ICE deported my husband. Our everything is gone, and we are unraveling.
This is not just an immigration issue. This is an issue of basic humanity. It is the brutal unraveling of a family.
Daniel
Flores-Martinez and Kenia Guerrero, a US citizen, have three children,
including a 12-year-old daughter with multiple disabilities.Kenia Guerrero
Kenia Guerrero is co-owner of a painting business in Chelsea.
On
Mother’s Day, May 11, my life fell apart. What should have been a day
to celebrate family unity culminated in family separation at the hands
of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chelsea.
That
morning, my husband, Daniel Flores-Martinez, noticed suspicious cars
parked down the street from our home, but we continued our daily
activities. We prepared ourselves to head to church. My husband helped
our three children get into the car, including our 12-year-old daughter,
who lives with multiple disabilities. A few minutes after driving away,
we saw flashing lights behind us. I pulled over.
Suddenly,
the suspicious cars my husband had seen surrounded us. Masked, armed
officers swarmed our vehicle from both sides. One of them asked for my
identification, but he was clearly interested in my husband, not me. He
insisted on knowing who my husband was.
I
know my rights as a US citizen, and as the driver, I asked why they
wanted to know about a passenger. I asked who they were and why our car
had been stopped. But I received no answers. Within moments, one of the
officers raised what looked like a weapon and used it to tap the glass
of the passenger window, suddenly threatening to break it. I begged them
not to use violence because my children were in the back seat.
Without any regard for our safety, they smashed the passenger-side window.
Glass
shards flew into the car, even into the back seat, where our children
were sitting. They screamed. We were all terrified. Within seconds, ICE
officers physically reached inside the vehicle through the shattered
window and unlocked the front passenger door. Then the officers opened
the door and unbuckled Daniel’s seat belt. They forcefully yanked him
out of the car. They slammed him face down onto the sidewalk, their
knees pressed into his back, even though he never resisted. A bystander
captured it all on video.
I
ran out to see what was happening, but an officer restrained me. I
pleaded with her, saying, “Aren’t you a mother?” But the officers did
not stop. My children sobbed as the officers arrested Daniel, taking him
away. No one ever told us who they were. No one showed a warrant. And
just like that, Daniel was gone.
Now he has been deported. And we are left behind.
Daniel, an undocumented immigrant, was deported to Matamoros, Mexico — even though he has no ties there.
Daniel
is a loving father and a devoted husband, and he helps run our small
family painting business. He is the backbone of our home, community, and
church. His sudden and violent removal has left our family in crisis —
medically, emotionally, and economically.
Our
daughter is disabled. She lives with epilepsy, hydrocephalus, and
cerebral palsy. These conditions require constant medical care and
hands-on support. She cannot dress or bathe without assistance. Daniel
provided all this care unassumingly, with love and diligence, every
single day.
Since
he was taken, our daughter’s condition has worsened. Her mental health
has deteriorated. She lacks motivation to attend school and has a hard
time focusing in class. How can anyone blame her? Her father is gone.
I
am doing my best, but I am now the sole caregiver to our children — our
daughter and two sons, ages 14 and 3— and I am struggling.
Daniel’s deportation has devastated us. Lawyers for Civil Rights is providing us with free legal support, and La Colaborativa is helping us with vital community support during this crisis.
Our
youngest son refuses to ride in the car, haunted by the memory of what
happened. Our teenager has withdrawn from school and friends. We’ve lost
our only source of income: The painting business Daniel and I built
together. I cannot sleep. I cannot afford to keep up with our daughter’s
care. I am holding everything together by a thread. Why would the
government separate our family?
Because
Daniel was undocumented, he was detained at the Wyatt Detention
Facility in Central Falls, R.I. We begged ICE to let us have one year to
transition our daughter’s complex medical care from Boston Medical
Center to cerebral palsy specialists in Mexico. Daniel committed to
self-deportation at the end of that period. He asked only to stay long
enough to ensure that our daughter’s care would not be interrupted in
ways that could trigger further harm to her health, including seizures.
At
every turn, we were ignored. No one listened to our plea, despite
extensive medical evidence. No one considered the trauma to our
children. No one thought about the danger to a disabled child who now
must be medically relocated to Mexico as our family plans to reunite
with Daniel.
Daniel
posed no threat. He was not a flight risk. He had lived peacefully in
our community for years. He was our provider. Our caregiver. Our
everything.
Now he is gone. And we are unraveling.
This
is not just an immigration issue. This is an issue of basic humanity.
It is the brutal unraveling of a family. It is the abandonment of a
disabled child. It is the erasure of the care, love, and labor that
immigrant fathers like Daniel give every day — unseen, unrecognized,
and, now, violently taken.
We are still here. We are still trying to survive.
Please remember Daniel Flores-Martinez’s name. And please remember what the federal government has done to our family.
My neighbor has no side mirrors or license plate on his vehicle. And he drives it on the highway 20 miles to work each day. I worry about him. He's a sweet kid with a lovely young family.
"I've had so many rainbows in my clouds." "be a rainbow in somebody else's cloud," Maya Angelou The quote "I've had so many rainbows in my clouds. I had a lot of clouds, but I have had so many rainbows" comes from Dr. Maya Angelou . This quote reflects her understanding and appreciation for the kindness and support received throughout her life, even during challenging times. The "clouds" symbolize difficulties and hardships, while the "rainbows" represent the people who brought her hope, help, and kindness. Dr. Angelou shared this quote during an interview on Oprah's Master Class. It was inspired by a 19th-century African-American song that says, "When it looked like the sun wasn't going to shine anymore, God put a rainbow in the clouds". The quote highlights the importance of recognizing and appreciating the positive influences and support systems in our lives. It also encourages people to "prepare yourself so that you can be a rainbow in somebody else's cloud," meaning to be a source of help and encouragement for others, regardless of their background or beliefs.
“WIRED PUBLISHED A shocking investigation this week based on records, including audio recordings, of hundreds of emergency calls from United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers. The calls—which include reports of incidents of staff sexual assaults, suicide attempts, and head injuries—indicate a system inundated by life-threatening incidents, delayed treatment, and overcrowding.”
I woke up at 1 AM. 2x a year I have a few nights where I do not sleep. This is one of them. I went to my studio and looked at the magnificent paintings of Julian Hatton. At about 4:20 the birds started waking up.
I get up in the morning and take the helm of the thousand-foot ore boat that is my life, guiding it oh-so-carefully through the canal, doing as little damage as possible, heading out slowly, slowly--but not slowly enough!--toward the great ocean.
For the artist all criticism is devastating, and no praise is sufficient. One might remind oneself that criticism comes from paid detractors, these, of necessity, talentless and otherwise unemployable. But our umbrage at criticism of our dog is not lessened by the critic’s profession as a breeder.
[Verse 1] I got to bet that your old man Became fascinated with his own plan Turned you loose, your mama too There wasn't a thing that you could do Oh-oh-oh-oh But I got faith in you It's a razor love that cuts clean through Oh-oh-oh-oh I got faith in you It's a razor love that cuts clean through Oh-oh-oh-oh You really made my day With the little things you say
[Chorus] Looking through the window at a silhouette Trying to find something I can't find yet Imagination is my best friend Got to look out for the greedy hand, greedy hand Make a living like a rolling stone On the road, there's no place like home Silhouettes on the window
[Chorus] I'm looking through the window at a silhouette Trying to find something I can't find yet Imagination is my best friend Got to look out for the greedy hand, greedy hand Make a living like a rolling stone On the road, there's no place like home Silhouettes on the window
[Outro] You really made my day With the little things you say
---------- neil young----------
I've been to Hollywood I've been to Redwood I crossed the ocean For a heart of gold I've been in my mind It's such a fine line That keeps me searching For a heart of gold And I'm getting old Keeps me searching For a heart of gold And I'm getting old
PROVIDENCE,
R.I. (WLNE) — A bill outlawing the declawing of cats in the Ocean State
passed into law on Thursday after it was approved by lawmakers on June
18.
Though the bill was not signed by Gov. Dan McKee, it will still take effect on Sept. 1.
The new law makes it illegal for any person to perform a declawing,
also known as an onychectomy, which amputates the final done in each of
an animal’s toes.
According to bill sponsors Melissa Murray (D-Woonsocket) and William
O’Brien (D-North Providence), research shows the procedure has been
shown to increase the risks for biting and aggression among house cats,
and can also cause infection, nerve damage and back pain.
Any violators will face the revocation or suspension of their veterinary license.
The only exception to the law will be if the procedure is determined
to be medically necessary to address any illness, infection, injury,
disease or condition.
Rhode Island joins Washington, D.C. and four other states in enacting the ban.
Well, I don't know why I came here tonight I've got the feeling that something ain't right I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs
Clowns to the left of me Jokers to the right Here I am, stuck in the middle with you
Yes, I'm stuck in the middle with you And I'm wondering what it is I should do It's so hard to keep this smile from my face Losing control, yeah, I'm all over the place
Clowns to the left of me Jokers to the right Here I am, stuck in the middle with you
When you started off with nothing And you're proud that you're a self-made man And your friends, they all come crawling Slap you on the back and say "Please, please"
Trying to make some sense of it all But I can see, it makes no sense at all Is it cool to go to sleep on the floor? 'Cause I don't think that I can take anymore
Clowns to the left of me Jokers to the right Here I am, stuck in the middle with you
When you started off with nothing And you're proud that you're a self-made man And your friends, they all come crawling Slap you on the back and say "Please, please"
Well, I don't know why I came here tonight I've got the feeling that something ain't right I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs
Clowns to the left of me Jokers to the right Here I am, stuck in the middle with you
Yes, I'm stuck in the middle with you Stuck in the middle with you Here I am, stuck in the middle with you
Raynaud's (ray-NOSE) disease causes some
areas of the body — such as fingers and toes — to feel numb and cold in
response to cold temperatures or stress. In Raynaud's disease, smaller
blood vessels that supply blood to the skin narrow. This limits blood
flow to affected areas, which is called vasospasm.
Other names for this condition are:
Raynaud's phenomenon.
Raynaud syndrome.
Women are more likely than men to have Raynaud's disease. It seems to be more common in people who live in colder climates.
Treatment of Raynaud's disease depends on how bad it is and whether
you have other health conditions. For most people, Raynaud's disease
isn't disabling, but it can affect your quality of life.
Areas of skin that turn white then blue. Depending on your skin color, these color changes may be harder or easier to see.
Numb, prickly feeling or stinging pain upon warming or easing of stress.
During an attack of Raynaud's, affected areas of the skin usually
first turn pale. Next, they often change color and feel cold and numb.
When the skin warms and blood flow improves, the affected areas may
change color again, throb, tingle or swell.
Raynaud's most commonly affects fingers and toes. But it also can
affect other areas of the body, such as nose, lips, ears and even
nipples. After warming up, the return of blood flow to the area can take
15 minutes.
I’m a writer and editor, and for nearly a decade, worked as the lieutenant to the late Anthony Bourdain. I’ve written for the New York Times, Vogue, GQ, Food & Wine, Lucky Peach (RIP), Saveur, Dissent, Roads & Kingdoms, and more.
I’ve been a private cook, nanny, caterer, writer, busgirl, recipe tester, farm hand, public speaker, video store clerk, and an editor at Art Culinaire and Wine Spectator. In 2016, HarperCollins published Appetites: A Cookbook, which I co-authored with Anthony Bourdain; our second collaboration, World Travel: An Irreverent Guide, published in April 2021. Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography, will publish in October 2021.
I co-host a food-focused podcast, Carbface for Radio, with Chris Thornton. I live and work in New York City.
People like ourselves may see nothing wondrous in writing, but our anthropologists know how strange and magical it appears to a purely oral people—a conversation with no one and yet with everyone. What could be stranger than the silence one encounters when addressing a question to a text? What could be more metaphysically puzzling than addressing an unseen audience, as every writer of books must do? And correcting oneself because one knows that an unknown reader will disapprove or misunderstand?
Cool means being able to hang with yourself. All you have to ask
yourself is 'Is there anybody I’m afraid of? Is there anybody who if I
walked into a room and saw, I’d get nervous?' If not, then you're cool.
―
Prince
One smoot is equal to Oliver Smoot's height at the time of the pledge,
5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m). The bridge's length was measured to be 364.4
smoots (2,035 ft; 620.1 m) "± 1 εar" with the "±" showing measurement uncertainty and spelled with an epsilon to further indicate possible error in the measurement.[2][3]
Over the years the "±" portion and "ε" spelling have been left out in
many citations, including some markings at the site itself, but the "±"
is recorded on a 50th-anniversary plaque at the end of the bridge.[4]
“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable
one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all
progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
―
George Bernard Shaw,
Man and Superman
“You see things; you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?”
―
George Bernard Shaw,
Back to Methuselah
“If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“Animals are my friends...and I don't eat my friends.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it.”
―
George Bernard Shaw,
Man and Superman
“Youth is wasted on the young.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.”
―
George Bernard Shaw,
Immaturity
“Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I
don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are
the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if
they can't find them, make them.”
―
George Bernard Shaw,
Mrs. Warren's Profession
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most
insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are
required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and
exhausting condition continuously until death do them part.”
―
George Bernard Shaw,
Getting Married
“The liar's punishment is, not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else.”
―
George Bernard Shaw,
The Quintessence of Ibsenism
“Why should we take advice on sex from the pope? If he knows anything about it, he shouldn't!”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in
this manner: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean
and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all
the time. When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and
replied, The one I feed the most.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend ... if you have one." — George Bernard Shaw, playwright (to Winston Churchill)
"Cannot possibly attend first night; will attend second, if there is one." — Churchill's response”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“Patriotism is, fundamentally, a conviction that a particular
country is the best in the world because you were born in it....”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.”
―
George Bernard Shaw,
Major Barbara
“You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.”
―
George Bernard Shaw,
Back to Methuselah
“This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized
by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a
feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining
that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the
opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I
live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. I want to be
thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I
rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a
sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I
want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to
future generations.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“A pessimist is a man who thinks everybody is as nasty as himself, and hates them for it.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“My way of joking is to tell the truth. It's the funniest joke in the world.”
―
George Bernard Shaw,
John Bull's Other Island
“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these
apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an
idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us
will have two ideas.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
“After all, the wrong road always leads somewhere.”
―
George Bernard Shaw
Etymology Coined by Stephen Gosson in 1579 in the book The Ephemerides of Phialo: Deuided Into Three Bookes p62v Verb make a silk purse of a sow's ear (third-person singular simple present makes a silk purse of a sow's ear, present participle making a silk purse of a sow's ear, simple past and past participle made a silk purse of a sow's ear)
(idiomatic) To produce something refined, admirable, or valuable from something which is unrefined, unpleasant, or of little or no value. 1884, Charlotte M. Yonge, chapter 22, in The Armourer's Prentices: "He always was an unmannerly cub," said Master Headley, as he read the letter. "Well, I've done my best to make a silk purse of a sow's ear!" 1997 May 23, Joanna Biddolph, “Mandelson has become PR’s new role model”, in PRWeek, UK, retrieved 16 Dec. 2009: PR people can make a silk purse of a sow's ear. 2001 January 6, Penny Jackson, “House & Home: On your marks. Get set. Sell!”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 16 Dec. 2009: A smart development can make a silk purse of a sow's ear, and the effect on older properties can be quite dramatic.
Usage notes Often expressed in the proverbial form: you can't make a silk purse of a sow's ear. Translations to produce something refined, from something which is unrefined Chinese: Mandarin: 化腐朽為神奇 / 化腐朽为神奇 (huà fǔxiǔ wéi shénqí) Finnish: tehdä jotain hyödyllistä (+ elative) German: aus Scheiße Geld machen (de) (profane) Italian: cavare sangue da una rapa, cavar sangue da una rapa Russian: сде́лать из дерьма́ конфе́тку pf (sdélatʹ iz derʹmá konfétku) See also put lipstick on a pig polish a turd
I took my troubles down to Madame Ruth You know that gypsy with the gold-capped tooth She's got a pad down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine Sellin' little bottles of Love Potion Number Nine
I told her that I was a flop with chics I've been this way since 1956 She looked at my palm and she made a magic sign She said "What you need is Love Potion Number Nine" She bent down and turned around and gave me a wink She said "I'm gonna make it up right here in the sink" It smelled like turpentine, it looked like Indian ink I held my nose, I closed my eyes, I took a drink
I didn't know if it was day or night I started kissin' everything in sight But when I kissed a cop down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine He broke my little bottle of Love Potion Number Nine
I held my nose, I closed my eyes, I took a drink I didn't know if it was day or night I started kissin' everything in sight But when I kissed a cop down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine He broke my little bottle of Love Potion Number Nine Love Potion Number Nine Love Potion Number Nine Love Potion Number Nine
Writing is selection. Just to start a piece of writing you have to choose one word and only one from more than a million in the language. Now keep going. What is your next word? Your next sentence, paragraph, section, chapter? Your next ball of fact. You select what goes in and you decide what stays out. At base you have only one criterion: If something interests you, it goes in—if not, it stays out. That’s a crude way to assess things, but it’s all you’ve got.
Cecelia Lizotte
(left) with her daughter Ericka and her brother Paul Dama. Lizotte said
her two daughters have been in tears ever since their uncle was detained
by ICE on Father's Day.Cecelia Lizotte
The
owner of a popular West African restaurant in Roxbury may suspend
operations after its “beloved” manager was detained by immigration
agents last week.
Paul
Dama, who oversees operations at Suya Joint in Nubian Square, was
driving to church in Brockton on Father’s Day, when he was pulled over
and detained, according to Cecelia Lizotte, Dama’s sister and the
restaurant’s chef and owner.
“At
first, I thought it was like April Fool’s,” Lizotte said in an
interview. “It’s like, I just woke up one day and my brother is nowhere
to be found.”
Now,
Lizotte said she’s thinking about closing the restaurant, at least
temporarily, while she deals with her brother’s immigration case.
“I‘m
running back and forth, trying to get the information that the
[immigration] attorneys need, and then my establishment also needs me,”
she said. “So I’m on the verge of either feeling defeated on a daily
basis or just breaking down. ... It’s a lot for one person to navigate.“
Dama,
46, is being held in Dover, N.H., according to a public ICE database.
Lizotte said a bond hearing scheduled for July 3 will determine whether
he can walk free. His lawyer could not be reached for comment.
A fundraiser launched for Dama’s legal fees had raised nearly $20,000 as of Thursday afternoon.
“This
sudden and painful event has shaken our family to the core, and we are
currently navigating both emotional and legal challenges surrounding his
detention,” the post reads. “Because of this, we are taking time to
reflect and reassess what comes next for Suya Joint.”
“While
we are not closing at this time, we are seriously considering what’s
best for our team, our mission, and our family,” it continued.
Chef Cecelia Lizotte opened her second Suya Joint location in downtown Providence, focusing on Nigerian spices, stews, and fufu.Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff
Dama
immigrated to the United States from Nigeria in 2019 to join his sister
and her family. He has an ongoing asylum case and has authorization to
work legally in the country, his sister said.
Aside from working as a manager, Dama also helps out in the kitchen.
“He’s
a jack of all trades,” Lizotte said. “When Paul walks in to the
establishment, if a printer is broken, he fixes it. ‘Oh, the sink is not
going down.’ He finds a way to fix it.”
Dama
is also trained as a social worker. Alongside his duties at the
restaurant, he most recently worked at a care home, attending to five
elderly men with developmental disabilities.
“He’s
kind, intelligent, hard working, one of our best employees,” said Cathy
Conrade, a social worker who worked with Dama until earlier this year.
“I’ve been around so long, I’ve met lots of wonderful people, but he
really stands out as one of the one of the best.”
Conrade
said Dama and many immigrants like him come from highly qualified
professional backgrounds, but settle for work in the US that is seen as
menial and unglamorous.
Chef Cecelia Lizotte opened her second Suya Joint location in downtown Providence. The original Suya Joint is in Nubian Square.Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff
“They’ll
take roles that, quite frankly, in our country, are devalued,” she
said. “Dealing with human beings has not become an elevated position
yet. So they will take work that other people won’t do, and do it well,
and do three jobs all at the same time.”
Agnes
Hodge, of Dorchester, described Dama as her adopted son. Hodge, 84,
said in a phone interview she knew him from their time living in
Nigeria. Dama acted as a caregiver for her in the US, helping Hodge buy
groceries and other items — until he was abruptly detained.
Since then, she hasn’t been eating or sleeping — partly out of concern, and partly out of necessity, she said.
“Nobody else has come by,” Hodge said. “My life is on hold.”
Lizotte said the news of her brother’s detention was “really devastating” for the rest of the close-knit family.
“My
daughter works at Shaw’s, and it’s almost like each time she has a five
minute break, she’d call me in tears,” she said. “And I have to find a
way to just be like, ‘Please be strong. I know you’re at work. I’m so
sorry that I gave this type of news to you. But wipe your tears and pray
and be hopeful.’”
Lizotte
said her brother is scared because of the conditions, adding that
several migrants in the same facility have been held there for months.
Dama
faced two separate charges of operating under the influence last year,
according to court records. On both instances, he was allegedly found
asleep in his car, which was stopped on a public road with the engine
running.
The
charges were disposed after Dama paid $1,200 in fines, had his license
temporarily suspended, and was placed on year-long probation through
December 2025, per court records.
Despite his legal issues, several friends and family members submitted letters to support his immigration case.
Jeffrey Lizotte, Cecelia’s husband, said in a letter thatDama
had been kidnapped and held for ransom in Nigeria before coming to the
US. He added that his brother-in-law is college-educated, a practicing
Catholic, and a fluent English speaker, whose moral character is “beyond
reproach.” Dama’s misdemeanor offenses, he added, do ”not merit
detainment and deportation, in my view.”
“I
fully understand the need to keep our borders secure from those who
wish to harm our people or destroy our culture,” he wrote. “But I can
tell you in all sincerity that is not who Paul is. He is a good person
who always puts the needs of others first. He does not deserve to be
going through this harrowing experience.”
Massachusetts
State Senator Liz Miranda, a Boston Democrat who represents Roxbury,
also wrote a letter of support for Dama, as did Rhode Island State
Representative David Morales, who described Dama as an “exemplary
individual” who has “built a life for himself and his family.”
“Even
with all the challenges he’s had to face, he’s continued being a
positive member of our community,” Morales wrote. “Paul poses no threat
to our community, and I’m concerned that he is currently detained at a
detention facility in New Hampshire as if he does.”
Jeremiah Manion of the Globe Staff contributed reporting.