Thirty-five desperate children from Colombia, Venezuela and Nicaragua limped into Pastor Eleuterio González’s refugee shelter in Matamoros, Mexico, last Saturday. 

"The children arrived dehydrated and with callouses on their feet, because—like their parents—the coyotes forced them to hand over their sneakers and shoes if they had nothing to pay with," said González, pastor of Iglesia Valle de Beraca in Matamoros and the main contact between the immigrants and the Tamaulipas state government.

Coyotes smuggle human beings from Central America to the border of the United States and Mexico. They promise to transport immigrants into the United States—for a fee. If the coyotes don’t receive money, they exact payment in pain. 

González eased some of that pain by washing the children’s feet and providing used sandals until he could replace them with new shoes—supplied by a supporter of his ministry.

These children and their parents endured difficulty and duress during their journey to Matamoros, reported González, a former prosecutor who worked with the Mexican government 20 years.

"They were brought hiding in-between the wood and the sheet metal of a trailer from Tapachula, Chiapas," González said. Chiapas is the southernmost state in Mexico. Tapachula is 1,133 miles from Matamoros.

“They traveled from Tapachula to Veracruz for three to four days,” he reported. “The coyotes charged them $15 to eat in Veracruz, and then hid them again for another two to three days until they reached Matamoros.”

Some of the children’s mothers suffered horrors and attacks on their dignity along the way, he added.

Despite their travail, the immigrants still face a bleak future. 

González does not have space for them in his shelter, temporary home to more than 500 migrants.

But the immigrants do not want to join about 6,000 other refugees who live in a patchwork tent city near downtown Matamoros, on the banks of the Rio Grande. Residents there feel vulnerable to the Mexican government’s intensified efforts to deport or otherwise relocate them in response to the spread of COVID-19. 

“The coronavirus outbreak is very strong in the camp,” González said. “Last week, five people were hospitalized for having high temperatures and respiratory problems. It is spreading very quickly.”

Hunger is an issue for refugees in Matamoros. Some U.S. church groups that previously provided food for immigrants have not been able to cross into Mexico as both the U.S. and Mexican governments tightened border security to constrict the spread of COVID-19.

Since late May, Fellowship Southwest has provided almost $3,000 to feed refugees in González’s shelter. That support will continue, and feeding programs in the tent camp will continue when possible. 

Meanwhile, the border with the United States remains closed. The asylum system has been paralyzed. And U.S. Customs and Border Patrol expels migrants who attempt to cross into the United States.

Still, many immigrants risk capture and deportation in order to attempt to live in the United States.

"They prefer to flee than to stay in their countries," said González. Venezuelans, whose national economy has collapsed, "know Venezuela is in a worse condition than Mexico,” he added.

Please pray for González and the pastors who comprise Fellowship Southwest’s Immigrant Relief Ministry. They operate shelters and support feeding programs from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. 

And to help Fellowship Southwest continue to purchase food, rent shelters, provide clothing and share the love of Christ with thousands of immigrants on the border, click here.

Elket Rodríguez is the immigrant and refugee advocacy and missions specialist for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Fellowship Southwest.