Every day we learn more about the appalling conditions facing children, women, and men in detention centers along our southern border. The situation is unconscionable. If you are like me, you might feel overwhelmed and paralyzed by the images of children and adults housed in overcrowded filthy conditions, conditions that fail to respect their dignity as persons.
Please do not look away.
You can help.
- Tell your members of Congress you support legislation to provide emergency funding for the humane and dignified treatment of people in detention.
- Donate to organizations that are serving immigrants along our southern border. We recommend Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, or Catholic Charities.
- Educate yourself. For reliable information visit websites like justiceforimmigrants.org or www.networklobby.org.
We citizens of the United States also need to not look away from our nation’s history of relationships with the governments of Central American countries from which the immigrants are fleeing. How has that history helped to create conditions that cause parents to risk everything to protect their lives and those of their children? The answer is worth our seeking.
Sister Marcelline Koch, OP
Dominican Sisters of Springfield
