Pictured: Rosanne Fischer and Rod Johnson (standing); Sister Mary Dumonceaux, Lori Johnson, Sister Pat Forster, Jeanne Krush, Sister Gloria Haider (seated); Anna Taylor (kneeling). The 2022 Border Encounter group takes a boat ride up and down the Rio Grande River: “It was heartbreaking to view the deflated inner tubes littering the shores, left behind by desperate immigrants seeking safety, bringing to mind stories about people of all ages who have drowned in the river or died from thirst and exposure while crossing the desert.”

Border Encounters resume after Covid pause

Associate Lori Johnson

The Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls have had a strong presence at the U.S.-Mexico border for many years, and a number of sisters and associates have been on border encounters, where Franciscan Sisters invite people interested in immigration issues to travel to the border for an in-person experience. After the Covid-induced “pause,” my husband, Rod, and I, along with Associate Anna Taylor and Jeannie Krush (associate applicant), all felt called to visit the southern border.

Associate Rosanne Fischer, coordinator of Integral Ecology and alumna of past border encounters, initiated planning. To prepare for the experience, Sister Mary Hroscikoski and Rosanne shared podcasts, articles and books about the challenges facing immigrants (see references).

We set the date: November 3-10, 2022. Our base for the week was Sister Mary Hroscikoski’s home in McAllen, Tex. A host of beautiful people made the experience come alive, showing us hospitality by driving, providing meals and sharing fellowship. Among these were Sisters Pat Forster, Mary Dumonceaux and Gloria Haider, and their friends Meghan, Willie, Marsha and Veronica.

We experienced the beauty of the region. In McAllen we visited Quinta Mazatlán, a nature preserve, and went to an art crawl. In nearby Edinburg, we toured the Museum of South Texas History and the World Birding Center. We even attended a Mariachi Mass in Mission! We had many wonderful and eye-opening experiences during the week. Here are three highlights:

The first was our visit to the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center, founded by Sister Norma Pimentel. We toured the center and witnessed all the work done to restore human dignity with clean clothing, toiletries, a place to sleep and hot meals. After serving a meal to new immigrants, we were able to visit with several and hear their accounts first-hand.

We weren’t prepared for the story of a young woman from Venezuela who, with her husband and daughter, traveled for more than a month to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border. She said it was very dangerous for them to stay in Venezuela due to the political situation; thus they decided to make the long and difficult journey with the hopes of starting a new life in the United States. Four days prior to our meeting, her husband had been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As she wiped away tears, she said she was very afraid because she had not heard from him and had no idea of his whereabouts. She said her daughter often cries because she misses her father. We have thought so many times about this woman and her daughter, and often pray for them.

The second was our visit to an immigrant-run organization called ARISE Adelante. ARISE has been providing resources and educational programs to strengthen community engagement and civic participation for over 35 years. We listened as two staff shared their personal border journey; then we visited a woman whose daughter is a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient. The mother shed tears as she spoke about living in the United States without her own legal status. Despite contributing to the local economy by working and paying taxes, she faces constant fear of deportation living in a region with heavy Border Patrol presence.

The third powerful experience was visiting La Casa del Migrante in Reynosa, Mexico, run by four Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. Its primary objective is to assist vulnerable pregnant women and their children who are eligible to be released into the United States. We had a chance to play with the kids, who were eager to show us their drawing abilities. One even took Rod by the hand and brought him to meet his mother. In spite of the hardship they were undoubtedly enduring, we saw an abundance of smiles, play and laughter. They showed amazing resilience as they continued to thrive and carry on amidst so much uncertainty.

A literal looming presence in all these encounters was the infamous U.S.-Mexico border wall. Hearing about it on the news for years did not prepare us for the visceral response of seeing it in person. In many areas it dominated the skyline, even from miles away, and up close it was easy to visualize the disappointment of those who had trekked for months only to face this final hurdle of unwelcome.

The Southern Border Communities Coalition reflects our feelings about the border wall:

“Walls betray our values. Border walls have little or no impact on whether somebody flees their home country to seek humanitarian protection for their children or families at the border. The southern border should be a place of encounter, opportunity and hope – not confrontation, hate, and out-of-control militarization.”

We would like to thank the Franciscan Sisters living in McAllen and Mission and Rosanne Fischer for all they did to make the border encounter an amazing experience.