Columban missionaries have been accompanying communities along the US/MX border for over 25 years. Every day we see how border communities are models of hospitality and creative cross-cultural encounter. We’re friends with the families that call this place home, who cherish their binational heritage.
We also see how inhumane immigration enforcement and extreme militarization sow fear and distrust in our communities. And for those that do not live here, conflicting media reports and demonizing rhetoric may be their only source of information about this beautiful place.
We invite you to come and see the reality beyond the rhetoric. The resources and articles on this webpage will help you to gain a greater understanding of what is really going on at the border and how you can best advocate for border communities.
At the border, every day is an opportunity to put into practice St. Columban's famous teaching: “let a life unlike your own be your teacher.”
The Columban Mission Center in El Paso hosts “border awareness experiences” all year long.
Host a Border Justice Workshop
See the reality beyond the rhetoric. Host a border justice workshop for your faith community or group.
Tell Congress: Pass Compassionate Border Funding
Write to your Members of Congress urging them to provide meaningful humanitarian funding for the US/MX border.
Migrant city tent in Matamoros, bordering Brownsville, TX (photo: Leidy Perez-Davis)
The United States government is forcing people to wait in Mexico while their asylum claim goes through the immigration court process. The President and his administration are doing all they can to limit access to life-saving protections (such as asylum) by building a physical wall and also a policy wall.
St. Columban (b. 543 - d. 615)
The world today badly needs a renewed spirit of cross-cultural exchange. We need to be more like the Church’s great missionaries. Not only do cultural differences enrich us and lead us closer to God, but they also allow us to transcend the trivial factionalism that even St. Columban encountered.
The federal budget is a moral document that reflects our priorities as a society. One issue where our budget does not reflect our vision for a justice and peaceful society is immigration enforcement.
The call from border communities is for new leadership, that will defend human dignity, offer compassion, work for justice, celebrate diversity. We must continue to reject hatred and violence, racism and xenophobia, and immigration and refugee policies that exclude and punish the most vulnerable among us.
We call on the administration and Congress to enact a humane, efficient, consistent, and just system that will uphold the dignity of all. We urge policymakers to follow the example of people of faith and faith-based organizations that have consistently welcomed and supported those arriving at the border by putting into place the below recommendations.
Copyright © 2020 Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, Washington, D.C.