​September President’s Corner

September President’s Corner

“…Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”

—1 John 3:18

It seems, anytime you turn on the news you hear stories from across the world of child abuse, gang violence and more. What you may not realize is, just a few towns away, the United States is at the center of a crisis involving over a thousand mothers and their children. The women and children detained at Karnes City, Dilley and other detention centers came to the United States with nothing but the clothes on their backs and the hope of a better life. They escaped death threats, gangs, rape and violence with a credible fear of oppression in their home country. Upon arriving to the United States, they were held in immigration detention centers with little hope of freedom. Recently, the United States Federal Court ruled the U.S. government violated resettlement laws in regards to the manner in which immigrants were being detained. This ruling has led to a wide scaled effort to release them to their families across the United States. This is a very heated topic and is debated constantly.Fortunately, for us, the call is one of a humanitarian need and we will address this need with dignity and respect for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Catholic Charities’ Caritas Legal Services has been hard at work on the front lines providing legal services and direct assistance to the women and children detained and those released from the Dilley and Karnes City Immigration Detention Centers, enabling them to move on with their lives outside the centers. Most of the mothers have extended family in the United States and many are provided bus or plane tickets for travel.The challenge is finding a safe place for the women and children to stay between being released from the detention centers and their trip to their new home.

In an effort to keep these families safe and off of the streets, Catholic Charities is providing transportation from the bus station to a home where the women and children can stay overnight, have meals and be provided with legal consultation. If they are able to go home to their families in the States, they are provided backpacks containing essentials for their long travel, including: food, drinks, toothbrushes, hand towels, coloring books, etc. For many of the families, this can mean the difference between having food to eat and going hungry. Catholic Charities has organized an archdiocesan wide effort with local parishes to collect items to prepare these backpacks for travel.

Recently, Catholic Charities assisted a mother and her two children who fled from Guatemala over three months ago. They feared gang violence so much they left everything they knew and made the hard journey to the United States. After crossing over in Ciudad Juarez, they sought asylum from the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection Department. She and her children were sequestered in the Dilley detention facility for about two months, during which time she provided sufficient information for parole, without having to post a bond or use an electronic ankle monitoring bracelet. This family is fortunate they have the support of a cousin in Georgia who is willing to sponsor the family while the mother presents her case to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. During these proceedings, she will need to prove her credible fear as a basis to seek asylum and avoid removal proceedings. Catholic Charities was able to provide the family with food and legal assistance to help them on their journey east.

While we aren’t exactly sure how many women and children will be released in the next 60-90 days, hundreds are leaving the facility weekly. We are welcoming these families with open arms and providing them with care packages but we can’t do it alone. If you are interested in donating: backpacks, toiletries, food, money or time contact us at (210) 222-1294. I ask you to pray, not only for Catholic Charities and our Caritas Legal Services, but for the women and children at the detention centers across the United States. Thank you for your continued support.

J. Antonio Fernandez is president/CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Inc.