BORDER EXPERIENCE 1

I spent a week in El Paso, Texas, with a group organized by Maryknoll Mission Education to participate in an Encuentro Project Immersion.

I went mostly to find out what really is happening on the border.

In Honduras there are many stories about migration into the US, some of the most optimistic spread by coyotes, those who are paid to guide people to the US. They have their motives, especially to get people to give them thousands of dollars to get to the US.

I wanted to find out what is the true situation. It’s complicated and changing.

The week we were there, the US reinstated the so-called Migrant Protection Program, often called “Stay in Mexico.” This began during the Trump administration and was rescinded by a presidential order earlier this year. Yet a Texas judge declared that it should be reinstated. Though it is being appealed. the Biden administration reinstated the program.

With this program, the names people who come to the border and ask for asylum are taken and they have to await an immigration court hearing but are returned to stay in Mesico.

When this was initiated, huge numbers were returned to Mexico and waited a long time. Some stayed in an open field, housed in tents, others were housed in shelters, some even just looked for a place to stay in Ciudad Juarez.

But the wait was long – six months and more. The Biden administration is saying that the cases will be adjudicated earlier, but people are still returned to Mexico.

This program was restarted last week and some are being returned to Mexico. Yet there are reports of migrants being stopped on the bridge into El Paso and not allowed to step into the US. This prevents the migrant to apply for asylum since one cannot apply for asylum unless one is standing on US soil.

There is also another US law that allows for the immediate return of migrants to Mexico. This law states that people can be turned away for reasons of public health.

This is being applied during the present COVID-19 pandemic and does not give those turned away any sense of when they could try again to cross the border and apply for asylum. They do not have their names put on a list for a court hearing.

There are other complications with US border procedure.

Those who are released often have ankle bracelets to track them. Even if they do not, they have to report into ICE every so often and then appear before an immigration judge.

When an unaccompanied minor asks for asylum they are put into detention for a short period and they are then released (with court dates) to journey to family members in the US.

When people cross into the US outside of an official entry station, they may be apprehended by the US Border Patrol which hands them over to other US authorities. If there is a question of criminal behavior or criminal history, they will be handed over to one authority; if not, and if they request asylum, they are handed over to another which will initiate proceedings.

There are all sorts of problems with the system, which needs to be seriously changed.

That’s what I understand about the legal part – but the human part is even more complicated. 

There are the problems of those who are waiting months and who stay in shelters or try to survive on the street or in private residences. In Mexico, they are sometime harassed by organized crime. There are cases of kidnappings and holding for ransom.

Also when in Mexico, some who are frustrated by the long waits or whose claim is denied, will contract a coyote to try to get them across without passing through the inspection stations. 

These are my preliminary observations. More to come.

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To get an idea of the complications of the system, here's a chart from the Hope Border Initiative on what happens when one seeks asylum. (A better image in a pdf document can be found here.)

A Homily to get me in trouble

In some ways I am glad that I will not be preaching in the US this weekend. 

The first reading, Exodus 11: 20-26, is so strong that I fear that some people would walk out – if they took it seriously. 

“You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry. My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword; then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.” 

From what I can see from a distance, this passage is an indictment of current US policy toward the migrant and the poor. (Note: when the scriptures speak of “the widow and the orphan” they are referring to those who are without support and who therefore are poor and marginalized.) 

Combine this passage with paragraph 39 of Pope Francis’ recent encyclical Fratelli Tutti, and we’ve got a real problem. 

Then too, “in some host countries, migration causes fear and alarm, often fomented and exploited for political purposes. This can lead to a xenophobic mentality, as people close in on themselves, and it needs to be addressed decisively”. Migrants are not seen as entitled like others to participate in the life of society, and it is forgotten that they possess the same intrinsic dignity as any person. Hence, they ought to be “agents in their own redemption”. No one will ever openly deny that they are human beings, yet in practice, by our decisions and the way we treat them, we can show that we consider them less worthy, less important, less human. For Christians, this way of thinking and acting is unacceptable, since it sets certain political preferences above deep convictions of our faith: the inalienable dignity of each human person regardless of origin, race or religion, and the supreme law of fraternal love.

Scapegoating migrants, treating them as less than human, characterizing their homelands as “shit-hole countries,” speaking about immigrants fleeing violence and poverty as an invasion, calling them animals, speaking of a political opponent as having a “plan to inundate your state with a historic flood of refugees,” seriously restricting the number of refugee admissions – neither Isaiah nor Pope Francis would tolerate these actions.  

These are appeals to our worse nature, to our fears, to our sinful selfishness. They are not the ways of God or of followers of Christ. 

I speak from Honduras. Hundreds of thousands have fled from here for many years – seeking refuge from the violence, seeking a way out of poverty (as my Irish ancestors did in the 1840s), fleeing a government (financially supported by the US) rife with corruption and probable connections to drug trafficking. 

I know some from our parish, some from the village where I live who have left and are living decent lives in the US, trying to support their families. They are real people whose names I know. 

But I am not just concerned about them. I am concerned about people in the US who support these xenophobic policies. 

What has become of their souls? What sort of fear has overcome them and silenced their better part? What sense of isolation has led them to look down on others? What spiritual pandemic has infected them? 

I grieve for them. I pray that they may find a wholeness of spirit to welcome the stranger. I pray that whatever has led them to this will be purged from the US culture. 

And I have a dream that migrants and the opponents of migrants may sit down at table, share their joys and hopes, their fears and anxieties, so that God can heal the US of the anger and fear, the anxiety and uncertainties and make of them a people who can be healed by the power of a loving God who loves all, especially those who are or feel themselves marginalized. 

May God heal us all.

The Mexican widow's mite and the US rich man

A homily I won’t give, since I’m not in the US, and which I probably wouldn’t give – since it would probably raise a ruckus. (But then, a Bishop of Rome named Francis urged youth to raise a ruckus.)

Tomorrow's Gospel (Mark 12: 38-44) reads:

Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”

Jesus sat down on a boat in the Gulf of Mexico and observed how the nations reacted to the caravan of refugees travelling through Mexico toward the US.

Many US politicians put lots of money into their coffers and planned to spend millions building a wall and sending military and other armed troops to the border. They also talked about withholding aid to the countries from which these people had come. (They had already cut assistance to the poor in the US and so this was not something unexpected.)

A poor Mexican also came by and with some friends spent all night making 700 tamales; another took the shoes off her feet and gave it to a Honduran woman walking barefoot and soon found other shoes to give to the people passing by. A poor church opened its doors and gave them a place to sleep. Others prepared meals and some nuns came and spent hours caring for the bodies of those who were walking, especially taking care of their feet. Other religious thumbed rides for the migrants.

Calling his disciples, Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, these poor Mexicans put in more than all the others. The others contributed pittances to the poor and put money into building a wall. But the poor have contributed what they have, their livelihood.”

The issues of the caravan are complex and no one I know of is calling for completely open borders. But when we close our eyes to the poor we are in danger of closing our hearts to God.

What should we do, as followers of Christ?

1. Open our churches to the migrants. If there are 7000 migrants, many in family groups, and there are more than 17,000 US Catholic parishes, each parish or groups of three parishes, could agree to take in a family or a few people.

2. Advocate that the US accept as refugees those fleeing violence and persecution – including those fleeing gangs and drug traffickers who threaten their lives and women and children fleeing domestic violence. The US could send 3000 immigration judges and 3000 public defenders to the border, instead of militarizing the border.

3. Advocate changes to US immigration law that open the way to temporary work visas, easily obtained. I think that people who want to work would gladly take advantage of this type of immigration.

4. Refuse to support regimes that oppress their people, such as Honduras which has received lots of military and police aid, when what is needed is sustainable development.

5. Pray for the people, open your hearts and pocketbooks to them in their need.

6. Refuse to denigrate anyone, to demonize anyone, to look down on anyone (whether they be migrants or US government officials.)

7. Open your heart to all the poor and needed – where you live and throughout the world. Love should have no boundaries.

8. Recognize the truth of these words of Pope Pius XII, in Exsul Familia Nazarethana, August 1, 1952:

"The émigré Holy Family of Nazareth, fleeing into Egypt, is the archetype of every refugee family. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, living in exile in Egypt to escape the fury of an evil king, are, for all times and all places, the models and protectors of every migrant, alien and refugee of whatever kind who, whether compelled by fear of persecution or by want, is forced to leave his native land, his beloved parents and relatives, his close friends, and to seek a foreign soil.”

Whether they flee, “compelled by fear of persecution or by want,” they are children of God and deserve a hearing.

9. Will we let ourselves be moved by love or by fear?

USCCB image

Staying in Honduras, avoiding sin

To avoid an occasion of sin, I remain in Honduras

I think many people are surprised to find someone from the US here in Honduras, who has been here more than eleven years and intends to stay.

How many times I have heard people noting that so many Hondurans want to go to the US but they find me wanting to stay here in Honduras.

How many times I have tried to convince people that it is dangerous to try to go to the US and that it has been so for years. The trip through Mexico has been dangerous. For the past few years, the situation in the US has been extremely difficult, especially with anti-immigrant bias and propaganda. Most recently, the policy of separating parents from children is barbarous.

But this hasn’t stopped many people. A few days ago I heard of someone I know who fled to the US with one of his daughters. They are together. I keep hearing people talking about leaving.

I know some who have been deported. A major complaint is that they are hardly fed in the detention centers and sometimes the lunchmeat is bad.

I have also heard of a father who was separated from his child and deported, without knowing where his child is. Reading a report in today’s New York Times confirms that this is not an isolated case.

Last week someone asked me why I am staying here.

My usual answer is that here I have found a way to live out my calling, to serve God and the poor.

But I also mentioned, almost teasingly, that I am staying here because, if I were in the US, I would probably be in jail.

The treatment of migrants is so appalling, sinful, evil, that I would probably find myself in jail for opposing that policy. At the very least, I would find myself living in a state of permanent rage at the policies of the US government.

So I stay here – to try to be of service to the poor, avoiding at least one occasion of sin.

Near tears - migrants

Today I assisted and preached at two Masses to celebrate the feast of Saint Anthony of Padua. But at the prayer of the faithful in the first Mass, I added a prayer for migrants, especially since I know that one bright young man from that village is in the US.

But I nearly cried as I prayed for a change of heart for the US. Thinking of the policy of separating families, my heart filled with lament in the face of such inhumane – and sinful – policy. I prayed that we might build bridges, not walls.

This expression of grief is the result of pent-up anger and sorrow over US immigration policy and the results in the lives of so many.

I thought of the article on the Honduran who killed himself when separated from his family. Then there was the article that mentioned a Honduran child separated from his mother. An article earlier this week detailed the horror a Honduras boy experienced separated from his father.

I do not know what is happening but in the last month I have heard more of persons trying to get to the US, of persons deported, and of some who have made it there. People ask prayers for their loved ones at Mass. Others just mention to me that so and so is in the US.

After the second Mass, I spoke with a young man I knew. He told me that his wife and one child have been in the US for about two months. She was detained but now is released with a tracking device. Thanks be to God the child is with his mother. He wants to join her – but I warned him about the new policy.

Later, talking with some of the men I heard of a case that has me reeling. A man with his son was arrested in the US by immigration agents. They were separated. The father was deported and he does not know where his child is. I don’t know the age of the child, but this is a crime against humanity.

I cry for my country. I fear for a country that separates children from parents in such a way. I beg forgiveness from God and from all those affected by these actions.

God have mercy on us.

The words of Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM Cap, Archbishop of Boston, speak eloquently:

by the order of the U. S. government, individuals with children and families with children who are seeking asylum at the southern border of the United States now have their children separated from their parents. The intent of this policy is clear: to discourage those seeking asylum by severing the most sacred human bond of parent and child. Children are now being used as a deterrent against immigrants who are appealing to us for asylum in order to protect themselves and their families. As disturbing as this fact is, the narrative of this development makes clear the misguided moral logic of the policy.
These individuals and families are fleeing documented violence, chaos and murder in the neighborhoods of Central America. The United States is now openly before the world using children as pawns to enforce a hostile immigration policy. This strategy is morally unacceptable and denies the clear danger weighing upon those seeking our assistance.
As a Catholic bishop, I support political and legal authority. I have always taught respect for the civil law and will continue to do so. But, I cannot be silent when our country's immigration policy destroys families, traumatizes parents, and terrorizes children. The harmful and unjust policy of separating children from their parents must be ended.

The support of the US bishops meeting today in Florida for a strong statement by Cardinal DiNArdo against this and the new government policy regarding victims of domestic violence and gang violence offers a bit of hope.

Fort Lauderdale, FL—"At its core, asylum is an instrument to preserve the right to life. The Attorney General's recent decision elicits deep concern because it potentially strips asylum from many women who lack adequate protection. These vulnerable women will now face return to the extreme dangers of domestic violence in their home country. This decision negates decades of precedents that have provided protection to women fleeing domestic violence. Unless overturned, the decision will erode the capacity of asylum to save lives, particularly in cases that involve asylum seekers who are persecuted by private actors. We urge courts and policy makers to respect and enhance, not erode, the potential of our asylum system to preserve and protect the right to life.
Additionally, I join Bishop Joe Vásquez, Chairman of USCCB's Committee on Migration, in condemning the continued use of family separation at the U.S./Mexico border as an implementation of the Administration's zero tolerance policy. Our government has the discretion in our laws to ensure that young children are not separated from their parents and exposed to irreparable harm and trauma. Families are the foundational element of our society and they must be able to stay together. While protecting our borders is important, we can and must do better as a government, and as a society, to find other ways to ensure that safety. Separating babies from their mothers is not the answer and is immoral."'

The call of one bishop to consider canonical penalties is really encouraging.

But I am still nearly crying – and we should all take up the prophetic stance of lamentation. Maybe it is time for a “cry-in” at federal offices.