We are going to the Texas Border to learn first-hand what is going on with immigration. I went on this trip last March and it changed my perspective. It is easy to see just by reading and watching the news that the US Immigration System is broken. Both sides of the aisle are not doing what is best for immigrants or US citizens. Both seem to be using immigrants for political gain and I have huge problems with that. They don’t seem to remember that we are talking about people, human beings, who think, feel, act, and relate. Our immigration system is broken and it has been for a very long time.
My trip to the border last year really opened my eyes. I heard from two border patrol agents how they have PTSD from the things they’ve seen. They are human with feelings and emotions. I heard a young couple from Venezuela share about their traumatic journey through the Darién Gap. I saw respite centers provide for migrants gently and lovingly. I saw the city of Brownsville do all it could to help migrants alongside nonprofits and churches.
I now have a more informed view of immigration that has given me greater compassion for migrants, border patrol, and nonprofit workers.
I would love for you to join me on this wonderful experience.
Lance Mayes
Associate Pastor of Community Engagement
Woodland Church, San Antonio
Our goals for the trip:
- To understand the border context: Experience the realities of border communities and learn to dispel border myths.
- To witness God’s work at the border: Witness welcoming communities serving migrants biblically and steadfastly.
- To advocate for immigration reform: Discern how to practice impactful welcoming and advocacy.
With Elket Rodriguez, CBF Field Personnel, we will:
- Go to Harlingen, McAllen, & Brownsville
- Talk with Border Patrol
- Learn from the South Texas Human Rights Center
- Visit Respite Centers
- Visit the Border Wall
John Whisler wrote about his experience on our March 2023 Texas Border Trip. Click here to read about John Whisler’s experience.
We will have some things to read and do before we go. Here are two articles and a book that we read for our March 2023 trip.
If you can get a copy of the book Christians at the Border by M. Daniel Carroll R. (it is no longer in print), please read it. I found a used copy at Amazon. You can get a digital copy through Apple Books.
I highly recommend the movie, Cabrini. This story about the first canonized saint in the United States parallels our current issues with immigration. Mother Cabrini was an Italian immigrant in the late 1800s.
Tentative Itinerary
Sunday, April 28, 2024
2:00 pm Leave Woodland
6:30 pm Dinner in Harlingen
7:30 pm Check into hotel — Holiday Inn Express
Monday, April 29
7:30 am Breakfast at hotel, border context, and rules
8:30 am Drive to McAllen
9:30 am Catholic Charities Respite Center (volunteer in the largest respite center for released asylum seekers)
11:30 am To Lunch at Taco Palenque
12:30 pm To South Texas Human Rights Center (Learn about locating and recovering the remains of migrants who have perished during their journey, while offering life-saving water stations)
4:00 pm To Hotel (debrief)
6:00 pm Dinner at Frankie Flave’s Craft Burgers
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
7:30 am Breakfast at hotel, asylum law, and rules
8:30 am To CBP Station (Customs & Border Patrol visit)
11:00 am To lunch at Dave’s BBQ
12:10 pm To La Lomita Mission (see border wall/levee and communion
2:30 pm To Colonia and visit with Cali Fernández (witness where many undocumented migrants live in south Texas colonial)
4:30 pm To hotel (debrief)
6:00 pm Dinner at Cracker Barrel
Wednesday, Mat 1, 2024
7:30 am Breakfast at hotel, border policies, and rules
8:30 am To Brownsville
9:00 am Alice Wilson Hope Park (information on border wall)
9:30 am Gateway International Bridge (information on the U.S.-Mexico border)
10:30 am Iglesia Bautista West Brownsville (witness the Respite Center, homeless migrants, and bus station)
1:00 pm Xeriscape Park (invite migrants to eat lunch)
1:15 pm Lunch at La Vaquita
2:30 pm Iglesia Bautista West Brownsville (listen to the stories of migrants)
4:00 pm To Hotel
5:30 pm to Valley Baptist Missions & Education Center (witness unaccompanied migrant children in custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement)
7:00 pm Dinner at Los Asados
7:45 pm To hotel
Thursday, May 2, 2024
7:30 am Breakfast at hotel and final debrief
8:30 am Check out and head to Woodland
1:00 pm Arrive at Woodland Church
