EL PASO, Texas (Borders Report) – As Juarez shelters near capacity due to the arrival of new migrants and the deportation of others from the United States, some Catholic organizations in El Paso step in to help.
On Monday, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso, Mark J. Seitz, and the Executive Director of the Hope Border Institute, Dylan Corbett, visited three shelters in Juarez to provide $40,000 in emergency humanitarian assistance through the through the Assistance Fund for Border Refugees.
The money will fund emergency upgrades to accommodate and provide health services to families at Casa del Migrante, Albergue San Matias and Kiki Romero Gym Refuge.
According to reports from Juarez, Casa del Migrante, the city’s largest church-run shelter, is nearing capacity with 398 guests, while Kiki Romero is more than 80 percent full. Migrant advocates in El Paso say Trump-era policies enacted by the Biden administration are contributing to the problem.
“Stay in Mexico” and Title 42 cause human suffering. I urge people of faith and conscience across the country to speak out against these policies until we fully restore border asylum,” Seitz said.
In the meantime, he urged the public to “tear down the walls of indifference” at the border by showing compassion and making room for the poor and vulnerable.
Staying in Mexico refers to the US government’s Migrant Protection Protocols program, which requires asylum seekers to wait in Mexico to be summoned to court dates in the United States. Title 42 is a public health order authorizing the immediate deportation of non-exempt unauthorized migrants caught in the United States
In the past, the Border Refugee Assistance Fund has allowed groups to sponsor emergency vaccination clinics for migrant children. To date, the fund has disbursed over $300,000 in direct assistance to migrants and shelters.
“Every person and every family that approaches the border has a story, has dignity and has the right to seek asylum. In the absence of action from the Biden administration, we will continue to advocate for more humane policies and show through our solidarity that another path is possible,” said Cobert of the Hope Border Institute.
