Annunciation House is a privately funded Catholic mission that serves refugees from Latin America who cross the border at El Paso. The place that I am working is called Casa del Refugiado (CDR), which specifically serves families for short term stays, a mere stopover on their journey to somewhere else in the country.
All of the refugees who come to CDR first went through border detention and are dropped off by ICE. I have not yet delved into too much about the experience in detention with any of the guests at CDR, but I hope to learn more at some point.
Generally, people apply for asylum in Juarez, across the border, and wait until their turn is called. Especially since the Migration Protection Protocols, or the "Remain in Mexico policy", this is ICE's preferred method for those who are seeking asylum. Sometimes, people try to expedite the process by crossing the Rio Grande on foot. These people not only are caught but want to be caught, because this forces ICE to place them in detention and to begin the bureaucratic asylum process.
People at Annunciation House state that the people who come through their doors are sometimes fleeing extreme violence and persecution. I am sure that this is sometimes true, but I think that the following quote by a respected local reporter is more true. "It's pretty clear that most of (people crossing the border) don't meet the traditional definition of asylum seekers," states Robert Moore of El Paso Matters. "Most of them at the root are trying to make lives better for their families. The challenge in Central America in particular becomes that you have all these issues of violence, and government impunity, and corruption, and gangs, and climate change, that are all coming together that you can't just separate from poverty."
So that being said, the people who come through Annunciation House have gone through a grueling and exhausting journey in efforts to improve their family's life. At CDR, they are dropped off by ICE in the loading deck, and then are taken in to the warehouse where volunteers intake them, learning where they are from, where they are going, and if they have any special needs. To be released on asylum, individuals need a sponsor- generally a family member- who can vouch for them and take them in. I have seen families heading to California, Nebraska, Virginia, and Illinois to join family members who came before.
After intake, families receive hygiene items (soap, linens, deodorant, etc) and then go to the "roperÃa", a sort of thrift store with donated items. They can take one change of clothes- no exceptions. From there, they can go take a shower. There are no showers in border detention centers, so this is often the thing people are most excited about. They then can get settled in the dormitory where they can sleep and kids can play. All the meals are provided for by local church groups- some of it is good and some of it... not so much. But after all the work I'm usually pretty hungry and not one to complain.
Families stay between a day and a week. Their sponsors arrange for their transportation, and Annunciation House helps them get to bus stations or the airport in order to make the final leg of their journey. The other day, I took a young family to their airport. They had never flown before and were nervous but excited. It was the first real day of freedom, in a way.
As you can probably tell, Annunciation House is a well-oiled machine with processes that work to mitigate the unpredictability of migrants' comings and goings. This week, there have not been many migrants and there are a lot of volunteers, but it still seems like there is still a lot of work to be done. I have organized donations, washed laundry, helped with meals, and given old rotten stairs a fresh coat of paint. I always leave feeling a bit wiped out, but grateful to be helping -in some small way -make the world a little less difficult, a little more welcoming, for people in need.
All of the refugees who come to CDR first went through border detention and are dropped off by ICE. I have not yet delved into too much about the experience in detention with any of the guests at CDR, but I hope to learn more at some point.
Generally, people apply for asylum in Juarez, across the border, and wait until their turn is called. Especially since the Migration Protection Protocols, or the "Remain in Mexico policy", this is ICE's preferred method for those who are seeking asylum. Sometimes, people try to expedite the process by crossing the Rio Grande on foot. These people not only are caught but want to be caught, because this forces ICE to place them in detention and to begin the bureaucratic asylum process.
People at Annunciation House state that the people who come through their doors are sometimes fleeing extreme violence and persecution. I am sure that this is sometimes true, but I think that the following quote by a respected local reporter is more true. "It's pretty clear that most of (people crossing the border) don't meet the traditional definition of asylum seekers," states Robert Moore of El Paso Matters. "Most of them at the root are trying to make lives better for their families. The challenge in Central America in particular becomes that you have all these issues of violence, and government impunity, and corruption, and gangs, and climate change, that are all coming together that you can't just separate from poverty."
So that being said, the people who come through Annunciation House have gone through a grueling and exhausting journey in efforts to improve their family's life. At CDR, they are dropped off by ICE in the loading deck, and then are taken in to the warehouse where volunteers intake them, learning where they are from, where they are going, and if they have any special needs. To be released on asylum, individuals need a sponsor- generally a family member- who can vouch for them and take them in. I have seen families heading to California, Nebraska, Virginia, and Illinois to join family members who came before.
After intake, families receive hygiene items (soap, linens, deodorant, etc) and then go to the "roperÃa", a sort of thrift store with donated items. They can take one change of clothes- no exceptions. From there, they can go take a shower. There are no showers in border detention centers, so this is often the thing people are most excited about. They then can get settled in the dormitory where they can sleep and kids can play. All the meals are provided for by local church groups- some of it is good and some of it... not so much. But after all the work I'm usually pretty hungry and not one to complain.
Families stay between a day and a week. Their sponsors arrange for their transportation, and Annunciation House helps them get to bus stations or the airport in order to make the final leg of their journey. The other day, I took a young family to their airport. They had never flown before and were nervous but excited. It was the first real day of freedom, in a way.
As you can probably tell, Annunciation House is a well-oiled machine with processes that work to mitigate the unpredictability of migrants' comings and goings. This week, there have not been many migrants and there are a lot of volunteers, but it still seems like there is still a lot of work to be done. I have organized donations, washed laundry, helped with meals, and given old rotten stairs a fresh coat of paint. I always leave feeling a bit wiped out, but grateful to be helping -in some small way -make the world a little less difficult, a little more welcoming, for people in need.
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