This is the stage for the Voice of the Voiceless Solidarity Dinner.
This is Emma Molina (on the Left) and the Ministerio who were recognized for feeding, clothing and sheltering Christ in the poor Immigrant.My Friends Fr. Arturo Bañuelas and Ruben Garcia
I’m in El Paso for my (kind of) home visit. It’s great being back in the US where I am in my first language and first culture. It all seems so easy! I’m taking 2 weeks at “home”. The first week my sister Jeanette was here. It was so fun just being around her. The second week I’m reconnecting with friends in El Paso. I’m going out to eat with friends for almost every meal. It’s so great to have this kind of time with them.
I came to El Paso for our Annunciation House Board of Directors meeting and our annual Voice of the Voiceless Solidarity Dinner. Coming to El Paso for the board meetings and the Voice of the Voiceless dinner is always a shot in the arm for me. I am so impressed with and inspired by the people who are so committed to the work of justice for immigrants. This year our recipient of the Voice of the Voiceless award was Fr. Roy Bourgeois, Maryknoll, who is the founder of the School of the Americas watch dedicated to closing down the School of the Americas. The program introduction for Fr. Roy said, “In today’s climate of severe hostility toward immigrants, the prominence of enforcement-only immigration policies, and an increasingly militarized border, we hold Fr. Roy Bourgeois as a powerful example of the tradition of witness, hospitality and justice to which the guests of our houses have called us.”
We also honored three local groups and individuals who have demonstrated tremendous courage in witnessing to the Gospel mandate to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and shelter the homeless, even at personal risk. Before this weekend I had always considered feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and sheltering the homeless to be pretty basic and couldn’t fathom that doing so could ever carry any personal risk in this country. I want to share with you what happened here in El Paso on February 5, 2008 that scares the heck out of me.
A group from San Antonio Padua church was recognized. Every Tuesday a group of parishioners gathers to distribute food baskets to the poor, struggling to feed their families. They call themselves Minsterio Asistencia Social Y Espiritual. On any given Tuesday they respond to the needs of 40 to 60 families. On Tuesday, February 5th, while distributing the food baskets, a woman in her early forties walked in and asked for help. She was a Salvadoran woman and she told them that she had just crossed the border at 2am that morning. She knew no one in El Paso and had no place to stay. Her clothes were still damp and she had eaten nothing since the previous afternoon. The church parishioners welcomed her, gave her a change of dry clothing, and invited her to share a meal with them. They also called Annunciation House and were told that we would be happy to provide her with hospitality.
At about 1pm, two of the parishioners offered to give the woman a ride to Annunciation House. As the driver turned onto the street for Annunciation House, she realized that she was being followed, and as they approached Annunciation House, the parishioner’s car was blocked off both in front and in back by two unmarked pick-up trucks. Men exited the trucks, approached the parishioner’s car, and identified themselves as immigration agents. They then asked the two parishioners for their drivers’ licenses and demanded that the woman from El Salvador get out, saying “we know you are illegal, get out of the car!” She was handcuffed, taken into custody, and placed in detention. She is now applying for political asylum.
One agent went back to the truck to run a background check on the parishioners, and as he returned their licenses to them, warned them that what they were doing was illegal. When the obviously nervous parishioners asked if they were in trouble, the agent responded that he had spoken to his supervisor, who said that although he understood that the parishioners were trying to help someone, they needed to understand that their actions were illegal. The agents then allowed them to leave with a warning not to do what they had done again.
The Ministerio, was recognized for their witness to what it means to be a person of faith. On accepting the recognition Emma Molina said “No vamos a parar!” (“We’re not going to stop!”) She got a standing ovation for that one!!!
It seems so clear that we can’t just sit back and let someone tell us that we can’t carry out the mandates of the gospel. Of course I wouldn’t obey a law that goes against the gospel. Then in the program we were given scenarios that make me realize that every one of us DOES have to choose to follow the gospel or bow to unjust immigration policies. Here are a few examples that were read:
· I am a social worker and I am committed to working to improve the lives of disadvantaged groups in my community. However, a new state law is asking me to deny services to any individual who does not have a social security number, and the undocumented are among the most marginalized of the groups with whom I work.
· I am a member of a church that provides sandwiches to the hungry in my community. Recently a discussion has come up about who we should serve. In particular, dropping off food in certain areas of town inhabited mostly by immigrants is raising suspicion. Many of my fellow parishioners are concerned about the potential legal consequences of aiding immigrants in any way.
· I used to hire a woman to clean my house and care for my three small children. I never asked her if she had papers, but I knew that she badly needed a job. I was happy to help her out. I recently found out that she is undocumented, and I think I will have to let her go. The penalties for employing people without documentation are stiff enough that I can’t run the risk of being caught employing her.
Wow, this hits close to home. We have discussions about our legal liability as a board of directors for Annunciation House where we provide food and shelter for homeless undocumented immigrants. After the Voice of the Voiceless Solidarity dinner, I am making a conscious choice to follow the gospel, regardless of what our laws say. I pray that I can hold that conviction very clearly if or when I am ever in a position that challenges me and calls me to make a choice.
