We talked about accompaniment in our preparation sessions for the border immersion. Accompaniment involves learning someone’s story by interacting with them repeatedly over a period of weeks, months, or even years. I saw what this looks like especially at la Casa de la Misericordia and at the Kino Border Initiative, both in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Both organizations are dedicated to accompanying migrants who are hoping to cross the border into the U.S. This means finding out what unique gifts and abilities each person brings and encouraging mutual aid. It also means listening to their stories of suffering and fear in their countries of origin and helping them to prepare the strongest possible case for asylum. From listening to the staff at Kino and Casa talk about their work, I understood that even a few years ago, when there were large numbers of people attempting to cross the border every day, they made the conscious decision to stay small so they could genuinely accompany the people they serve, rather than just moving them along as quickly as possible.

When we were in Nogales in March, there were very few people waiting to cross the border—in fact, no one was then staying in the shelter at Kino. Kino was still serving meals and providing services to families who had traveled hundreds or thousands of miles to Nogales only to find that it was no longer possible to cross the U.S. border legally. There were a few families still staying at Casa, which has no limit on how long people can stay. Despite uncertainty about how they would continue their work under the new U.S. administration, the staff at both Kino and Casa radiated hope and enthusiasm. Perhaps this was partly a conscious effort to counteract the discouragement the migrants must have been feeling, but I think it was also a genuine expression of their faith in the accompaniment model. Their purpose is to build a sense of community among a group of strangers and make each of them feel like a valued member of the group.

For example, when we visited Casa, there was a little boy staying there who used a wheelchair because he had lost a leg riding atop La Bestia, a freight train which is a popular but extremely dangerous way of passing through Mexico. A few of the community members had constructed a concrete ramp so that he would be able to access the play area, which we saw him zipping around, playing with the other children. Our guide told us how the boy’s face had lit up when he saw the ramp that had been built especially for him. That is the accompaniment model at its best—all the Casa staff did was give their approval. The idea and the execution came from members of the community of migrants.

Mural at Casa de la Misericordia

I have been on the Kino Border Initiative mailing list since we visited there in March, and it has been interesting to see them writing more about helping people who have been deported from the U.S. to Nogales, which is apparently a return to their original focus when they opened in 2009. When we were there, they were still describing their main work as helping asylum-seekers who were bound for the U.S. When we visited Casa de la Misericordia, they were already talking about helping their community members find employment and housing in Sonora, Mexico. But even if these organizations have had to shift their focus (for now) from helping people gain asylum in the U.S., their basic mission of affirming the human dignity of migrants and building community among them has not changed. I am grateful for the opportunity to witness their work of accompaniment first-hand and I will carry their example with me as I continue to volunteer with migrants in New York City.