn't want to go. This is where she grew up.
She didn't know how to write Spanish,
she didn't know how to read Spanish.
She barely knew how to talk Spanish.
And she didn't want to go.
NARRATOR: That's when the
severity of Jasmine's situation hit. She was alone
and she didn't know how she was going to manage.
JASMINE: And, then I was like, what am I going to do?
PETER FLETCHER: The immigration service suddenly deported her
parents, returned them to their homeland in South America; no hearing, no nothing.
It broke up a very worthwhile family at a very challenging time.
NARRATOR: Peter Fletcher is a member of Ypsilanti
United Methodist Church, and like others in the congregation,
he heard of Jasmine's troubles and stepped up to help.
But even though it was disturbing to know she was
living alone, struggling to pay the rent, some were concerned
about getting involved in what could be a "messy situation."
ANNETTE KATON: I was really apprehensive about the whole
process and, you know, the immigration part of it.
I'm not very familiar with that and so,
I was apprehensive about even getting involved and,
can I fit one more thing onto my plate and how much involvement
would we be asked to do?
NARRATOR: But Annette Katon did respond,as did others,
like Nathalie Savvides and The Reverend Melanie Carey.
There were just a few of a legion of caring Christians
who reached out to Jasmine.
NATHALIE: That first time that I took groceries to Jasmine
I took my daughter along who was the same age
and also a junior in high school. And she went with me.
And it really hit her hard, not Jasmine's living conditions,
but just the fact that she was all-alone.
NARRATOR: Relationships were built over a bag of groceries.
But, Jasmine was still very lonely...and afraid.
Immigration officials kept pounding on her door,
not believing that her father had left the country.
When this would happen, she would huddle inside her trailer
and call the pastor for comfort.
MELANIE: It would re-traumatize her every time.
NARRATOR: And, that's when the faith community took
this scripture to heart: "I was a stranger and you welcomed me."
After seven months alone, Jasmine found respite
by moving in with Melanie and her family temporarily.
They encouraged Jasmine to graduate from high school,
a feat never before accomplished in her family.
Jasmine began to grow in faith and confidence.
JASMINE: That's when I became hopeful. That's when I just
said to God, I said 'Thank you for what you've given me.'
This is my room at Mike and Margie's house.
This is my space.
I kept this picture, I really liked it.
NARRATOR: Today, Jasmine is safe, and surrounded by
many people who've come to know and love her.
Nat sound: He's just trying to see how firm I am in my diet.
NARRATOR: Mike and Margie are empty-nesters who've opened
their home to Jasmine; she can stay as long as she desires.
Nat sound: (prayer before dinner)
MIKE: Now that she's here, it's given us an opportunity
for her to open up, for her to relax, for her to take a deep breath
and for her most importantly to be a kid again.
She doesn't have to be an adult and take care of everything now.
NARRATOR: Jasmine is now pursuing her college degree
while she works part-time. She wants to be a physician
and treat indigent patients.
Making the college honor role is just another success on her
recent list of accomplishments.
PETER: She is beyond a survivor, she is a thriver.
And, therefore that's what makes it very rewarding.
NARRATOR: Jasmine has begun to define herself as a student,
a creative soul, and a volunteer.
Among other things, she translates for Spanish speaking
residents and teaches English as a Second Language.
JASMINE: I really understand the meaning of help now;
I understand that even though maybe I can't give money,
I can't give groceries, I can give love.
I can help someone by being there for them.
(Jasmine talks to Dad on phone)
NARRATOR: She stays in contact
with her family by phone, and more than 3000 miles away,
they glory in her growth.
Her family is living in poverty once again,
and Jasmine regularly sends them money.
MELANIE: With Jasmine's story we see very clearly that by
deporting her parents all we did was impoverish more people
and so it's actually ended up costing all of us so much more
because now we have, you know, two sets of people in
two different locations who are in poverty.
Together they could have made it but separated it requires a
Herculean effort from so many people.
NARRATOR: The church took up a collection for Jasmine to visit Guatemala,
and she's now pursuing options to bring her sister, Jennifer, back home.
In the meantime, she does a lot of praying.
JASMINE: It's really dangerous over there.
And my dad started his own little business and there's so
many people that have the same business he does, you know,
delivering things to stores. And they have been killed.
And I'm always scared that I am gonna get a call
just saying your family, some family member is dead.
(talking with mom on phone)
NARRATOR: While Jasmine has regained stability, her story has many
in this faith community concerned about the bigger picture.
NANCY: What I hope the faith communities do is raise
awareness that is positive and hopeful and allows families to
stay together and people to improve their circumstances.
MARGIE: It's not fair to see families broken apart.
There must be some very humane, good answer to this problem.
PETER: I think the faith community and, as a Methodist,
of course we're followers of John Wesley.
John Wesley reminded us at the very outset of Methodism,
'the world is our parish.'
And it is not just Ypsilanti. It is not just Michigan.
It is not just the United States.
This is a worldwide problem of shifting populations
around the world. We can bring a measure of hope
and we can bring a measure of a great turnaround.
NARRATOR: In the meantime,
Jasmine is determined to achieve the American dream
that so abruptly slipped through her family's fingers.
And, she knows she won't have to do it alone...
JASMINE: I want families who are in my situation
or have been in my situation, to understand that it is hard
but you will always have God by your side.
♪ music ♪