Shelter visits give view into world of minors who cross border alone

Published: 2006-11-01

HOUSTON (CNS) -- The artwork by residents of St. Michael's Home for Children tells their stories. Pieces with titles such as "My unrealized dream of being reunited with my father" and "A dream unfulfilled" told the same basic story: young teenagers tearfully leaving their families behind, crossing hundreds of miles through parts of Central America and Mexico, withstanding physical punishment and ultimately being caught by the U.S. Border Patrol. St. Michael's and another shelter operated by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston were among the stops for a delegation of bishops and other church personnel on an Oct. 23-27 tour of border-area programs dealing with victims of human trafficking and unaccompanied minors. From starting points in Tucson, Ariz., Houston and El Paso, Texas, the group traveled to parts of two Mexican states as well. They met with Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Justice Department personnel; visited shelters for migrant children in Juarez, Mexico; toured a church-run center in Altar, Mexico, that aids would-be border crossers; and met with various people involved with those who enter the United States illegally.

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