FRIDAY NIGHT IS GRACE’S NIGHT

Friday night is often Grace’s night; that is Grace from China Wok, our favorite Chinese takeout place.  We like eating Grace’s food: it’s tasty, it’s reasonably priced, and we have a spiritual connection with Grace that has grown to be almost a daily reminder of how our immigration system treats people, and how resilient are people who want a better life.

I did Grace’s wedding with Jackie a couple of years ago.  It was on Good Friday, the only Good Friday wedding I have done.  It was in the immigration prison in Bloomington, MN; unfortunately it may not be the only funeral I will ever do in a prison.  They are both immigrants from China—Grace is a permanent resident, Jackie thought his asylum petition was proceeding well, when he was stopped for a traffic violation.

Turned out, his petition was not proceeding smoothly. His lawyer—who has since been disbarred—took his money, and failed to notify Jackie of a hearing.  Jackie didn’t appear at that hearing, and so a warrant was issued for his arrest. The warrant that was waiting for him when he was stopped.

Jackie and Grace were planning their wedding when he was arrested, and were hoping that he would be out in time.  But as they already had the wedding license application, and it was one day before it would expire, they asked me to do the wedding. In jail. On Good Friday.

Grace and Jackie have a daughter named Abigail, who was a few months old when the wedding took place.  After going through security and waiting (it must be against the law to not have a time of waiting for any dealing with immigration), we were brought into a small courtroom.  There was an elevated judge’s seat, with a judge’s robe hanging from the wall behind it, next to the American flag.  There was a place for witnesses to stand.  There were empty seats all around.

Jackie came in, with six guards, his hands and feet cuffed.  They did not take off the cuffs for the wedding, and you cannot hug anyone or hold a baby with handcuffs on.  Minnesota requires two witnesses for a marriage—one was Jackie’s sister, another was the interpreter.  Plus six guards guarding this dangerous prisoner.

Grace did her vows in English.  Jackie did his in his Chinese dialect, with his interpreter translating them into English. I blessed the couple and then told Jackie “You may kiss the bride.”  The interpreter translated, and Jackie said something that I could imagine meant “What?!”  The interpreter spoke again, longer this time, and Jackie, after hesitating, gently kissed his wife on the cheek.  Their honeymoon was a 45-minute visit on the prison phone system, Plexiglas between them.  See. Hear. But no Touch.

There’s more to the story—Jackie was eventually deported, and Abigail is now living with him in China, while Grace applies to become a citizen, with the hope of bringing her husband and baby back. 

Grace and Jackie own China Wok, and like many immigrant entrepreneurs, they have worked long, long hours.  When Abigail was a baby, and both of her parents were working at the restaurant, Jackie built a little box for Abigail to stay in, tucked under the counter between the seating area and the kitchen.  It was home, it was comfort, and I imagine that even after her father was deported, Abigail still knew his presence in that place.    This is the last stanza of my poem “Abigail Lives in a Box”:

Abigail is not angry that she lives

under the counter, in a box.

Months go by, onions are chopped,

petitions fail, lips spill soup

on the small tables.  Abby can still

smell her father’s hands laying carpet

in her little cell, tacking soft fabric

to the walls, sinking each wayward nail. 

There is comfort in a job well done.

There is family like sweat and wind.

You can read the whole poem at my MnArtist page:  http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=184665

We have an opportunity to change the immigration system, now that Republicans are waking up to the reality of Hispanic voters.  Even Norm Coleman, who toed the harsh line when he last ran for Senate has come around to a more “enlightened” position, which would recognize that our economy and our country depends on immigrant labor, and that it doesn’t make sense to leave 11 million people in the shadows.  See his opinion piece at: http://www.twincities.com/opinion/ci_22004271/norm-coleman-immigration-reform-time-path-citizenship

We need to hold our elected officials feet to the fire, whether Democrat or Republican.  Here’s one site that can help with that: http://www.facebook.com/faithandimmigration

 Grace will be at her stove today at China Wok: 2800, 27^th Ave S.  I recommend the fried tofu dish, as does my wife Luisa. Natasha is partial to General Tso’s chicken, and Talia likes the cream cheese wontons.  But really, you can’t go wrong with Grace!

Be Justice.  Be Beauty.

Patrick