Guillermo Torres - What Moves the Divine

“You are capable,” and then, a few moments later, “Be well”.  

The words offered so sincerely, they shook me a little with their kindness. Then again, I’ve never known the speaker of these words to be anything but that.  

Guillermo Torres, a faith-rooted organizer from Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), spoke these over me at the end of one of our weekly check-ins. I’ve gotten the chance to work with CLUE in the last few months, and as such have had Guillermo as my mentor regarding an immigrant rights campaign. Ever willing to put in the work, everyone that I’ve met that knows Guillermo has spoken of his commitment to the people around him. With his guidance, I’ve gotten to learn more about what it looks like to work alongside immigrants in a culture that consistently works against them. We hopped on a call recently to discuss this work.  

How did you find yourself doing organizing work? 

Well, I had a painful experience in 2007 when losing someone very close to me. It brought me to a state of mind I’d never felt- that connection to the divine in a very painful moment. I was feeling peace and comfort- a connection to people, listening to people in a way I never had before. My soul, my heart- if I came across people suffering disease or mistreatment, I felt the connection with the divine and others. I felt the humanity of God, the compassion of God. 

In the Pentecostal tradition I learned to pray out loud and very loosely. It was about “saving souls, this is the only way”. But I realized I was praying over people, and not with people. After that experience, instead of claiming the power of God, I claimed the suffering of that human being. I saw that it was not about the power of God, but the humanity and compassion of God. That the suffering of folks is what moves the divine, and that is what actually moved me to justice.  

… it was not about the power of God, but the humanity and compassion of God.

The work I’m doing with Guillermo now is specifically focused on seeking justice for migrants who were detained in the Adelanto ICE Detention Center at the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic. During this period, the chemical HDQ Neutral was sprayed throughout the facility every 15-30 minutes. Not only was the chemical being improperly handled, but it was also being sprayed while people slept, and while they ate, which caused long term illness for many of the detainees.  

How did you react when you heard about HDQ Neutral’s damaging effects? 

It was horrific, but even before hearing about the chemicals, we had started a program about Adelanto. I was involved with a pastor in there who told me about the horrible conditions inside. He had lung problems, and they would barely give him Tylenol, to the point where he almost got pneumonia.  

We also heard about some asylum seekers who were given rotten food with worms, so they went on a hunger strike. Because of this, some had been assaulted, sometimes even pepper sprayed. 

When we heard about all this, we started a campaign to get him and the asylum seekers out. At one point, we were getting calls every week from those in detention, so we made a visitation program in the Trump administration so we could be in that space of suffering, making sure the people knew they were not by themselves. We trained more than 300 people for visits. We also created a bond fund, and launched a civil rights lawsuit against GEO group, asking congregations to sponsor some of the asylum seekers, and we got them all out! 

With HDQ, at the risk of mistreatment and retaliation, we also had an organizer within Adelanto start to inform us about the conditions inside.  

Like Guillermo mentioned, this work has been ongoing since before this most recent crisis. CLUE and a host of other immigrant serving organizations banded together in 2019 to create the Shut Down Adelanto Coalition (SDA). As a collective, SDA is partnering with the Social Justice Legal Foundation as they pursue a class action lawsuit against GEO Group, who runs the Adelanto Detention Center, for its horrific treatment of immigrants. 

Photo from Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, at SDA’s most recent press event.

Still, the cruel practices occurring inside the facility have left many with long term adverse health issues. Those who suffered under the misuse of HDQ Neutral consistently suffer respiratory issues, nose and throat bleeds, difficulty with their eyesight, and more. The work is far from done. As such, I asked Guillermo the following. 

When things are feeling out of control, what brings you hope in this field? 

You can’t forget to be grounded. Remember the greater goal. It’s not about an organization or coalition, it's about those directly affected, their goals, their dignity. You have to ask “Who is it that we’re doing this for? 

I also have to check myself. How am I spiritually, mentally, emotionally accepting this challenge? Am I staying within my values? If I continue on outside of those values, it won't bear any fruit in our work. So staying hopeful is for me validating those challenges, and remembering why we do this. 

How can folks be involved with this work going forward? 

Contact us at CLUE. We’re a part of Shut Down Adelanto and have been doing this work from before the start of the campaign. Connect with us to learn how to continue to walk with migrants to shut down this place.  

If you’re hoping to be involved with the work CLUE is doing sooner rather than later, please feel free to join us the morning of Good Friday outside the Adelanto Detention Center. There we will be participating in a Multifaith Stations of the Cross event, offering our prayers, presence and solidarity to those still detained within. Details are included below.  

About The Author

Naomi Welikala is a fellow of Jubilee Year for the 2022-2023 program year. She was born and raised in SoCal, and has a B.A. in Spanish and Sociology. In her free time, she likes cooking, going to thrift stores, and spending time with friends.