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Migrant Services Update - Late Autumn

Writer's picture: Voices from the BorderVoices from the Border

It's been a busy summer and fall. Our apartments continue to be full with mostly moms, their children, and single women. A couple from Guatemala had their baby this summer, and they're still with us. The asylum system is moving VERY slowly, especially since Biden's Executive order in June. No one in our apartments has been able to secure a CBP One app appointment all summer. 


The University of Texas Strauss Center’s latest quarterly report on border asylum processing found that waits for CBP One appointments—which CBP has held steady at 1,450 per day since June 2023—now reach 8 or 9 months in some cases. (Here in Nogales, we have seen it take even longer.)


To accommodate new arrivals, we are limiting stays to up to three months for each family. Sometimes, extenuating circumstances require a bit more time. This gives our guests time to catch their breath in a safe and supportive environment.


Many have found jobs in hotels, restaurants, and grocery stores nearby. Because we meet their expenses while they're with us, this allows them to save money for their future. Some decide to stay in Nogales and continue to use the app every day still hoping for an appointment to request asylum. They share rental units in town with their new friends. Some network with friends or relatives in other parts of Mexico and have decided to move there and start over. For those folks, we help with bus tickets to move on. 


Now that school is back in session, Pancho works with our new arrivals to make sure their children are enrolled and attending school. 


Along with increased wait times, we have also seen an increase in deportations in Nogales since the Executive Order. We've been coordinating with Dora Rodriguez of Salvavision (featured later in this newsletter) who offers support to the newly deported families at the Repatriation Center at the Nogales Port of Entry. Dora refers families to us who need shelter, and we accommodate them as our space allows. It is our current understanding that folks who have been deported because they crossed between ports of entry, once repatriated are still eligible to use the CBP One app.


We recently welcomed our winter volunteers, Frank, Linda and John, back for a surprise visit, which always brings our guests so much joy. They'll be popping in and out until the holiday season, and then they'll be back for the winter after the first of the year for regularly scheduled classes and activities.


As the border and migration continue to be in the spotlight during this election season, we stick to our knitting, providing housing, food, and medical care to those in need. All made possible by your generous donations. 


To help us continue our services, please consider making a donation.


To read the full edition of our October newsletter, click HERE.


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