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By Joanie Faust*

7:00 A.M. EST Jan. 20, 2010 | NOGALES, Mexico (UMNS)

United Methodists offer blankets and health kits to travelers in Nogales, Mexico.
A UMNS photo by Joanie Faust. View in Photo Gallery

A towering steel fence that bleeds on for miles faces the group of nearly 40 United Methodists as they emerge from their cars in Nogales, Ariz., near the Mexico border.

Carrying blankets and health kits, they form a single line in the pre-dawn cold before armed border patrol guards. One by one, they cross the bridge leading into Nogales, Mexico.

Canines are the first to greet the visitors. The few houses sprinkled on the hillsides seem unoccupied, many with broken windows and walls on only three sides.

In single file, in a region plagued by drug violence and kidnappings, the United Methodists follow a narrow path, trying to stay out of the road and out of the way. They turn a corner and come upon a hill covered with colorful ribbons and flowers, and the inviting warmth of the morning sun. It is a graveyard.

They turn another corner, and are again in the shadows, shivering amid near-freezing temperatures. They have reached their first destination, a bus station where immigrants expelled from the United States gather for the next step in a life’s journey filled with uncertainty.

Leaders of the United Methodist Desert Southwest Annual (regional) Conference, including Bishop Minerva Carcaño, are here Jan. 8, on the Saturday following the Feast of the Epiphany, to stand in solidarity with the expelled immigrants, to witness their struggle, learn about available services and offer support.

“On Epiphany, we remember how Wise Men took gifts to the Christ Child," Carcaño said before the trip. "We will bring our gifts of presence and service to Christ in the season of Epiphany through expressions of love and care for our immigrant brothers and sisters.”

In turn, they receive the gifts of the stories of the dispossessed.

Twists of fate

Slowly, the United Methodists disband from their huddled group to distribute blankets, and join local mission workers in providing assistance and offering a sympathetic ear.

Many of the expelled immigrants, some of whom arrived in Mexico only that morning, are tired. Most are not from Nogales and need to find arrangements to get wherever they can call home. Some already are planning ways to re-enter the United States.

A fence separates Nogales, Mexico, from Nogales, Ariz.
A UMNS Web-only photo by Joanie Faust.

The tenuousness of life as an illegal immigrant is revealed in their accounts of how their lives - and in many cases, the lives of their families - were suddenly upended.

One recently expelled immigrant was picked up by law enforcement officers in Mesa, Ariz., while working as a cook in a Chinese food restaurant. His family is still in Mesa.

Another man was working construction in Las Vegas when a police officer at a gas station approached him. Without documentation, the man was deported back to Mexico.

While some plan to return to their native region, others remain in limbo in Nogales.

One woman, staying close to her 14-year-old daughter and 18-year-old son, is trying to reach her other son in California. Her husband died. She cannot find work.

An older man was detained in San Fernando Valley and transported to a holding facility where he was kept for a little more than a year. He was sent back to Mexico and has been in Nogales for three weeks. He is considering the risks of illegally crossing back to the U.S. It has been two months since he could contact his family.

At the bus station, the expelled immigrants are given a hot breakfast and coffee. They also can phone family and friends for assistance.

Giving thanks

Leaving the bus station, the United Methodists join most of the people they served in going over to El Comedor—a kitchen and dining facility for repatriated immigrants. In prayers before the meal, they thank God for the food they are about to receive and all the blessings bestowed on them.

After lunch, United Methodists and immigrants stand side-by-side, cleaning dishes and clearing tables. Once one meal is over, a batch of fresh potatoes and bell peppers is washed and chopped in preparation for tomorrow’s meal.

Asked how he copes with the separation from his family, one man smiles and responds, "God is with me." He thanks a volunteer for the blanket and walks away.

It’s almost noon, which means warmth for the small valley. Blankets won’t be necessary again until sundown. Most of the immigrants have left El Comedor. The streets are empty again.

The United Methodists sit down with local mission workers to discuss their efforts. The Rev. Sean Carroll, a Roman Catholic priest and executive director of the Kino Border Initiative, says expelled immigrants at El Comedor are involved in programs designed to foster solidarity among those affected by the consequences of U.S. and Mexican migration and border policies. The undocumented are given a safe place to rest, eat and determine where they will go next. Along with the Casa Nazaret shelter, there are plans to build a health clinic. The undocumented, Carroll says, are cared for as brothers and sisters.

The shared day of service promotes a feeling of camaraderie among the immigrants, the United Methodists and those who work daily to make the life of an expelled immigrant not so drastic, not so dark.

Asked how he copes with the separation from his family, one man smiles and responds, "God is with me." He thanks a volunteer for the blanket and walks away.

Hope amid tragedy

The United Methodists again travel down an empty road, this time toward the United States. Along the way, a cell phone rings, bringing news of the shooting at a Safeway parking lot in Tucson.

Arizona. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has been shot. Some have died. Many others are wounded. As they cross back over to the U.S., the United Methodists’ thoughts and prayers, along with those of much of the nation, turn to the shooting victims.

On the other side of the massive steel fence, a husband and wife, two of the expelled immigrants whose lives are invisible to most Americans, anguish about their own plans.

They were expelled from the United States after being pulled over for speeding in Flagstaff, Ariz. They didn’t have proper documentation. They have children in Flagstaff and in Los Angeles.

The couple is volunteering at El Comedor, serving meals to other immigrants in similar situations. They plan to cross back over, but fear being kidnapped or worse by those who prey on illegal immigrants.

Reuniting his family is all the father can think about.

“That’s my dream,” he says. “It’s a long shot, but that’s my dream.”

*Faust is a writer for the Desert Southwest Conference.

News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.