photo by rodrigo reyes Father Steve Pawelk stops to pray with a parishioner who lost a family member to deportation after an immigration raid in Bean Station, Tenn. The raid's aftermath is the subject of a Netflix documentary.
After the Raid
Documentary on immigration enforcement shows Glenmary’s love of neighbor put into action. story by john stegeman
There’s no getting around it. Immigration is a difficult issue. Whether one believes in welcoming the stranger or prefers building walls, the lives of real people are at stake. While some of those people live near the Mexican border, many live in the heart of Mission Land, USA. In April of 2018 in Bean Station, Tenn., not far from Glenmary’s St. John Paul II mission, a major raid at a meat processing plant rounded up nearly 100 workers. The raid made national news and took breadwinners away from their families. It struck fear into the heart of a local community, where many of the residents had lived for years. With nowhere to turn, people gathered at the Glenmary mission.
The raid, and the mission church’s role in caring for the community in the aftermath, is the focus of “After the Raid,” a Netflix Original documentary by director Rodrigo Reyes. “At the end of the day, for me, the story of the community always came together with the church,” Reyes said. “People really felt safe there.” The documentary was released on Netflix Dec. 19 and is 25 minutes long. It covers the emotional fallout of the raid, and shows the church as a real center for community and healing. Glenmary Father Steve Pawelk, then-pastor of St. John Paul II, is featured heavily in the film. He said Spring 2020
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