On June 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to stop the separation of undocumented families at the border. On June 22 Oscar and Kelvin entered Texas through a regulated border crossing, seeking asylum. On June 27, I chatted with them in Spanish at the Catholic Charities Center 10 miles from the border. Was the dangerous trip—with separation from his wife and daughter, and possible separation from his son—worthwhile? “Absolutely,” he replied: “If we would have stayed, we would have been killed.”
Suriano spoke with ease about his experience, relieved to have made it to the United States: “The ICE officials treated us very well. They were respectful to us as they processed our paperwork and gave us food and a cot to sleep on.” Immigration officials gave him two bus tickets to New York, where Suriano’s sisters live. He hopes to arrange for his wife and daughter to join them soon.
THE ISSUES AT THE BORDER are drawing media and advocate attention, but for the Border Patrol and for local nonprofits serving those in need nothing has really changed. Every day migrants arrive at the border, some in search of asylum, many in search of jobs, many hoping to join family already in the United States.
Cesar Riojas of Catholic Charities said this is business as usual: “Nothing has changed since the zero tolerance policy went into effect. We see the same numbers of people coming in for a variety of reasons.” He said the policy did lead to more immigrants being charged criminally for entering the United States, but the practice of separating children from their parents who were being held in jail-like detention centers has been going on for years.
Riojas described a typical day at the center, past and present: Buses arrive regularly from Border Patrol/Immigration processing centers and drop off immigrants. Some already have been granted asylum, and others have court dates to continue the process of getting their visa to stay for non-asylum purposes. They shower (often the first opportunity to do so in weeks) and receive food, other necessities, and changes of clothes. To avoid lice infestation, officials at the border take all clothes except what immigrants are wearing.
Some immigrants stay overnight or for a few days. Others stay for only a few hours until they catch a bus to a more permanent destination with family or another “sponsor.” Volunteers at the center prepare them for their journey, not only with food but advice on making the right bus connections and encouragement to stay on the bus at stops to avoid confusion when navigating the bus system in a language they don’t understand.
Comments
Just Me 999
Posted: Fri, 07/06/2018 01:47 pmThe completely honest CNN had this as a headlines this morning "HHS now estimates under 3,000 kids separated from parents in government custody" What a bunch of liars - it is so good to see some media integrity from World.
JULIE DAVENPORT
Posted: Fri, 07/06/2018 04:53 pmIf you're going to be "completely honest," how about covering the family's (like my cousins) who lost a family business started from the ground up to illegal immigrants? How about going out and reviewing the families who live in border towns and ask them how many times they had illegals camp out on their front lawns and pee and crap anywhere they want and leave opened cans of food on the lawn? (By the way, my cousin's husband is a naturalized Mexican American citizen and very proud of his accomplishment. The only person he even considered voting for was Trump, because in his words, "Thank God! Somebody gets it! We are dying here and none of the politicians seem to give a hoot!) How about covering the fact that the number one business in Arizona (at least that I know of a couple of years ago) was sex trafficking? And guess who were the suppliers? The coyotes! How about considering the fact that our president (and past presidents before him) have been openly threatened by the enemy of the United States to infiltrate the United States by any means possible- including our illegal immigration debacle?
Come on World! If you say you're going to cover the whole story, then do it! Quit using children to further half-truths.
Soapbxn
Posted: Fri, 07/06/2018 07:32 pmI have to agree with Julie. While Ms. Megilligan's story is well written and certainly pulls at the heart strings, she is featuring only a small microcosm of the people coming into our country and to a degree, whether intentionally or unintentionally, fosters a bit of "misplaced" compassion. We no longer live in the 1800 or early 1900's, but even then immigrants were scrutinized and those with obvious health issues were turned back. A bit callous certainly but it was for the safety of the citizens already here. Our porous borders are a serious threat to national security as well as the livlihoods of legal citizens, such as Julie's relatives above. I have heard numerous similar stories. Perhaps that side of illegal immigration needs to be covered and another story?
Jeff
Posted: Tue, 07/17/2018 04:49 pmThis article demonstrates World's ongoing softness on the rule of law. For the record, "immigrants" are people who come to America through the legal process, while "illegal aliens" sneak into the country.
Brendan Bossard
Posted: Wed, 07/18/2018 01:46 pmIf the law were to mandate imprisonment for petty theft, would you then imprison someone who steals a loaf of bread in order to feed his family?