Children at the Border

Ann Coady – Virtual Chapter (Minnesota)

As a trained Red Cross volunteer, I recently spent time helping to organize shelters for the unaccompanied children who had crossed the border between Mexico and the United States. The US government had asked the Red Cross to start up these shelters because we are experienced and do this all the time during natural disasters. Then we would train government contractors to take them over for the long term.

When the children cross the border, the Border Patrol arrests and holds them in custody until they are identified and registered. The horrible pictures you see in the news of children sleeping on the floor under mylar blankets are from this custody. By law, children are not to be held there for more than 72 hours, after which they are turned over to a more long-term shelter, where they are cared for until they are placed with parents or relatives who are already here in the country. The vast majority of the children already have family residing here in the US.

I first worked at a former camp for oil workers, then was sent to the Convention Center in Dallas. Both shelters house teenage boys. The numbers were overwhelming, but the boys expressed tremendous relief at being in a safe place, and they were extremely well-behaved. Most of them came from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. I have visited all three of these countries and have learned first-hand of the problems with gangs and how difficult it is for parents to protect their sons from being recruited or threatened.

This experience will remain for a long time in my heart, especially the image of a young boy praying before the picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the roar of encouragement and enthusiasm that rose up every time a young boy wound his way through the cots, satchel in hand and a caseworker at his side, leaving to be reunited with long lost loved ones.

Introducing NSFA’s new cartoon artist—Jim Coady!

This article appeared on page 1 of the May/June 2021 Not So Far Afield. The complete issue may be downloaded here.