20 Spring I Was. photos by Robert Dolan, SJHungry

Transcription

1 20 Spring 2009 I Was photos by Robert Dolan, SJHungry

2 Ministering to Deported Immigrants on the U.S. Mexico Border and you fed me Ambos Nogales Both Nogales. It s the term used to describe an urban area that straddles the U.S. Mexico border. To the north is Nogales, Arizona; to the south is Nogales, Sonora. All around is the Sonoran Desert, crossed and recrossed by seventeenth-century Jesuit missionary Eusebio Kino in his ministry to Pima Indians. Today a tall fence and a border checkpoint mark the area as one where northbound immigration, illegal and legal, meets southbound repatriation, forced and voluntary. This January marked the start of the Kino Border Initiative (KBI) a ministry that bridges the border as well. It s a collaborative ministry in a big way; it s a binational project of the Jesuits of the California and the Mexico provinces, the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist, the dioceses of Tucson and Hermosillo, and the Jesuit Refugee Service/USA. KBI s primary task is ministering to deportees, Mexicans and Guatemalans and others, once U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement buses drive them over the border. KBI offers direct assistance to deportees through the Aid Center for Deported Migrants, which is a comedor, a soup kitchen, close to the border, and Nazareth House, a short-term shelter for women and children. KBI s work extends from there to include hosting talks and workshops on immigration issues and Catholic social teaching, sponsoring students and scholars studying border and immigration policies, and developing advocacy strategies. Photographer Robert Dolan, SJ, accepted Company s assignment: to document the new endeavor, which was inaugurated in January. The Kino Border Initiative s ministry starts with the basics. People recently deported from the United States at Nogales, Arizona, step off Immigration and Customs Enforcement buses in Nogales, Sonora, and walk to the Centro de Apoyo al Migrante Deportado, Aid Center for Deported Migrants, for a hot meal, one of about 200 served daily by staffers and volunteers. company 21

3 22 Spring 2009

4 The Kino Border Initiative takes its name from Jesuit Eusebio Kino ( ), who ministered to Pima Indians in the Sonoran desert, now bisected by the U.S. Mexico border. Fr. Martin McIntosh (left), a Jesuit of the Mexico Province, name notwithstanding, helps staff the aid center in Nogales in Mexico. He s looking at Mexican paperwork given to those deported from the United States. The center sees to the immediate needs of those recently deported, the majority of whom are Mexican men. Others, including some women and children, come from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Those deported from the United States get ID bracelets at Immigration and Customs Enforcement lockups in Arizona and elsewhere in the United States. company 23

5 I was a stranger and you took me in Support for KBI comes from many sources, as was evident on its inaugural day: (left to right) Sr. Letitia Gutierrez Valderama, with the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist, works with the Society of Jesus in Mexico and the country s bishops conference on immigration issues, while Fr. Sergio Cobo, SJ, is in charge of social ministries for the Jesuits Mexico Province. Fr. Don Bahlinger, a Jesuit of the New Orleans Province, works at KBI and lives in a new Jesuit residence in Nogales, Arizona, established specifically for this new venture. Outreach and education on immigrant issues are important facets of the Kino Border Initiative. KBI s executive director, Fr. Sean Carroll, SJ, and Rev. Seth Polley, Border Missioner for the Episcopal Diocese in Arizona, took part in a solidarity action in Tucson in January. We were calling on President Obama and his administration to pass comprehensive immigration reform that is just and humane, says Carroll, holding a sign that reads, Our sons and daughters are the future of this country and need an education. 24 Spring 2009

6 Sr. Imelda Ruiz, with the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist, helps staff Casa Nazaret, the residential facility KBI runs for women and children. She was making her own photographic memories of KBI s inaugural day. No Más Muertes No More Deaths reads the shirt of Leila Pine, a member a member of this organization that advocates for the humanitarian treatment of immigrants. She is documenting immigrants experiences crossing into the United States and their treatment after being apprehended by the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. company 25

7 Sr. Alma Delia Isaís of the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist and Sandra de la Cruz, a volunteer, sort through clothes for immigrants in need. The aid center relies on donations of clothes and food made by organizations, parishes, and individuals on both sides of the border. I was naked and you clothed me Women and children, the immigrants most vulnerable to exploitation, have a safe place to stay in Casa Nazaret, a few apartments staffed by the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist. The Jesuit Refugee Service offers videos of the Kino Border Initiative:

8 Fr. Martin McIntosh, SJ (center), is flanked by a recent deportee and a volunteer who are prepping zucchini for meals in the center s comedor, or soup kitchen. Volunteers come from Cristo Rey, a nearby Catholic parish on the Mexican side of Nogales. Sr. Engracia Robles of the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist meets with Duke University students gathering information on immigrants and border crossings. KBI fosters such outreach and education to raise consciousness about the plight of immigrants. See also the Servicio Jesuita a Migrantes: Photographer Robert Dolan, SJ, has been a member of the Jesuit community at Dolores Mission in Los Angeles for the past eleven years, mentoring students and teaching art at the school.