They crossed the border in fear, arrived with nothing and still have little. They are the immigrants who have just arrived by bus to the metropolitan area and they remind us of Jesus, Mary and Joseph looking for shelter in Bethlehem, being cold and in need.
That's why Catholic Charities of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington hosted a Christmas party for 250 of them Dec. 6 at the center located at 12247 Georgia Ave. in Silver Spring, Maryland.
“It will be our first Christmas in the United States. Although we are in need, we are happy because we are together as a family,” said Talia Castro, who crossed the border alone last March and is five months pregnant. Two months later her husband Ricardo Gonzalez arrived, and later their oldest son Jeiner came with his grandmother.
Ricardo started working in construction locally, but as usual in this winter season, he became unemployed. Talia cares for their five-month-old baby Daniel while they live in a room in Gaithersburg, Maryland. “These donations we received today help us a little bit,” they said.
They wandered around several cities in their native Colombia looking for opportunities. For seven years, they tried their luck in Ecuador, but it didn't work out. So they moved north to turn themselves in to the American border authorities. “What we want is to work and be stable,” said those who still do not have an immigration court date.
This annual Catholic Charities Christmas party for the migrant families served by the Newcomer Network's Navigator Program was a joyous one.
In an atmosphere full of balloons, candies, color, music and gifts, everyone wanted to take pictures with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. The traditional nativity scene was not to be missed.
Children received toys, adults received bags of food (canned goods, cereals, soups and pasta). Coats, hats and gloves were distributed.
“The Americans are very generous, they have helped us a lot and we feel very welcome”, said Guatemalan mother Roselia Romero holding her baby Andrew born six months ago. At her side was her husband Hugo and their other son Adel.
This family arrived in the United States with very little, other than the clothes on their backs. He arrived in 2020, she in 2023 with Adel. They say they had a scare in Mexico because delinquents wanted to rob them.
Hugo also works in construction and generates enough to pay rent for a room in Laurel, Maryland. That's where the four of them live while they are adapted to a new land.
They have an immigration court date in February 2025. They will appear before the authorities for the fourth time, but they know they do not qualify for asylum.
What has prompted them to emigrate is the economic situation in Guatemala. “There is no work in our country,” say Hugo who comes from a Catholic family of eight children and Roselia who has nine siblings.
The Romero's American dream is to establish a construction business and buy or build their own house.
Despite all the difficulties, they will celebrate this Christmas 2024 with joy and hope, especially because Roselia's parents will come to spend the end of the year with their grandchildren.
Wiliandri Rivas and his family fled Venezuela six years ago to seek opportunities in Colombia. When that didn't work out, they decided to wait two months in Mexico to get an appointment with the authorities and then enter the U.S. legally in May with her husband Maikel and their two girls.
Catholic Charities was a blessing to them as they assisted them in getting funds to pay two months’ rent.
They have a work permit, which makes the process easier for them. They reside in Hyattsville, but are behind on their rent. Maikel works as a barber, but they live with limitations. So the coats the four received at the Catholic Charities party they really need for this first winter.
“This will be our first Christmas in the United States and we feel safe and happy in a country where we can find many opportunities and get ahead,” said the young Catholic mother.
During the party, about 10 students from Connelly School of the Holy Child served as volunteers, providing entertainment, handing out food and gifts.
“I'm here because it's Christmas and this is God's work. I like being with the kids and serving, I like seeing people's faces when they realize that others love them,” said Mariana Telles, a ninth grader at this Catholic school located in Potomac, Maryland.
At Mariana's house, during the Christmas season, they pray as a family, sing Christmas carols and go Mass on Christmas Eve at night. “It is the time when we are more together, as a family. It is the time to give thanks,” she stressed.
“God is my best friend, he has helped me a lot in my studies. It is a blessing from God that I can have a quality education,” said the teen who receives a scholarship at her school.
The Colombian girl confessed identifies with these immigrant families she kindly assisted. Her parents arrived in the United States in 2005 and little by little they got ahead. She remembers that during the COVID-19 pandemic, at Christmas, the six siblings had simple gifts because they were in need.
Mariana also volunteers at the food bank of her parish, St. Jude in Rockville, Maryland, and at Interfaith Works, an organization that provides pre-owned clothing to the needy.
For the third year this activity is taking place and was made possible by contributions from the Kaplan family, Connelly School of the Holy Child, New Hope Church, Sister Marie Chiodo of the Daughters of Wisdom, Veronica Cruz of Cruz Associates, employees of Catholic Charities and Parish Partners who donated the coats.
Buses with undocumented immigrants who have crossed the border began arriving in the metro area in April 2022. About 30 families are still arriving on each bus, but less frequently.
Texas and other border governments offer them the trip at no cost and it is voluntary. At first they arrived at Union Station in the early morning, later the drivers began to leave them adrift on any street in the capital and the luckiest ones arrive at the SAMU reception center in Rockville.
Some are assisted to continue their journey to other sanctuary cities such as New York or Chicago where they want to settle because they have family or friends or job opportunities. Others are taken in by friends or relatives locally and the rest stay for up to a month at SAMU. This group is the most vulnerable, starting from scratch, with no one and nothing.
Catholic Charities, along with other charitable organizations, have assisted them from the very beginning at SAMU with their basic needs: housing, medical care, food, cash, work, legal advice, job training and English classes. They currently take on approximately five new families each week to serve them and connect them with services in the local counties.
For example, they help them apply for assistance from Montgomery County to pay rent for a month or two. In addition, they provide clothing, food, gift cards for food and help with children's school enrollment.
Pregnant women or single mothers can be provided with permanent housing. They are no longer paid for a hotel for up to a year, as was previously the case.
The Christmas party was attended by those who are assisted in the Catholic Charities navigator program: some who have just arrived and are sleeping in SAMU, others who have already left and become independent, as well as other immigrants in need who have been in the U.S. for less than five years.
Experts say that it takes about five years for an immigrant to learn English, get to know the U.S. system, make his or her way, stand on his/her own two feet, excel and run after the American dream. Every immigrant has experienced this journey firsthand, knows that it is not easy and does not forget it.
