Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries

10/22/2026

"Every community that offers welcome becomes a sign of hope." -- Father General Arturo Sosa, SJ

We are grateful for the ongoing work of the Jesuit Refugee Service around the world. Let us all seek to become more welcoming on this Hospitality Day.

10/21/2026

When President Trump took office in January 2025, he immediately closed off the legal pathway to entry for vulnerable asylum seekers. It completely transformed the border dynamic.

Researchers estimate that around 5,000 migrants and asylum seekers remain stranded along the border in northern Mexico, most of whom have been there since Trump closed down legal entry.

Some of our long term partners in ministry continue to do incredible work accompanying this population, like Kathy Harrington and Andrea Rudnik from Madrinas de Justicia (Godmothers for Justice). Aid cuts have placed tremendous strain on local shelters and non-profits, but the resolve to serve continues to drive us.

➡️ To read more about the border reality, visit:
https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/feature/2026/10/07/aid-cuts-and-continued-needs-challenges-facing-volunteers-us-mexico-border

10/20/2026

We are excited to welcome Savi Arvey, the Director of Policy for Refugee and Immigrant Rights at Human Rights First.

Savi runs the flight monitor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) flights. In this episode, she pulls back the curtain of ICE Air, a massive operation of the government to contract private airline companies to move and deport migrants. She talks about forced third country transfers, and if you do not know what that is, you are going to want to know. It is shocking that our country is doing this to people, and by the thousands.

Juan and Brian share stories that reveal the importance of vital information. Brian talks about a recent encounter with Susana, a Honduran woman who thought she was falsely deported because she is married to a U.S. citizen. Unfortunately, she was missing some vital information. Juan recounts his dramatic encounter with Mexican police as he helped to translate for Rhonda, a migrant from Zimbabwe. Rhonda and her daughters had been kidnapped, and it was vital information that got to her aunt in the U.S. that helped save their lives.

Listen now: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6wazLq7gjGkcqhDFX43byM?si=cI2kwTnETG6PTo8iDsSHog

10/18/2026

We are concentrating our donations on the five shelters we visit weekly in Reynosa and Matamoros. The needs at all locations are great. We are always looking for more donations! We are continuing to help supplement the diet for children at the shelters with nutritional drinks and fortified milk. If you'd like to help out, check out our Amazon wishlist, which is based on direct feedback from the migrants themselves.

If you'd like to help out, check out our Amazon Wishlist, which is based on direct feedback from the migrants themselves:
🛒 https://bit.ly/BorderWishList [link in bio]

To make a monetary donation you may do so on our website. This donation is tax-deductible as allowed by law and will be used to help aid the migrants directly.
🔷https://delcamino.org/donate/ [link in bio]

Please know that we are very grateful for any and all support, whether through monetary donations, through the wishlist, and especially through prayer. Our ministry would not exist without the generosity of so many people who want to make a direct difference in the lives of those on the margins. Thank you!

10/17/2026

On the latest episode of The Jesuit Border Podcast, Sister Norma Pimentel, MJ, executive director of Catholic Charities and tireless advocate for the vulnerable here in the Rio Grande Valley, shared about how her faith and life of prayer help anchor her work in God's will.

"For me, prayer is more a time of quiet silence, a time where I can stand still for awhile, for a good time in his presence, so that I can let him be part of what he wants to let me see and know and understand, and how I must deal with whatever comes up for the day."

A direct connection to God, through prayer, helps us interpret reality and our faith and discern how God wants us to respond to challenges in the world today, said Sr. Norma. She invites us to imagine what the world might be like if we all were led through prayer to see what God wants us to see of the dignity of our brothers and sisters.

We are grateful to Sr. Norma for sharing her spiritual wisdom and joy with us for the second time on the podcast. Listen on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen: https://buff.ly/jbbBubK

10/16/2026

The Archdiocese of St. Louis filed a lawsuit over restrictions preventing priests from distributing communion and hearing confessions in a local ICE detention center.

A handful of priests make visits to the Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center regularly, including Fr. David Kiblinger, SJ. But the jail only allows priests to use phones to talk to detainees through a glass partition. This prevents them from giving holy Communion or hearing confession, which cannot be conducted over a phone. Priests have also not been permitted to celebrate Mass inside the detention center.

The lawsuit argues that detainees are being denied their basic right to spiritual care. We strongly agree with the Archdiocese and applaud them for fighting for access to the center. We are able to make regular visits in our area, and we see firsthand how impactful the ministry can be.

Read more: https://www.stlouisreview.com/story/archdiocese-files-lawsuit/

10/15/2026

Bishop Brendan Cahill, the current chair of the USCCB Committee on Migration, joined Rev. Walter Kim in issuing a joint statement, "A Call for Christian Compassion and Wisdom in the Immigration Debate."

They write:

"As evangelical and Catholic leaders, we are aware that the vast majority of those currently subject to detention and deportation are Catholic and evangelical Christians. Roughly one in 12 believers in this country either faces the loss of legal status or shares a home with someone who does. Their fear is our fear; their tears are ours to wipe."

Read the full message: https://www.usccb.org/ecdistatement

10/14/2026

Catholic and Evangelical Leaders Unite in Call for Compassionate Immigration Reform

“There is much that can be done to avoid the rupturing of our families and communities brought about by indiscriminate and aggressive enforcement actions,” said Bishop Brendan Cahill and Reverend Walter Kim in an ecumenical statement released today.

Bishop Cahill serves as the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration and Reverend Kim as the president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). Together, they lead the Evangelical-Catholic Dialogue on Immigration (ECDI) as its co-chairs.

Read the full release at: https://ow.ly/29mN50ZXgTC

10/13/2026

We are very excited to welcome Sr. Norma Pimentel, MJ, the Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley. She talks about the important work of Catholic Charities accompanying families that have been separated by immigration enforcement. She also shares the harrowing story of Sr. Letty, a Catholic nun who was picked up by ICE on her way to church this summer. It is crazy to hear all the efforts from Sr. Norma as soon as she got that urgent phone call telling her: “Sr. Letty has just been handcuffed and taken away!”

Juan and Brian share examples of people who allow their faith to lead them. Juan tells the story of Alexa, a woman from Venezuela who lost her newborn daughter just a month after birth. Now a new family tragedy back in Venezuela has her feeling distant and powerless. Where can she turn for support?

Brian shares the story Marcos and Elvia, along with their two adult children and 3-year-old granddaughter Ada. After Ada’s father was murdered, the family fled Honduras. When Brian found out they were visiting a local soup kitchen on Saturdays, he was not surprised. But when Elvia explained why, he was totally stunned.

Listen now on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts: https://buff.ly/Z2JxPIe

10/12/2026

"I often encounter the argument that potential immigrants to the United States should “do it the legal way, like my family did!” It is an understandable comment. In the early 1900s, my family passed through Ellis Island legally without much documentation, likely in a matter of hours. They chose to become U.S. citizens years later. But the Immigration Act of 1924 all but closed the door to legal immigration for those willing to work in often-undesirable jobs in pursuit of a better life for their families.

Americans must acknowledge that Ellis Island is now a museum—and our immigration laws belong in one. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 again made it clear that working-class migrants were not welcome and instead focused on immigrants who possessed familial connections to the United States or high levels of education. Nowadays, the procedures to obtain a visa and, for those eligible, a green card and citizenship through naturalization take years."

Read more about the realities of today's immigration policies, and how they impact the most vulnerable:

I am grateful that my Italian great-grandparents could come to the United States and ultimately become citizens. But that pathway is almost impossible now.