Saturday, August 11, 2007

Trouble With Mexican Immigration

The photo was taken during our 2006 Mexico trip. I have taken students on a mission trip to Mexico twice already. The first trip was in May, 2003 and the second trip on May, 2006. I feel in love with the place during the first trip.I think it is because living there was the closest thing to living in Catmon.

We work with the Felicians'Volunteer In Mission. The Felician order was founded in Poland by Mother Angela. In the late 1880's, Father Joseph Dombrowski was ministering to the growing Polish immigrant community in Polonia, Wisconsin. He discovered that the growing needs of the population was far beyond what the parishes can provide. So he asked the Felician order to send some nuns to the US to provide education, health and other welfare services to the immigrant community. The Felician order is the sponsor of Madonna University.

The trip itinerary to Mexico looks like this - we fly from Detroit, Michigan to San Antonio, Texas (pretty city but too hot for me). If we are blessed, the Knights of Columbus in San Antonio provides us with transportation to Eagle Pass, Texas.

I say blessed, because the first year, we had a three hour weather delay in Nashville and we missed our ride completely - we spent the night at San Antonio airport in front of Starbucks.

We spend the night at the Felician convent in Eagle Pass and then cross the border first thing in the morning. Across the Rio Grande (border) from Eagle Pass, Texas is Piedras Negras, Coahuila Province, Mexico. We drive another 2 1/2 hours to get to the ejidos - Ejido Rancho Nuevo and Ejido Santa Maria. They are located in desert mining country in the high deserts of Northern Mexico. Pretty desolate and somewhat primitive.

The average pay in these ejidos is $37 - 52 per week. Most of the folks are very poor. So, in February - March of 2006 - there was a mine cave in. When we got there in May, 2006 - 68 bodies remained unrecovered. Most of the families of the miners lived in Ejido Rancho Nuevo and Ejido Santa Maria. A march and demonstration was held in Rosario to ask for answers and to support the miners - we were asked by some of the family members if we would march and demonstrate with them.

As an advocate for justice (a very Franciscan/Felician value)- we joined in. My students were interviewed on television about our participation, mine safety, labor conditions, etc. Well, the interviews were broadcasted on the noon day news - we also made the newspapers for several miles around that afternoon and the following morning.

When we got back to Ejido Santa Maria - we were told that "La Migra" was looking for us. "La Migra" returned a couple of hours later to inform us that we were in violation of the terms of our Mexican visa. Marching and demonstrating are political acts not considered cultural education! Go figure??? The consequences for the violations are fine, deportation and/or jail. Two of my students started crying from fear. After a couple of hours of negotiations, we got neither. It was quiet an experience.

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