Border Reflections Part 2: One Reception Center – the Story of a Logistical Symphony

Reception Centers are places of welcome and assistance where refugees arrive after being released from ICE custody. Run by churches and non-profit organizations, these centers may be located in a church facility or may be organized at a local hotel. Each center is responsible for its own funding, volunteers and operation; Annunciation House provides overall coordination for the distribution of the refugees to the various centers and funds the hotel centers in El Paso and Las Cruces. The main purpose of the Reception Centers is two-fold: to provide a safe and welcoming environment for refugees who have endured weeks of difficult and often traumatic travel as well as a stressful process of entering the US; and to help facilitate the transportation of refugee families to their sponsors.

Pastor Matt and I spent the better part of Saturday with volunteers at Border Servant Corps in Las Cruces to receive 48 people at an area hotel. A description of the day gives you some sense of the logistical symphony required every time families are welcomed.

 We began the day at Peace Lutheran Church making sack lunches to provide to the families. All materials needed for the hotel Reception Center were then transported across town, where the setup began. Rooms on the hotel’s main floor were prepared for 1) health screening, 2) clothing distribution, and 3) travel arrangements. On the second floor where families would stay, boxes were lined up to distribute 1) basic toiletries, 2) a blanket, 3) a stuffed animal for children, 4) water bottles, 5) lunch and a container of milk. Before families departed, they would be given a backpack with food and basic supplies for their journey to the sponsor’s home.

The families arrived by bus around noon with nothing other than the clothes on their backs, paperwork related to their sponsors, and an ankle bracelet for the adults. After being welcomed with instructions and prayer, each family then registered before receiving basic supplies and a lunch. They were then shown to their rooms where they could relax, eat lunch and shower. In the early afternoon families were invited for health screenings and to choose one set of new clothes. At the same time, adult members of each family met with volunteers who contacted sponsors to arrange travel to the family’s final destination. This was no simple process as sponsors needed to determine whether the family would travel by bus or air, the most logical route, and how to provide the payment. A map was available to show refugees where they were located now and where they would travel. It was important to explain the concept of time zones so that connections would not be missed. Often a series of calls was needed before final travel plans could be determined so that the family could leave the reception center as soon as

                                                     possible.

 

In the meantime, those on site worked to address any questions or needs that might arise from families. The whole operation, set up on Saturday morning, would be dismantled on Monday until the following weekend. Any families who had not yet left would relocate to Peace Lutheran and join a new group of refugees who would be arriving on Tuesday and would be hosted in the church’s facility.

This is the story of one reception center in one community along our border. It is repeated every day in countless locations – and even then, there are not enough places to welcome and host those who are arriving. It is estimated that only 1% of the churches in El Paso have opened their facilities to host refugees. Despite the publicity that this situation has generated, the ironic reality is that one can easily drive through communities like El Paso or Las Cruces, even live there, and have no idea that this humanitarian crisis is taking place.



Read Part 1: Who is coming and why?
Read Part 3: Church Better Together