On the border, Sosa witnesses abuse doled out by U.S. agents

By Elket Rodríguez

Rosalío Sosa knows how to deal with obstacles organized crime throws at his ministry to refugees on the U.S.-Mexico border. He has helped redeem many cartel members and has rescued young men from their grips. 

But Sosa’s ministry—operating 14 immigrant shelters in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico—has been encountering another hurdle, this time placed by the United States government.

"The U.S. border patrol is sending me people without medical attention," Sosa explained. They are desperate immigrants who have crossed the border, seeking safety and a future in the United States, only to be returned to Mexico—often to a remote desert village called Palomas.

“They are sending me people with sores on their feet and broken bones,” he reported. “Others have accidents rolling down the mountain while they are being pursued, and others are abused by the border patrol.”

Sosa operates Red de Albergues para Migrantes—the Migrant Shelter Network—a network of 14 shelters in the state of Chihuahua, most of them in Ciudad Juarez. But the shelter that requires most of Sosa's time and energy is in Palomas, 100 miles west of Juarez. The little town doesn’t have a hospital, so Sosa transports many migrants to Ciudad Juarez, where they can receive medical treatment.

"If migrants need medical assistance, take care of them, because they had an accident in your country," Sosa said of the U.S. border agents. “It is your responsibility by international law. You cannot deny them medical services."

The U.S. border patrol continues to expel thousands of immigrants—including unaccompanied children—to Mexico every week. More than 50,000 migrants were apprehended and expelled by the border patrol last month. Thousands funnel back to Mexico through the Palomas shelter.

“We are averaging 100 to 130 migrants in the Palomas shelter daily,” Sosa said. “The most busy days are Wednesdays to Sundays.”

Sosa hopes to expand the Palomas shelter to deal with the burgeoning number of immigrants there. In September, the shelter served 1,436 immigrants expelled by the U.S. border patrol.

What disturbs Sosa most is how some border patrol agents expel the immigrants.

Three weeks ago, a Guatemalan in his 50s broke his feet after falling from the U.S.-Mexico border wall. His son and a friend sought to drag him to safety until the border patrol caught them and forced them to sit in the back of the agent’s vehicle.

The younger men begged the agent to help the older man get up. Instead, he had to crawl. 

"I could see the indignation and the helplessness in the son's eyes when he shared this story with me," Sosa recalled.  

The pastor called on Christians to denounce this type of abuse against migrants. "I can't look away, because people are suffering," he said. “We can’t close our eyes.” 

Fellowship Southwest provides ongoing support to Sosa’s ministry and to other pastors who feed, shelter and protect immigrants on the U.S.-Mexico border. If you would like to support their ministries—and help Sosa expand the shelter in Palomas—click here.

Elket Rodríguez is the immigrants and refugees advocacy and missions specialist for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Fellowship Southwest.