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.
Update: May 2025
Thank you for all of your support during our 4 years of solidarity at the border. Las Familias Solidarity has been a substantial partner to the El Paso shelters. The shelter managers continually told us how much they depended on our regular supply of critically needed items.
The situation at the El Paso/Juarez has radically changed under the current administration. The border is closed to most immigrants. Only two shelters remain open in the Annunciation House Network; Casa Papa Francisco & Annunciation House. Together, these shelters house about 40 immigrants with complex medical needs who are unable to travel or mothers with new babies or about to give birth, and Mexican social security widows that are required to spend 2 months in the US per year to receive their husband’s survivor benefits. Juarez shelters are also seeing small numbers because the Mexican government is stopping most immigrants at the Guatemalan/Mexico border. Michael, who was the shelter manager at Sacred Heart told me that it is extremely quiet in El Paso right now, especially because all of the CBP One folks' legal work documents and paroles were terminated by the current administration.
There are several efforts to support the immigrants and the families without resources who are in Juarez. Holy Family shelter volunteers are helping at Casa Espiritu which provides short term shelter to single mothers. The Dignity Project in Placitas provides toiletry kits and basic foods to a doctor in El Paso that has the resources to get these items across the border.
In April, the Las Familias Solidarity Leadership team met to discern what Las Familias Solidarity should do, given the current quiet border situation. Ruben Garcia, founder of Annunciation House, is telling his volunteers to “Wait, and Pray.” Our team decided that we would also do that. We hope that the border will reopen with a court order, or after midterm elections. So please pause your donations for now. We plan to be ready to supply the El Paso shelters again when there is a need. We will need your help again! In the meantime, the donations currently in our account will be given to Annunciation House, Holy Family and the Dignity Project to support their work with immigrants.
Thank you again for the big difference that you have made to hundreds of Immigrant families through your support. We will let you know when the need arises to resume our work. In the meantime, may all immigrants and refugees in our world be treated with dignity and justice.
Contact Cheri Bertram if you need any help pausing your donation.