A delegation of 12 individuals from the Diocese of San Bernardino visited three migrant shelters in Mexicali on March 10.
The group brought personal hygiene items, clothing and hand sanitizer to donate to the shelters. Additionally, they donated $2,000 from the Diocese and will be donating another $2,500 from the Asian Pacific Ministry.
The first shelter they visited was the Refugio del Migrante shelter. It burned down last July due to a faulty electrical connection but is gradually being rebuilt. This shelter has about 50 small single rooms. At the time that the delegation visited there were no migrants there.
The migrants that had been housed at the Refugio del Migrante shelter are now staying at another shelter. At the time of the visit, this second shelter had about 25 occupants.
The third shelter they visited by the diocesan delegation was the largest, with about 180 migrants. The shelter director gave the diocesan visitors a tour and shared stories about the challenges encountered by the various families and individuals in their struggle to get to Mexicali.
There were many children and several pregnant women in this shelter. Many of the migrants have been there for longer than four months, as they continued to wait for a judge to hear their case for political asylum.
The director told the visitors that the shelter has been receiving several people of goodwill from various places that come to accompany and offer material and financial assistance to the migrants.