Thread: Immigrant shelter not busy enough to stay open

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_4690439

Immigrant shelter not busy enough to stay open
By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
Article Launched:11/20/2006 12:00:00 AM MST


JUAREZ - Due to a lack of clients, a Juárez shelter catering to immigrants closed shop this year for the first time in its 17-year history.
Casa de la Peregrina in downtown Juárez, operated by the El Paso charity Annunciation House, has been closed all of this year.

The shelter, a haven for women migrants and their children before they crossed into the United States or after they were deported from the United States, opened in 1989.

It had never been closed for more than two or three months at a time, usually for maintenance or when there weren't enough volunteers to run it, said Ruben Garcia, director of Annunciation House.

But last year, "The number of people in migration was so very low and we did not want to see Casa Peregrina evolve into another kind of shelter because we wanted to continue with the work we've historically done," Garcia said.

The number of immigrants apprehended in the El Paso sector remained steady last year at 122,256.

However, experts said that increased border security has changed
the logistics of illegal immigration in that more immigrants are hiring smugglers rather than trying to cross on their own.
Smugglers usually have networks of safe houses and motels, and don't rely on shelters.

In a long-running poll of recently deported migrants along the border, researchers at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte found that in 1993, only 15 percent of immigrants used a smuggler.

In 2004, the most recent data compiled, 40 percent used a smuggler.

Officials at the largest shelter for immigrants in Juárez, Casa del Migrante, also reported a dwindling number of guests. Casa del Migrante, which remains open, is located near the Zaragoza Bridge and is not easily accessible without a car.

Casa Peregrina was the first shelter in Juárez to house immigrant men and women. Later, it became a women and children-only shelter and welcomed many wives who had moved to Juárez from the interior of Mexico only to be abandoned when their husbands continued north without them.

The house, built around a courtyard, had 40 beds in dormitories and private rooms, but children often slept several in one bed. Young Catholic volunteers came to work at Casa Peregrina from around the United States.

Garcia said the shelter could be reopened if the need arises again.

The shelter, a haven for women migrants and their children before they crossed into the United States or after they were deported from the United States, opened in 1989.

I guess this means we aren't deporting enough women and their children to keep them busy. So much for interior enforcement.

Are all illegal immigrant women with anchor babies getting a "get out of jail free" card? Well, I'm sure there are plenty of illegal immigrant women in this country with illegal children. We've all heard the stories about whole families of illegals being here.

What enforcement?

Of any kind? (at least by the federal government!)

Originally Posted by MW

The shelter, a haven for women migrants and their children before they crossed into the United States or after they were deported from the United States, opened in 1989.

I guess this means we aren't deporting enough women and their children to keep them busy. So much for interior enforcement.

Are all illegal immigrant women with anchor babies getting a "get out of jail free" card? Well, I'm sure there are plenty of illegal immigrant women in this country with illegal children. We've all heard the stories about whole families of illegals being here.

MW. My thoughts exactly!