Las Familias Solidarity

The Immigration Ministry of

St. Michael and All Angels works

across the entire community

St Michael's shares resources and volunteers between the Landing, Casa San Miguel, and Las Familias to feed, clothe and provide services to our immigrant neighbors. Our many partners include RoadRunner Food Bank, Adelante, Desert Harvest, ABQ FaithWorks, VIDA (Correspondence with migrants in detention), ABQ Community Safety Department, Catholic Charities, Las Cumbres, Annunciation House, El Paso and local school Douglas MacArthur Elementary School. Over 50 SMAA volunteers serve these vital Ministries.

OUR MISSION

VOLUNTEER

Monthly Update: November 2024

Joy in Unlikely Places: Our Trip to the Border Shelters November 6th, 2024

The Children

A shelter volunteer told us in El Paso last “The hope and endurance of people who have already suffered so much inspires me every day.” It was the day after the election, and frankly, our Las Familias Solidarity team needed some inspiration and hope. We found it in the children of the young asylum-seeking families that had just arrived at the shelter after being processed by US Customs and Border Protection. “We are going to the United States because my dad is there” a 5-year-old excitedly proclaimed. A volunteer tried to explain to the small boy that he was already in the United States. “No, no” the little boy insisted, “my daddy isn’t here, but we will see him soon in the United States!” We laughed as toddlers carefully examined their first donut. One little girl spun it around on her finger, thinking it was jewelry. Another child was suspicious of the bright pink frosting on her donut, until her mother convinced her to take a lick. A huge smile spread across her face as she quickly ate bite after bite. After lunch, the children shrieked with delight as they discovered the toys in the play area. Such joy, after all that these families had endured on their journey to our border.

The Parents

Some of the fathers were just as excited as their children. “We are going to my sister in Corpus Christi,” a young father exclaimed, “We will be there tomorrow night!” The weary faces of the young mothers told a different story. Ana was a social justice activist in Ecuador. She was forced to flee immediately with her husband and one-year old baby because of imminent death threats. On their journey, Juan got separated from his family and was lost in the Darian Gap jungle between Columbia and Panama. His wife and her brother finally found him after frantically searching for 4 days. Much later, in Mexico, the family was robbed and beaten. Juan, Ana and their baby finally arrived in Juarez, Mexico after traveling almost 3,000 miles. They waited months for their U.S. Immigration appointment. One afternoon, Ana and her 1-year-old son were kidnapped by the Juarez cartel and held for $11,000 ransom or they would be killed. This is two-years' salary in Ecuador. It took Juan 5 weeks to raise that money from family and friends who sold their cars and other possessions to help. As we sat at the lunch table with them, Ana was so exhausted that she could barely keep her eyes open. Yet the family had hope as they planned to travel on to meet Juan’s brother in Chicago and await their Asylum Court hearing.

The Volunteers

The shelter managers and their volunteer staff have no idea what changes the new president will bring to the border. “May his heart be softened.” one volunteer prayed. Yet joy and hope abound within the walls of the shelters. Fr. Jarek, that shelter’s founder, bounced with excitement as he showed us the two new bathrooms with showers that volunteers from Oregon constructed. “Now we can host even more people!”

Christa, whose parents were immigrants from Mexico, is the cook at the shelter. She sat at our lunch table and gave the asylum seeking families important advice, based on years of experience. “Your journey is not over. You must be very careful to obey all the rules and laws. Keep your head down and do not attract attention. You will experience discrimination and be treated unfairly at times. You must not complain, or there will be retaliation.” The sad reality of immigrants arriving in our country.

How to help

The number of migrants and asylum-seeking families will continue to grow as violence, injustice, climate change, poverty, authoritarian regimes and persecution continue to increase in countries throughout our world. We must do whatever we can to welcome the migrants who are already in our communities and urge our lawmakers to reform our broken US Immigration policies.

Right now, you can help us provide warm clothing for the young families seeking asylum, safety, employment and education for themselves and their children.

Our next journey to the Asylum Seeker shelters in El Paso will be Wednesday, December 4th. Please get any items to us or St. Michael and All Angels by Sunday, December 1st. Please understand that due to a lack of space in our SUV’s and the shelters these are the only items that we can accept.

Children’s winter jackets, sizes 2-12
Children’s winter hats and gloves
Children’s sweaters, hoodies and sweatshirts, like new – all sizes
Women’s winter jackets, almost new – Sizes small & medium
Women’s winter hats & gloves
Women’s sweaters, hoodies and sweatshirts, like new – sizes small & medium
New coloring books and small sets of crayons for children’s Christmas gifts
Matchbox cars for children’s Christmas gifts

How to Help

Donations help us buy in bulk to get the best price.

Donate & get a tax deduction - Click here to donate On the donations page, hit the arrow to the right of “Use this donation for”. Scroll down to Las Familias Solidarity. Use PayPal or a credit card to donate.
Send a Check, We Shop – For a tax deduction, make check to St. Michaels and All Angels. In the memo line put “Las Familias Solidarity.” Mail to St. Michaels & All Angels, 601 Montaño Road NW. Albuquerque, NM 87107.
Venmo us @Las Familias-Solidarity
Shop & Send - bring the items to St. Michael & All Angels Parish, 601 Montaño Rd, ABQ. Monday-Thursday to parish office or Sunday Morning to church OR deliver or ship to Sharon Palma, 2 Isleta Trail, Corrales, NM 87048. If you drop off, please text Sharon at 505.249.5046.

Thank you for standing with asylum seeking families as they seek safety and work to support their family. We say to the volunteers and guests at each shelter, “These are items donated by people who live 300 miles away. They welcome you & want you to know that they care about you and your family!”

If you believe that our work is important, please tell a friend.