Migrating is for many an act of desperation and those who undertake it are embarking on a dangerous journey. There are various reasons that move migrants to leave their countries. For some of them it is a matter of survival and escaping the risk of death.
Certainly, every immigrant comes with their own dreams. However, for local governments and community organizations, they represent a big challenge because not enough funds or resources are available to cope with the influx of big numbers.
This is the situation Sister Sharlet Ann Wagner, Director of Newcomer Network, an organization serving the newly arrived at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, described during an immigration conference hosted by Catholic University of America (CUA) on April 11, 2024.
Sister Wagner, a Catholic leader, and immigration advocate says migrants are also an opportunity. “It is a privilege serving them. It is our time and opportunity to help them,” she remarked while calling on Catholics to volunteer.
“Our country needs workers who contribute to local economies,” she added, stressing that migrants are not eligible for government welfare programs. “However, they are a profitable investment… and numbers back up this assertion” she said.
The US labor force will grow by 5.2 million workers by 2033, according to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) figures. CBO estimates that migrants entering the workforce will cause GDP to grow by about $7 trillion and incomes by $1 trillion between 2033 and 2034.
The conference was organized in response to changing realities at U.S. borders and beyond, as well as a way to bring a Catholic approach to the controversial issue of immigration.
The Director of the USCCB Annual Collection for the Church in Latin America, Rev. Leo Perez, showed photographs depicting people suffering at border areas such as Cucuta, Colombia. He said it is a tragedy being experienced by those who are trying to cross the border and those who are stuck waiting for an appointment to be allowed to enter. The Church is assisting them in their predicament.
“They come because medical and social services have collapsed in their countries, and they need medical care and healing,” Rev. Perez said in an emotional statement as he recalled seeing children die. He added that some migrants even choose to head south, to places as far away as Chile.
According to 2017 statistics, 87 percent of those who entered the United States did so for financial reasons and 2 percent because of violence in their own countries. But more recent data from the Inter-American Development Bank indicates that 41 percent of immigrants from the Northern Triangle area cited violence as a main cause for migrating to the U.S. while 74 percent of Central Americans cited lack of economic opportunities.
Sister Tracey Horan, associate director, Kino Border Initiative (Nogales, Arizona/Nogales, Mexico), participated in a panel on “What are immigrants experiencing at the border and beyond.” She said that in many cases Latin Americans find themselves at a dead end and are forced to leave their homeland.
“My mother did not want to leave her animals, her farm. But we had no choice. We had to leave. Now we are asking for a humane, fair process (to enter the US),” was the testimony from an unnamed migrant shared by Sister Horan.
Those arriving at the southern border come mainly from Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico, but some are also coming from China and Russia.
The first busloads of migrants from Texas arrived in the Washington Metropolitan Area on Easter 2022. “They have to agree to the trip because they have no resources at all,” Sister Wagner said.
Wagner remarked that Catholic Charities of DC sprang into action immediately to try and meet the needs of newcomers, connecting them with agencies able to provide them with shelter, hotel, food, and legal assistance. Catholic Charities has 35 professionals in its Legal Department, but they can’t keep up with the demand. There is a waiting list.
Most newcomers are single men who do not speak English, arrive exhausted and bring neither money nor belongings. “They come with traumas, with no sponsors, not even knowing anyone in this country. They can’t work and many are victims of threats,” she said.
Buses arrive overcrowded with Venezuelan, Cuban, Honduran, Peruvian, and Guatemalan immigrants.
They feel utterly helpless and overwhelmed because everything they used to know has changed, and they have to learn to ‘navigate unchartered waters.’
The District of Columbia government opened a welcome center to serve them. “Some stay months in hotels, others move faster in their search for jobs and housing,” Sister Wagner said.
“Misinformation is commonplace, especially through social media, so those arriving have high expectations of finding a house, lawyer services. Upon arrival they don’t find what they were expecting and get frustrated in the process,” she added.
In the face of a clear, pervasive anti-immigrant sentiment leaders’ advice is to have polite conversations when touching a controversial topic like this, being available to help migrants, donating useful items (inflatable beds, food, money), setting up fund raising efforts, volunteering, and sharing newcomers’ testimonies.
“Sharing immigration stories helps us see the human side of those who arrive. They are people, not just numbers,” Sister Horan said.
