Meet Carlos Luna—Immigrant ministering among immigrants

By Elket Rodríguez

It was a warm Thursday morning. Pastor Rogelio Pérez and I just crossed the United States-Mexico border accompanied by three brothers and sisters in Christ. We were carrying food, clothes and hygiene products. Our objective was clear—distribute these supplies to immigrants waiting in Mexico to enter the United States. Almost immediately, a man recognized Pastor Pérez from the multitude. He hugged the pastor and joined the group on our mission to help the needy. 

He stood out from the rest of the refugees. He was different. Others were coming to see what they could get from Rogelio. Who can judge them? They are totally dependent on our giveaways for survival. Still, this man wasn't thinking about himself. He was thinking about those around him who needed more help.

His name is Carlos Luna, and he has been called to be a pastor in the most unusual of circumstances. He fled Honduras fearing for his life and found God's calling on his way to the border. "Yes I've been called to be a pastor," Carlos said. "It's always been there, but now that I'm here at the border, it's come full circle."

Back in Honduras, Carlos worked as a bus driver and attended church in Santa Rosa de Copan. Driving a bus in Honduras is dangerous. Drivers constantly are murdered by the cartels, due to their importance in the control of drug-distribution routes. 

Now, all Carlos can think of is helping those around him. When asked what scares him most, he quickly responded, "the kids."

"This situation is driving people crazy,” he explained. “Mental health issues are increasing among adults, and they are getting anxious and violent. I'm more concerned with the children. Fighting among them is increasing. You can see it growing every day. The children don't have the ability to deal with what they are experiencing," 

Just last week, a cartel attempted to kidnap Carlos, but that didn’t stop him from helping the most vulnerable on the border. "I help the pastor (Rogelio) give away food and clothes because there is a lot of need, especially among women and children," he said.

Carlos and the other 59,000 refugees await the results of their immigration cases under the U.S government’s Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as MPP and "Remain in Mexico." Under this policy, U.S. border officers return non-Mexican asylum seekers to Mexico as they wind through U.S. immigration courts. This policy has created a humanitarian crisis on the Mexican side of the border, allowing cartels and other criminal organizations to take advantage of the immigrants who live in the refugee camp along the border.

His story is just an example of the human tragedy these migrants live every day. Cartel members search the camp every night, looking for ways to profit from immigrants’ suffering, Carlos said. More than 600 cases of kidnapping, rape, torture, assault and other violent attacks against asylum seekers have been reportedbecause of MPP.   

Those are only the publicly reported cases. The actual number of victims is much larger. Much of the violence that takes place in the refugee camps is not reported because immigrants there fear retaliation by criminal organizations, Carlos underscored.

This suffering is preventable, and MPP does not reflect the Christian value of loving and welcoming our neighbors. 

So, we ask Congress to prevent the Department of Homeland Security from using taxpayer money to fund this program and to approve H.R. 2662, the Asylum Seeker Protection Act. This legislation would defund and thus end the MPP program. 

MPP is immoral and is risking the lives of thousands of men, women and children who are fleeing persecution and deprivation in their countries.

Elket Rodríguez, an attorney and minister, is CBF’s immigrant and refugee specialist. He lives on the U.S.-Mexico border, in Harlingen, Texas, and works with CBF Advocacy, CBF Global Missions and Fellowship Southwest.