We are extremely grateful for your support, especially at this time. 2018-2019 is unparalleled for Annunciation House. A growing number of people from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, among others, have left their countries, often fleeing persecution and extreme violence, and have walked hundreds of miles in search of a safer place for their children and families.
As they’ve arrived at the border in El Paso/Ciudad Juarez, they’ve faced the awful reality of being stopped and refused application for asylum or if they cross the border, separation from children, even infants, inhumane conditions in ICE holding cells meant for far fewer people and treatment as dangerous criminals. The crisis has heightened since just before Christmas as immigration authorities have been dropping off hundreds of people downtown and at bus stations with no one to provide even modest assistance to exhausted, hungry and penniless immigrants, many of them young children. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are dropping off as many as 500 people a day.) In response, religious and humanitarian communities in the El Paso area have partnered with Annunciation House and opened new shelters across the city to provide food, warm, clean clothing, and a safe place to sleep. In addition, volunteers assist migrants in contacting family members and making arrangements for travel to family members in the US. Because of the holiday season and significantly reduced availability of bus and airline seats, though, many migrants are having to remain in shelters for longer than the typical one to four days.
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