12
PEOPLE of GOD
april 2019
Companions on the Journey: Providing Hospitality to Asylum-Seekers Journeying Through Albuquerque
At the beginning of the 2019 President’s Day weekend, Archbishop John C. Wester received a call from Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso seeking help. Asylees, who had been vetted by U. S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be legally assisted, were in dire need of help for the next step of their journey towards security and self-sufficiency in the United States. Archbishop Wester replied, “Of course. Yes!” Archbishop Wester immediately called Catholic Charities’ CEO, Jim Gannon. Within 24 hours, a number of Catholic Charities staff and numerous volunteers, with support from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, gathered to welcome asylum-seeking families. This became Catholic Charities’ latest initiative, Companions on the Journey. The families of asylum seekers arriving on the bus had only the clothes on their backs and a small bag of paperwork. Many were hungry, dehydrated and exhausted. Infants were in desperate need of clean diapers and everyone needed showers. Catholic Charities’ volunteers and staff were able to provide them with a temporary place to stay, food, clothing, hygiene items, cellphone access, and assistance in contacting their sponsors and families. On March 13, 2019 during a City of Albuquerque press conference held at Catholic Charities, Mayor Tim Keller said, “These asylum seekers are not staying here permanently…This is one stop on their long, long journey.”
Background The initial call for help to Bishop Seitz originated from Annunciation House in El Paso, TX which has been serving refugees from Central America since 1976. During the past year, they have seen a large influx of Central American families fleeing violence, experiencing lack of food, oppression, human trafficking, poverty, and extortion of families. The migrants arriving are families with children who have legally requested asylum at a port of entry according to U.S. federal law. They then passed the initial screening while in ICE custody and have been granted permission to remain in the United States with relatives or friends already living in the U.S. who have agreed to “sponsor” them until their asylum court hearing. Resources and shelter capacity in El Paso have been overwhelmed. Annunciation House Executive Director, Ruben Garcia, reached out to faith communities in El Paso and Las Cruces, and eventually to Albuquerque for assistance.