On November 21 – 22, The Immigration Summit was hosted by Lydia Patterson Institute (LPI). Five bishops and around 40 other representatives from the UMC Immigration Task Force, General Board, and other United Methodist organizations gathered to focus on improving the well-being of immigrants on our southern border.
After a brief welcome and orientation, we joined the LPI students and staff for their morning Chapel service, then toured LPI. During the welcome, the El Paso mayor, Dee Margo, shared how the border has been an ongoing issue for 30 years. He celebrated that Lydia Patterson was a bridge between Mexico and the states. Dr. Socorrow de Ande, the LPI president, shared that 75% of the LPI students have to cross the border every day for class. 50% of those students are American citizens. 25% are on visas. The student who are U.S. citizens are not admitted into the Mexico school because they are not citizens. However, they are not accepted into the El Paso schools because they are not residents. Lydia Patterson fills that gap for these students. They can have over 500 students but are currently only 250 – 275 enrolled.
After chapel, we toured LPI and had lunch with the students. We then traveled to Juarez to visit the Immigration Center. El Calvario UMC volunteers were serving lunch in the center. We learned that while immigrants are waiting for their turn, they do not travel back to their homes, so they do not risk losing their place in line. There are tent cities under the three bridges filled with families waiting to hear if their number is next. El Calvario volunteers feed these families and teach and play with their children weekly.
We then traveled to the El Buen Samaritano shelter in Juarez. Here we heard from the pastors that run the church and shelter and from Bishop Felip Ruiz Aguilar and Juarez DS, Rev. Ruben Pero Rivera. They shared about how the shelter was closed just a few years prior, and in reopening it, they have received several families from all over. They shared their plans for construction on the shelter so they could house more people.
The evening concluded with dinner serenaded by the PLI Mariachis and Linda Rivas; Las Americas Advocacy Center Executive Director shared during the presentation. Friday included presentations from Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, a panel discussion featuring Ruben Garcia of Annunciation House, Robert Moore, El Paso journalist, and Hannah Hollandbyrd of The Hope Border Institute. Morningstar UMC hosted lunch in Las Cruces, where the group heard from Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small. Then we toured El Calvario UMC and the Borderland Hospitality House. The day concluded with dinner and prayer service held at Trinity First UMC in El Paso. Bishop Bledsoe preached, “Come and See.” We are thankful to the organizers of this year’s summit: DS Eddie Rivera, Rev. Nicole Crouch, Jenna Johnson, and Lydia Patterson Institute.
