Thread: Families Deported From U.S. Find Helping Hand At Shelter

Families deported from U.S. find helping hand at shelter

By Omar Millán González
August 11, 2008

TIJUANA – Mexican families deported from the United States to Tijuana have a new place where they can contemplate their next move during their time of uncertainty.

It's called Casa Refugio Elvira, in Tijuana's Zona Centro, and it's named for Elvira Arellano, who was deported in September 2007 after spending a year in a Chicago church despite a court order expelling her from the United States.

The shelter is little-known because it hasn't finished the necessary paperwork to register as a nonprofit, but since Dec. 16 it has sheltered and fed 302 deportees.

Micaela Saucedo, the home's director, offers deportees shelter, food and sometimes clothing. She's also an activist with Hermandad Mexicana (Mexican Brotherhood), a U.S.-based group that advocates for Latin American immigrants.

At 4 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., Saucedo stands near the gate where deportees re-enter Mexico, handing out fliers and inviting families to the shelter.
Refugio Elvira is different from other shelters because it accepts only families – siblings, couples or mothers with children. Single men are not allowed.

And, Saucedo adds, deportees are not given set dates to leave the shelter, while other shelters let them stay for a maximum of 15 days.
“When female immigrants come here, they haven't thought about what they're going to do,â€

[b]Shouldn’t this propaganda be classified as a [color=violet]“SOBâ€