Tensions are rising among the growing numbers of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border ahead of upcoming changes to U.S. asylum policies
Faith leaders working on the border are wary of what's to come. They expect tensions will keep rising if new restrictions are imposed. And if not, they will struggle to hostat already over-capacity shelters and quickly resettle them in a volatile political environment.
Last week, the shelter housed nearly 300 people, mostly women and children, in tightly packed bunk beds with sleeping pads between them. Men wait in the streets, exposed to cartel violence, said Sister Maria Tello, who runs Casa del Migrante. “We need to wait, and it could be good for some and bad for others. One doesn’t know what to do," she said, finding some comfort in Mass and daily prayers, where she begs God for help and patience.
Asylum is granted to those who cannot return to their countries for fear of persecution on specific grounds — starvation, poverty and violence don't usually count. “It’s a way of listening, of supporting, it’s not so much resolving the immediate problem,” the Rev. Flavio Bravo said. “They bring stories of trauma, of life, that we must give value to.”who first helped border crossers four decades ago and now runs Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, said religious people should push for centrist reform to help migrants — not make them political pawns.
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