The Power of Encounter

Greetings, 

On the eve of Holy Week, I went to El Paso to participate in an interfaith event, Do Not Be Afraid: March & Vigil for Human Dignity, to commemorate the victims and survivors of the fire at a detention center in Ciudad Juárez a year ago that resulted in the death of 40 migrants and to stand with Annunciation House which risks criminal penalties for providing humanitarian aid to migrants. The following day, I participated in a discussion of interfaith leaders, led by National Immigration Forum board member Bishop Seitz, to grapple with the realities facing newcomers and the imperative to reimagine ways to build a society that welcomes, protects, integrates, and promotes migrants.

A month later, I returned to the border with thirteen Women of Welcome community members. Despite having apprehensions about personal safety and the conditions they would encounter driven by the media they were exposed to before the trip, they came. Many talked about how being curious about and concerned for migrants caused discord with family and friends. And yet they came.

Like many immersion trips, we visited a shelter, where we played games and shared sweets with the mothers and their children, spent time at the border wall on the Mexican and U.S. sides, and met with Border Patrol officers. We also visited Sacred Heart Shelter in El Paso and heard from the shelter director, Michael DeBruhl, who shared his story of being a Border Patrol agent and high-level government official for 25 years and how he became the director of the shelter. 

In two days, I think it is fair to say that the women were transformed through encounter. All questioned how their perceptions of the border and the realities they experienced were so different. As we returned to our homes around the country (15 states!), Brittani from Women of Welcome reminded us to keep our eyes open for newcomers at the airport. As I returned home, I too was transformed, as I saw text after text of women asking follow up legal questions and sharing how they helped newcomers along their journeys: one woman helped a migrant whose name was misspelled on his ticket, another helped a migrant get to her gate, and one had a conversation with a young Venezuelan sitting next to her on the plane and provided him the name of legal services in the city where he was going. As she was deplaning, an older Latino flight attendant pulled her aside and, with tears in his eyes, told her how badly he was treated when he arrived in the US and thanked her for treating the young man so kindly. Women who before hadn’t felt comfortable speaking to people in their communities about immigration shared Instagram posts about what they saw and learned. It was heartening to see such faith-filled women responding to this important moment as the eyes and hands and feet of Jesus. 

Poem written by Women of Welcome trip participant E. Stob (Source: E. Stob)

As people of faith, we need to reflect on a vision of justice leavened by mercy. We need to question our assumptions and see our fellow human beings as people with inherent dignity. None of this is easy, but as the name of the march and vigil last month remind us, "be not afraid."

Stay committed and hopeful,
Jeanne

Jeanne Atkinson
Vice President and Chief Program Officer
National Immigration Forum

NEWS CLIPS TO NOTE:

BLOOMBERG GOVERNMENT: Border Security Pitch Aims for Buy-in From Moderate Lawmakers.

AXIOS: New immigration reality: The economy needs workers.

AP: How Republican-led states far from the US-Mexico border are rushing to pass tough immigration laws.

REUTERS: US, Mexico to clamp down on illegal immigration, leaders say.

NPR: How DeSantis’ immigration laws may be backfiring.