United States
Immigration
$15,000 Goal
The Situation
The Posada del Imigrantes Shelter in Mexicali is a two-story 34-room motel structure currently housing up to 188 people who are seeking asylum in the United States. Most of the families come from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, escaping the violence and poverty in their own countries.
Sisters’ Response
Border Compassion is a start-up ministry founded by Sr. Suzanne Jabro, a Sister of Joseph of Carondelet, in partnership with many others and is a grassroots effort to respond to the needs of families who have migrated to the border crossing at Mexicali. Its mission is to invite Catholic leadership, parishes, schools, and individuals from four Southern California dioceses to “cross over” the border to offer a compassionate humanitarian response to the women, men, and children who are living at the Posada del Imigrantes Shelter in Mexicali.
Border Compassion program activities include:
- Coordinated monthly visits to the shelter to purchase groceries, assist the cook in shopping for food, provide essential clothing, medicines, hygiene supplies, and anything else the shelter needs to serve its guests, as well as provide a transformational cross-over experience to participants.
- Network building to invite faith communities to cross over in order to collaborate, give, learn, serve as a public witness, and engage in activism for systemic change aimed to bring about more just immigration policies.
- Communicate and educate through the creation of a website, education, and outreach materials, e-mail blasts, and presentations
Funds Needed
$15,000
How Funds Will Be Used
$1,350 will be used for program administration such as web hosting, office supplies, postage, travel expenses, and translation fees. The remaining $13,650 would be used to purchase needed supplies at the shelter in Mexicali such as groceries, medicine, first aid supplies, clothing, diapers, toiletries, facilities needs such as cleaning supplies, toilet paper, gas for cooking, etc.
Systemic Impact
In addition to providing a compassionate humanitarian response to the women, men, and children who are seeking asylum in the United States, Border Compassion is encouraging faith communities to collaborate and engage in activism for systemic change aimed to bring about more just immigration policies.