Let's continue to advocate for holistic border solutions.
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**An Example of Welcome and a Call to Action**
Good afternoon,

As conversations and concerns around the border continue, particularly
with the approach of the end of the Title 42 public health order on May
11
<[link removed]>,
we want to share a reflection on a visit to a migrant processing center
just outside of Tucson, Arizona.

Last month, our Bibles, Badges, and Business (BBB) mobilizer for
Arizona, Andy Myers, and National Immigration Forum Senior Fellow, Linda
Chavez, spent some time visiting border communities in the area,
including Casa Alitas
<[link removed]>.

Andy Myers describes and reflects on what he observed during that visit
below:

Casa Alitas is a welcoming center, mostly run by volunteers, that
currently processes 550 "Asylum Hopefuls" daily. These are migrants who
have surrendered to CBP officers at or near the border and have enough
of a credible asylum case that they are transferred to welcome centers
where they will arrange travel to friends or family in the U.S. while
they wait for their asylum hearing date, which can take years. The
volunteers work diligently to secure their plane or bus tickets, all
paid for by the arrivees or their families. One gentleman, another
Asylum Hopeful, helped the other volunteers by translating Arabic
because as he said, "I am here for a few days and I can help."

INSERT LINK TO ARTICLE/THING YOU WANT PEOPLE TO CLICK ON HERE

**Casa Alitas welcoming center outside Tucson, Arizona
(Source: Andy Myers)**

** **

**As I interacted with the volunteers and men at this welcoming center,
hope and trust were the two words that came to mind.**

**The Asylum Hopefuls are told right from the beginning, before any
paperwork is processed or any travel ticket is purchased: "You are now
safe. We are here to help you."  All have risked and experienced danger
to make the journey and this message brings them hope that they will
begin a new life in a safe place.**

**I have often said and heard that trust is built over time and
destroyed in a moment, but what I saw at Casa Alitas is that trust can
be established quickly. I saw the arrivees Venmo staff members money to
buy plane tickets from their personal phones. When I asked how the
arrivees, people who have spent the better part of a year or more being
extorted for passage to the U.S., can trust the staff at Casa Alitas to
buy the right tickets, there was one answer: "We first let them know**

**they are safe and there is hope, then they are able to trust this
process."**

**We can all learn from this. In our ongoing work in immigration reform,
may we continue to work for the safety of others and earn trust so that
we can better support and guide them. I think both sides of the aisle
can agree with me on that.**

You can read more on the visit, including changing dynamics of who is
arriving at the border and the need for Congress to act and create
policies that "address our economic needs and our humanitarian values",
in Linda Chavez's recent reflection in The xxxxxx
<[link removed]>.

As we learn about new proposals and bills for the border and face
heightened and unhelpful rhetoric, let us continue to advocate for
holistic solutions <[link removed]> that effectively address
ongoing challenges and keep the border secure while honoring the dignity
of migrants. To stay informed on what's happening at the border, check
out the National Immigration Forum's border resource page
<[link removed]> that
contains helpful bill summaries and additional advocacy opportunities.

Stay healthy and hopeful,

Allison

**Allison Bassett**
Senior Field and Constituencies Associate
National Immigration Forum 

**NEWS CLIPS TO NOTE:**

****

**CBN NEWS:**Florida's Immigration Bill Amended to Provide Religious
Liberty Protection
<[link removed]>

**PBS NEWS HOUR:**U.S. and Mexico officials agree on tighter immigration
policies at border
<[link removed]>

**ASSOCIATED PRESS:**Biden sending 1,500 troops for Mexico border
migrant surge
<[link removed]>

**CBS NEWS:**Biden administration to let Afghan evacuees renew temporary
legal status amid inaction in Congress
<[link removed]>

**WASHINGTON POST:**U.S. to open immigrant processing centers in Latin
America
<[link removed]>

 

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