We’re pleased to be able to share the below update from our partner on the southern border:
Bienvenidos | Welcome
It may surprise you to hear that I still struggle with doubt and feelings of inadequacy as a parent. Despite having a stable home, a deeply committed husband and a supportive community, I often wonder if I am making the choices that will most help my two-year-old daughter to thrive. Even though I always have her best interests at heart, my own limitations and constraints outside my control often mean I must make imperfect choices.
That realization guides my understanding of the current moment for families in the U.S.-Mexico border. For the most part, parents traveling with their children, or those who send their children to the border alone, are like me – ordinary parents who want what’s best for their children. Yet they find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. Most are doing their best to make decisions based on complex and ever-changing realities.
As you know, those current realities include a sense of everlasting legal limbo. While Title 42 is set to expire in May, the Biden Administration has introduced a number of measures to dramatically restrict asylum. Many families have little sense of how long they will be left stranded in Nogales. This uncertainty makes figuring out how to provide children with a sense of stability and hope for the future even more challenging.
Yet love finds a way. I look for new ways to love my daughter every day, even when I do not have clear answers to the challenges she faces. Parents here at the border are determined to find ways for their children to be safe, to grow, and ultimately to thrive. And border communities remain committed to loving their neighbors in migrations, even when stretching resources can feel daunting.
I’m not so naive as to think our political leaders are motivated by love. But I do expect them to recognize and value love in action and to support parents and communities who are working tenaciously to love one another. We are capable of demonstrating Christ’s love to each other, even when doing so requires sacrifice.
Thank you to all who are choosing love – towards migrants and also to us here at KBI. Your support makes our work possible.
Blessings,
Joanna Williams
Executive Director Kino Border Initiative
Feature: Children in Migration – a quest for education and spaces of play.
As we approach the Mexican holiday Children’s Day on April 30, we dive into the efforts migrant parents are making to ensure their children can continue their education, even in the midst of seeking asylum. Learn about the barriers to accessing education that children face, as well as some of the community initiatives that are working to overcome those challenges. READ MORE.
Migrant Story: “Every day he wakes up excited to go to school.” Eva and Oscar’s journey to education and integration in the U.S.
Eva and her son, Oscar.
In January of last year, Eva was forced to make an impossible decision to leave her family, career, and home in Veracruz. She fled with her five-year-old son due to violence and persecution. For almost an entire year, Eva struggled to make ends meet and find stability for her son, Oscar. Education was a vital key to her son’s well-being; yet, enrolling him into a local elementary school became an exceptional feat one riddled with red tape and discrimination. READ MORE.
Media Report
The latest developments in the migration landscape include powerful displays of solidarity, including at our binational march on March 21st and through a joint statement laying responsibility for a catastrophic fire that claimed 40 lives on the US and Mexican governments. We continue to track the fallout of the dysfunctional CBP One app and troubling proposals from the Biden Administration to rush screenings for asylum seekers. READ MORE.
Announcements
We are heartened by this month’s displays of solidarity and accompaniment, whether you attended our foot washing ceremony for Maundy Thursday, our binational march on March 21st, or have been accompanying us in prayer throughout the month. Review what’s been going on and what new opportunities you have to walk with migrants in this month’s announcements. READ MORE.
