Photos and stories from a trip to El Paso, meeting with people committed to immigration reform that protects and supports border communities.
Hey all! It’s Hannah chiming in from El Paso, TX. Headed to University of Texas-El Paso to meet our advocacy corps member Brenda Luna for a radio interview about her work and the need for immigration reform in 2017!
Hannah here again - had a great time talking with Louie and Brenda Luna at KTEP radio this morning about how constituent lobbying can make a difference for bipartisan immigration reform in 2017. #FCNLontheRoad
Each of our 18 Advocacy Corps organizers are doing great work building relationships with their members of Congress on immigration reform. The radio interview will air October 21, stay tuned!
Crossing over the bridge from El Paso to Ciudad Juarez is easy enough mid-afternoon on a Monday. Mexico doesn’t ask for identification to cross, and our group walked over to avoid traffic. The traffic is fine going into Juarez, but already backed up getting back into El Paso. - HGE #FCNLontheRoad
The traffic backed up for miles for people traveling back to Juarez after work during rush hour. - HGE #FCNLontheRoad
At Casa del Migrante this quote from a Dominican priest greets everyone as they walk in, “I don’t want to study dead skins when people are starving.” At the time theology and scriptures were written on animal hides, so in other words, this is the 12th century version of being called to put faith into action. Our borderlands immigration reform strategizing today will seek to do the same! - HGE #FCNLontheRoad
Read more about Casa del Migrante which is a project of Caritas International.
Taken last night from the scenic overlook with General Committee members Connie Crawford and John Russell- can you tell where El Paso ends and Juarez begins? - HGE #FCNLontheRoad
This morning we visited the Annunciation House which started in the 1980s to help shelter migrants. They had at least 3500 Central Americans pass through the summer of 2014 and numbers are at an all time high again this summer. (1/2) - HGE #FCNLontheRoad
So many people are in need of temporary shelter that the chapel has extra cots at Annunciation House and the Columban Mission Center down the road - usually for visiting groups - has been housing families as well as they figure out their next steps. The support network in El Paso is strong, with volunteers ready to donate clothing, drive people to the airport/bus station, and provide food. Most of the children we met at the Columban Center this morning were under 5. - HGE (2/2) #FCNLontheRoad
As we walked to the Columban Mission Center we passed the El Paso Detention Center in the middle of town. There are immigrants detained there for crossing the border to reunite with their families, like Rosa who tried multiple times to legally reunite with her 11 year old daughter having surgery in the US. She was turned down, and in her desperation ended up getting charged with improper re-entry, a sentence that could mean 20 years in prison. -HGE #FCNLontheRoad
We heard from Pastor Roberto Reed that Rosa was pardoned and deported to Juarez at midnight. When he heard, Paster Rob drove 2 hrs to be able to accompany Rosa in Juarez and help her find a safe place to stay. To get pardoned is very rare, yet her family remains in the US while her daughter receives treatment. Rosa hasn’t seen her daughter in 2 yrs. This and so many other cases like it is why we need to holistically reform our immigration system. -HGE #FCNLontheRoad
Bye, El Paso! Keep supporting each other and our neighbors from Mexico, Central America, and beyond. Thanks @hopeborderinstitute for hosting our gathering. Together we will keep working towards compassionate immigration and border polices. -HGE #FCNLontheRoad #LoveThyNeighbor
The Hope Border Institute hosted our gathering in El Paso and Ciudad Juarez to show how flourishing the bi-national region is. Still, policies are devastating communities, families and congregations in border regions and some congressional proposals would further militarize their communities.
Together, we can work towards an immigration system that celebrates and protects border residents, migrants, and Americans alike. You can influence the conversation! Write a letter to the editor today urging your members of congress to work on compassionate immigration reform that respects border communities.
