We are delighted to welcome Jeanne Rossomme, a parishioner at Holy Trinity Parish in Washington, D.C. She is one of the leaders of the migrant support team at the parish, or “Migrant Familia” as they call it, which is a team of volunteers that accompany, support and advocate for asylum seekers and refugees. Jeanne shares the origin story of the project that began with a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border. She talks about the complicated systems of housing, schooling, employment, and immigration status that their team helps migrants to navigate. She shares inspiring stories and reflects on how common it is for migrants to miss their home, just like any of us would. 

For anyone who is looking for ways to respond to threats of mass deportations, Jeanne offers a tremendous example of how a small group of parishioners can mobilize to support migrants in their community.

Brian and Joe share stories of migrants missing home. Joe recounts the story of Hector, a migrant from Honduras who was kidnapped in Reynosa. The experience was so intense and traumatic for him that it caused him to question the biggest priorities in his life. Brian shares the story of Yamileth who ran the kitchen in her shelter and loved sharing her culture by preparing baleadas (a traditional Honduran dish of a folded flour tortilla filled with food). Brian and Joe stuffed their faces before returning to meet up with Flavio…empty handed!

We are delighted to welcome Guerline Mardi, an asylum seeker from Haiti. She is multilingual, including fluency in English, Spanish, French, and Haitian Creole. Guerline lived in Argentina for eleven years before migrating north and making the journey to the U.S. alone. She stayed in the Pumarejo shelter in Matamoros, Mexico for one and a half months, where she met the Jesuits when they would come to visit and celebrate Mass. From her first day at the shelter, Guerline looked for ways to help out: from translating for Haitian migrants to participating in the Mass.

Brian and Joe talk about the new dynamic of finding a kid before Mass in the shelters to ring the bell during the consecration. They share the story of Melisa, a nine-year-old girl from Honduras, who quickly became the all-star bell ringer in her shelter in Reynosa. But ringing the bell was just the starting point of her participation. Joe shares Melisa’s testimony of what it was that inspired her to keep coming back to Mass: “Because I need Jesus to help me become an even better person.”

We are thrilled to welcome Theresa Cardinal Brown to this special episode of the podcast. Tomorrow (November 5th) is the Presidential election, so we are bringing on a special guest with a wealth of experience in immigration politics. Theresa is a Senior Advisor at the Bipartisan Policy Center, which brings together strategists from the left and the right to help members of Congress craft bipartisan legislation. She is a regular media contributor discussing immigration issues in publications such as the Washington Post, New York  Times, and USA Today, on television on Fox News, PBS News Hour, CNN International, and NPR. She is also the producer and a regular voice on the podcast “This Week in Immigration”, covering the latest in immigration policy news (one of Brian’s favorite podcasts!).

In this episode, Brian and Joe ask Theresa about the recent history of immigration policy and how we got to where we are today. She talks about the contrasting priorities for both political parties around immigration, and where we could find common ground to get beyond the partisan divide. She shares how her faith motivates her in resisting polarization and seeking bipartisan solutions. It’s an informative and inspiring interview, so please enjoy this special episode.

And remember to vote!

To listen to the podcast “This Week in Immigration,” click here.

We are excited to welcome Pedro De Velasco, who is the Director of Education and Advocacy at the Kino Border Initiative (KBI). KBI is a binational program that includes a shelter and soup kitchen for migrants in Nogales, Senora, and education and encounter programs, along with advocacy outreach in both the U.S. and Mexico. Pedro outlines the current dynamic of migrants arriving at the border and beginning a long wait for a CBP One appointment to legally enter the U.S. Since the wait can stretch for months, Pedro explains how KBI helps migrants find affordable housing and employment, along with enrolling children in local schools. Pedro reflects on how his faith inspires his commitment to this work, and how faith shapes the mission of KBI.

Brian and Joe share stories of how migrants have made the most of their long wait for a CBP One appointment. Joe shares the story of Stephen, a young man from Colombia, who would make a new vocab list of English words to practice every single day. Brian shares the story of Aldo and Cinthia and their family from Guerrero, Mexico. They would always attend Mass on our visits, and little two-year-old Ixia loved learning the sign of the cross in English…or at least her version of it!

For our first episode of Season 7, we are humbled to welcome Fr. Tom Greene, SJ, the Provincial of the U.S. Central and Southern Province of the Jesuits. Fr. Greene was the one who first conceived of this mission to the U.S.-Mexico border in south Texas over three years ago.

In this episode, he shares the origin story of this mission and what inspired the idea to send Jesuits to the border to try something new. Before becoming a Jesuit, Fr. Greene went to law school and practiced as a lawyer, so he also talks about the ways he has put his legal background to use in his Jesuit life.

Speaking of trying something new, the border is marked by changes in policy that can often come suddenly and unexpectedly, requiring new ways of responding. Brian talks about an Executive Order from June 4th and how that impacted the ability to help vulnerable cases. He shares the story of Juan, Francy, and their kids who missed their CBP One appointment in April because they were kidnapped. They had to restart the process, and are still waiting for a new appointment all these months later.

Joe talks about one of the recent fraud updates for the CBP One app that requires every member of a travel group over 14 years old to take a live photo to confirm an appointment. Sounds like a good idea, until you hear the case of Breanne and Maylene that shows how a change in policy can have devastating unexpected consequences.

Listen to this episode to hear how these changes have required the Del Camino team to think creatively about how to respond to the ever-changing dynamics.

We are getting ready for Season 7 of The Jesuit Border Podcast! As the migrant situation at the U.S.-Mexico border continues to evolve with new policies and political discourse, we will continue to share on-the-ground stories and experiences with you, along with interviews with inspiring people dedicated to accompanying migrants along the border and across the country. Join us every Tuesday for a new episode.

The first episode of Season 7 will come out on Tuesday, October 22nd, 2024.

In this bonus episode, Brian and Joe share stories of Easter joy. After a season dedicated to Lenten themes, this bonus episode shares moments of joy that break through even the most challenging moments of life, like a migrant journey. Brian recounts a recent trip to St. Louis, where he became travel partners with Oscar, a Honduran migrant who had lived at Casa del Migrante in Reynosa for months. They decided to surprise Oscar’s family when they got to St. Louis, and the plan came together perfectly. Joe tells the story of Marta and her five daughters, who waited for their CBP One appointment for eight long months. When Brian and Joe weren’t able to give them a proper send-off before their appointment with immigration, they made a plan to surprise them as they finished their appointment and walked into the U.S. There were shouts of joy, tears, and (of course) a trip to McDonald’s. The big question was: would the ice cream machine be working??

For our final episode of Season 6, we are pleased to welcome Fr. Alejandro Olayo-Méndez, SJ, a Jesuit priest and Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Boston College. Alejandro’s expertise is in migration, refugees, and humanitarian interventions, especially along migration routes in Mexico. He has led small groups of Jesuits to follow the migrant route from Central America to the U.S. He shares some of the takeaways from that experience, including the challenges to traversing all of Mexico, the stories that migrants carry, and the deep spirituality of migrants. He also reflects on his experiences of celebrating Holy Week with migrants and the meaning of those services in the migrant context.

Brian and Joe talk about the Paschal Mystery that is celebrated during Holy Week: the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It is a dynamic that we live in our own lives, and a dynamic that is revealed profoundly in the lives of migrants. Brian and Joe share the story of Luis, a migrant from Venezuela, who rose from the hardships of the migrant journey, including being kidnapped in Mexico, to eventually enter the U.S. with a scheduled appointment. Now he is living in Denver and has his drivers license, work permit, and a job at a downtown hotel restaurant. Luis is truly a success story who has overcome so many obstacles to seek safety and opportunity. 

Enjoy this final episode of Season 6, and blessings on your Holy Week.

We are pleased to welcome Michael DeBruhl, the shelter director at Casa del Sagrado Corazón in El Paso, TX. Michael also worked as a Border Patrol agent for 25 years, so he brings a wealth of experience to the interview. He reflects on the dual desires of most Americans to both secure the border and provide welcome to migrants, and how those two desires do not have to be in direct opposition. He also comments on the current situation in El Paso, where the Texas Attorney General is launching an attack on Annunciation House, a Catholic nonprofit serving migrants and asylum seekers on the border.

Brian and Joe reflect on Palm Sunday and the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, as we recall the palms laid before Jesus as he entered the city. Unfortunately, that is not the welcome most migrants receive upon entry into the U.S. Brian shares the story of an Ecuadorian father who had reached the U.S. with his son, but had an ankle monitor strapped to his leg and a credible fear interview scheduled in just ten days, not nearly enough time to seek the legal counsel that would best serve his case. It seems like an inconsistency between the values we profess as a country and the policies we enact. In contrast, Joe highlights the consistency of people like our guest, Michael DeBruhl, along with so many advocates on the border, and those who have visited us for immersion experiences. Of course, Joe can’t end without giving a shout out to his home Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, where parishioners have been sending us rosaries to share with migrants.

We are excited to welcome Amaya Valcárcel, International Advocacy Officer with Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS) in Rome, who also works in the area of research and reflection in the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development at the Vatican. Amaya helps to broaden our perspective beyond the US-Mexico border to recognize the harsh reality of forced migration around the world. She echoes the words of Pope Francis calling for a culture of encounter as a remedy to the globalization of indifference that causes societies to build more policies of resistance rather than welcoming for refugees and asylum seekers. 

This past Sunday, we celebrated Laetare Sunday (from the Latin for “rejoicing”) in the middle of our Lenten journey. Drawing from that theme, Brian and Joe share stories of joy that breaks through even the harshest of circumstances. Brian tells the story of Kayla, a 4-year-old girl who he baptized in Senda 2 in Reynosa. Despite the harsh conditions of the shelter and the desperation of a long wait to enter the US, Kayla’s parents took advantage of their time at the shelter to have their daughter baptized, which was a moment of joy for all who joined in the celebration. Joe recalls the birthday/farewell party for Carlos, a migrant who was staying at Casa del Migrante in Reynosa. The joy reached a new level when Sor Edith, an 80-year-old Daughter of Charity, broke into dance to the delight of all. If you want to see her cut a move, there’s got to be a Tik Tok video of her out there somewhere!