Border Reflections Part 1: Who is coming and why?

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This last weekend I was on the Border with our congregations and ministries in El Paso and Las Cruces who are providing welcome and assistance to refugees seeking asylum. On Saturday Pastor Matt Barnhouse and I spent time at Peace Lutheran in Las Cruces before joining volunteers from Border Servant Corps in receiving a group of 48 refugees. We also made a visit to Trinity Lutheran in Las Cruces, and on Saturday evening I joined volunteers at Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey in El Paso for dinner with several refugee families. Here’s some of what I saw, heard, learned and experienced.


Who is coming and why?
Those currently seeking asylum at the border in El Paso are primarily from three Central American countries: Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Refugees from these three nations tell similar stories of chronic violence, political insecurity and a culture of extortion by gangs and drug-related cartels. Daily life is marked by fear and uncertainty combined with a lack of access to basic needs. Most of those arriving at this time are families, including at least one parent and child.

While at dinner at Cristo Rey on Saturday evening, I listened as two families bravely shared their stories of constant harassment and extortion that made life in their home countries of Honduras and Guatemala exceedingly dangerous and made any hope of stability for their families impossible. They shared elements of the difficult and costly journey, including the challenge of their time in detention after finally arriving in the United States. They were deeply grateful for the welcome, the care and the simple human dignity offered to them once they arrived at Cristo Rey.

Are those coming refugees or asylum seekers?
The answer is a bit of both. While the United Nations has classified those fleeing these Central American nations as refugees, it is more typical to hear those arriving at our southern border described as asylum seekers. US Homeland Security recognizes refugees and asylees in the same category: A refugee is a person outside his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of nationality because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. An asylee is a person who meets the definition of refugee and is already present in the United States or is seeking admission at a port of entry. (https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/refugees-asylees) From a practical perspective, those currently arriving in the US can be understood as refugees seeking asylum, but whose claims for asylum status have yet to be evaluated and determined.

What happens when refugees arrive to seek asylum?

After making the journey from Central America through Mexico, refugees arrive at the US border and either wait for a chance to make an asylum claim at a port of entry or cross the border without authorization and make their claim when apprehended by Border Patrol. Border Patrol is responsible for the initial contact with refugees in their role of patrolling US borders. Asylum seekers are then released into the custody of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) who process the applicant and conduct an initial interview.


 Those seeking asylum in the United States must undergo a hearing to determine the merits of their claim. As they await this hearing, they are either detained or are released to the care of a sponsor, often a family member, who resides in the US and agrees to provide housing and basic needs. Those released to a sponsor are tracked through an ankle bracelet. Transportation to the sponsor is the responsibility of the refugee and sponsor themselves.

Reception Centers

Cristo Rey, El Paso
Refugees being released by ICE are given to the care of reception centers run by churches or non-profits, who welcome the individuals or families, provide initial care and help coordinate their transportation to the sponsor.

Hotel Reception Cite
Reception centers have been established across El Paso and Las Cruces. Annunciation House in El Paso serves as a major coordinator for many of these centers, assigning refugees to each site based on their capacity. Due to a lack of churches and other facilities, Annunciation House rents space in hotels to serve as additional sites, relying on volunteer groups to run the hotel reception centers.

Recently, reception centers have been established in Albuquerque to help ease the demands on El Paso and Las Cruces. Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains will be coordinating one of the Albuquerque sites. ICE provides transportation to most of these centers. It is worth noting that refugees are given no food or water for the journey, and that the buses used for transportation have no bathroom facilities.

Our ELCA congregations and ministries involved in this ministry of hospitality include:

Pastor Jared Carson (Peace Las Cruces)
Kari Lenander (Border Servant Corps)
·      Cristo Rey in El Paso – hosts groups weekly
·      Peace Lutheran in Las Cruces – hosts groups three out of four weeks a month
·      Border Servant Corps in Las Cruces – supports the work of Peace and also runs a hotel reception center in Las Cruces every weekend
·      Trinity Lutheran in Las Cruces – hosts groups monthly
·      Peace Lutheran in El Paso – provides food and logistical support for Cristo Rey and assists with other hotel reception centers in El Paso

·      Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains – hosts groups weekly in Albuquerque


Read Part 2: The Story of one Reception Site

 Read Part 3: Church Better Together

Comments

Jack Damien said…
Plain spoken, straight-forward, and thorough on a very complicated matter of human dignity and life. Thanks Bishop.
9:19 PM
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