Columban missionaries have been accompanying communities along the US/MX border for over 25 years. Every day we see how border communities are models of hospitality and creative cross-cultural encounter. We’re friends with the families that call this place home, who cherish their binational heritage.
We also see how inhumane immigration enforcement and extreme militarization sow fear and distrust in our communities. And for those that do not live here, conflicting media reports and demonizing rhetoric may be their only source of information about this beautiful place.
We invite you to come and see the reality beyond the rhetoric. The resources and articles on this webpage will help you to gain a greater understanding of what is really going on at the border and how you can best advocate for border communities.
At the border, every day is an opportunity to put into practice St. Columban's famous teaching: “let a life unlike your own be your teacher.”
The Columban Mission Center in El Paso hosts “border awareness experiences” all year long.
Host a Border Justice Workshop
See the reality beyond the rhetoric. Host a border justice workshop for your faith community or group.
Tell Biden: No Children in Detention
Write to President Biden and tell him to end all detention of migrants.
Learn what's really happening on the US/MX border and how people of faith can stand in solidarity with migrants and the border communities that welcome them.
Hundreds of men and women, accompanied by their children, are deported every day through the Paso del Norte international bridge in Ciudad Juarez Chihuahua. They are taken to the city's shelters, where this picture was taken, and the children play in the shelters courtyard.
2021 was another challenging year for our sisters and brothers coming to the United States’ southern border looking for refuge. In 2022, the continuation of inhumane migration policies, as well as the uncertainty of our upcoming midterm elections, call on all of us to continue advocating for the protection of migrants and asylum seekers.
Those that accompany migrants along their journey know that governments do not always live up to their commitments. Often nonprofit organizations, and especially faith-based organizations, must fill in the gaps that government policies create in order to ensure basic needs are met.
President Biden hasn’t been in office for 100 days and already the evolving situation at the US/MX border is at the top of his agenda. In this article, we want to give you an update on what’s happening at the US/MX border right now.
Columban missionaries who have experience ministering in countries during times of violence, upheaval, and oppression have written reflections connecting the dots between their experiences and what is happening right now in the United States: "helicopters create a deep uneasiness and a constant reminder of the militarization at the border, making us feel like prisoners in our own city, watched and threatened."
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