The local Catholic Charities organisation is providing assistance to the 12 migrants who are still alive and their families in the wake of the discovery of the bodies of more than 50 migrants who died in an abandoned tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas.
According to Antonio Fernandez, CEO of Catholic Charities San Antonio, they are asking for prayers as they provide food, shelter, and other necessities to the families of the migrants who have passed away and those who are still alive. According to Fernandez, many of the survivors are still receiving medical care and “their health is very weak.”
Though the incident on June 27 is thought to have been the largest mass death of migrants from the southern border in modern times, their manner of passing has not been unheard of.
Similar events occurred in San Antonio in 2017, when 10 migrants perished in a tractor trailer that was baking in a scorching Wal-Mart parking lot.
“We deal with immigrants every day, thousands of people every week. This is the fourth truck incident where people have lost their lives,” Fernandez lamented.
The migrants were discovered dead on June 27 in the evening in an abandoned tractor-trailer that had been baking in the Texas city of San Antonio. According to NPR, the official death toll has increased to 53; the deceased include 22 Mexicans, 7 Guatemalans, and 2 Hondurans; the identities of the remaining victims have not yet been made public.
In order to be able to cover the travel costs for the surviving migrants and their families, Fernandez said Catholic Charities has been in contact with the consulates in the migrants’ home countries.
On June 30, at 7 p.m., at the Cathedral of San Fernando, San Antonio’s Archbishop Gustavo Garca-Siller and Auxiliary Bishops Michael Boulette and Gary Janak will preside at a memorial Mass for the migrants. According to spokesman Jordan McMorrough, the liturgy will include a procession from the cathedral’s Main Plaza, a special cross, candles, and flags representing the nations of the deceased as well as the survivors.
The people in the trailer most likely crossed the border on foot before congregating in Laredo to be loaded into a truck, according to experts NPR cited. According to reports, the truck driver and three other individuals responsible for smuggling the migrants have been detained.
According to Rebecca Solloa, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of Laredo, when other nearby border crossings are congested, Laredo’s border crossing sees the most traffic. She claimed that in the previous week, the number of migrants in need of assistance at the migrant shelter they run in Laredo increased from about 50 to as many as 150 per day.
According to Solloa, they give the migrants the necessities to get them ready to travel to their families who are in other parts of the American interior. The average length of stay for migrants at their shelter is 8 to 24 hours, and the majority of the migrants they currently assist are from Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Venezuela.
She stated that their current top priorities are making sure they have enough food, clothing, and water to provide for the migrants in the sweltering heat.
As many of the deceased migrants had probably had families in their home countries depending on them, Solloa also urged prayers for them. According to her, the incident shows how Title 42, which during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many migrants being turned away, has led to migrants’ desperation, which motivates them to attempt riskier crossings.
Although Title 42 is still in effect, the Supreme Court ruled on June 30 that the Biden administration can end the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, also known as the Migrant Protection Protocols. Since its implementation in 2019, this policy has required asylum seekers to wait in danger in Mexico while their cases proceed through U.S. immigration courts.
In Biden v. Texas, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) had submitted an amicus curiae brief in support of the administration’s decision to end the programme. The decision was praised in a statement released on Thursday by Bishop Mario Dorsonville, an auxiliary bishop of Washington and the head of the American bishops’ committee on migration.
“Today’s decision recognizes and preserves the executive branch’s ability to reverse untenable, illegal, and immoral policies, regardless of who is in office. The implementation of [Migrant Protection Protocols] has obstructed due process and subjected people to the very dangers that forced them to seek refuge in the United States in the first place. With this ruling, we welcome the end of MPP,” Dorsonville wrote.
“Ours is both a nation of laws and a beacon of hope for many throughout the world. This should inspire us to work toward just and humane responses to forced migration, not embrace failed policies of the past. As Pope Francis has warned, we cannot limit ourselves to building ‘walls of fear’ and supporting ‘vetoes dictated by nationalist interests’ if we are to achieve meaningful progress in addressing these challenges.”
“While this ruling helps pave the way forward, it does not resolve the ongoing challenges at our country’s southwest border. We remain committed to supporting immigration policies that produce more sustainable solutions, respect the God-given dignity of migrants, and better reflect Christ’s call to welcome the stranger.”