Forced separation of children and parents at the United States’ southern border, as a tool of a new, harsher immigration policy, shocks the conscience with its brutal indifference to the enduring injury it causes children and its callous neglect for human dignity. As the count of children separated from their families has grown into the… continue reading
Traumatized Migrants Find Healing at Casa Juan Diego
May 28, 2018 by
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” the opening words of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities,describes nicely our recent experiences at Casa Juan Diego. Hurricane Harvey, with the heaviest rainfall in the recorded history of this country, would seem to qualify as the worst of times, except… continue reading
Father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra Coming to Casa Juan Diego
April 15, 2018 by
Father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra is well-known in Mexico for his work with migrants and for courageously withstanding many threats of violence as a result. When Houston Boy Scout Inti Chavarria completed his Eagle Scout Project (a playground for the children living at Casa Juan Diego), he decided to invite Fr. Solalinde to his Court of… continue reading
A Well-Founded Fear of Persecution: Cruel Setback for Asylum Seeker
October 18, 2017 by
Every day at Casa Juan Diego we encounter a world economic system that is out of balance. On one hand, we live in one of the world’s most affluent cities in one of the world’s most affluent nations. It is hard not to notice that many people in Houston, including us Catholic Workers, have… continue reading
Migrations #1 In Memoriam José Angel Alfano Solana
June 22, 2017 by
We crossed over the border I won’t say how and what can I say of freezing desert nights black sky blazing stars then searing, burning sun tearing into flesh relentless, relentless the walking, and fear then……..running, running as sand clouds appear against the far sky running, running—-and then I lost you and Juan and the… continue reading
Why Are We Deporting Thousands Of Children Alone?
May 13, 2016 by
We wrote in the last issue about the Central American children who come to the United States alone and the mothers with children who are escaping imminent death in their countries but are the first to be deported when they arrive. Now the news is even worse. The Department of Security is sending deportation officers… continue reading
Regarding Policies of Return: Returning the Women and Children To the Boat to Drown
January 26, 2016 by
Traditionally, when passenger ships sailed on open waters, an emergency on the ship could mean doom. People would be ushered to life rafts and in the colonial days, boats were often stuffed full of more people than could be accommodated on the small life rafts. The cry would go out for women and children to… continue reading
Bishops Call For an End To Deportations of Mothers and Children
January 26, 2016 by
WASHINGTON-USCCB– In light of recent enforcement actions conducted by the Department of Homeland Security for the purpose of deporting individuals, primarily mothers with children, the bishops who chair the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network called for an end to such practices. [18 thousand mothers with children are at risk of… continue reading
Class-Action Lawsuit: Immigrants Held for Days in Freezing, Unsanitary Cells
January 26, 2016 by
Tucson Sector Border Patrol holds men, women, and children in freezing, overcrowded, and filthy cells for extended periods of time in violation of the U.S. Constitution, a group of legal organizations allege in a class-action lawsuit. The class-action suit, which was filed on behalf of two people detained in the Tucson Border Patrol Station as… continue reading
Migrant Abuse, Family Separation During Deportations
November 14, 2015 by
(Washington, D.C., September 15, 2015 – Jesuit Conference) — As Pope Francis stated in his message for the 2014 World Day of Migrants and Refugees, “Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity.” A new study released today finds, however, that U.S. Customs and Border Protection is not fulfilling its obligation… continue reading
