In case you missed our recent Lunch and Learn on June 11th about the Volunteers in Mission trip to Nogales, AZ and Mexico, you may be interested to read about the amazing work that many organizations do at the border to support desperate people trying to find a better life. Check out the following links to learn about some of the many organizations doing this work that our recent U.S./Mexico Border Trip team met with while there.
– Arizona Justice for Our Neighbors – gives legal assistance to asylum seekers in Tucson; provides education to people of faith and communities; a UMC Advance Program. https://www.azjfon.org/
– Immigration Law and Justice [An Advance Project of the UMC] https://umcmission.org/advance-project/901285/
– Border Community Alliance (BCA) – links AZ and Mexico organizations and communities working with migrants. https://bordercommunityalliance.org/
– FESAC Community Business Foundation of Sonora – connects businesses and communities, and develops programs for the vulnerable in Nogales, Mexico to help. https://fesac-nogales.constantcontactsites.com/about-us
– People Helping People [in the town of Arivaca, AZ] – community volunteers to provide humanitarian aid to people in distress in the desert.
– La Casa De La Esperanza/House of Hope [Sasabe, Arizona] a shelter in Nogales, Mexico for immigrant families, men, single women and children; provide school for the children and training in welding. https://salvavision.org/casa-esperanza
– The House of Mercy for All Nations Nogales, Mexico – provides wheelchairs, prostheses and hearing aids to those who can’t afford them.
– Humane Borders – established a system of water stations in the Sonoran Desert on routes used by migrants and assists the Medical Examiner in finding relatives of deceased migrants. https://humaneborders.org/
– Tucson Samaritans – Save lives and relieve suffering of migrants in Southern Arizona; provide water and food; work with the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office to identify human remains. http://www.tucsonsamaritans.org/
In addition, an article about the militants at the southern border of Arizona:
Southern Poverty Law Center article: How Antigovernment extremists and QAnon Took Over the
Southern Border. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2022/08/08/how-antigovernment-extremists-and-qanon-took-over-southern-border
-Sue Porter, Nogales Mission Team Member