In Matamoros, Christians’ hearts expand to love Haitian refugees
By Elket Rodríguez
Thousands of Haitian migrants are stranded in northern Mexico following the largest mass-expulsion of migrants by the U.S. government, in Del Rio, Texas.
Many of the deported Haitian migrants relocated to Matamoros, Mexico—across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas—waiting for a chance to enter the United States officially.
"Many of them (Haitians in Del Rio) lived in chaos,” reported Eleuterio González, pastor of Iglesia Valle de Beraca in Matamoros, who has fed, sheltered, transported, relocated and protected migrants in the city.
The chaos resulted from family separation, he explained: Friends and families crossed together into the United States. But while many of them were expelled to Central America, others remained behind.
The Valle de Beraca church has fed, sheltered and protected 1,600 Haitians in the five months since most Haitian migrants began arriving to Matamoros, González said. He estimated about 1,500 Haitian migrants live in the city, and he serves 700 of them.
"They left their country because they were being killed," he explained. "They all tell me they were being killed in Haiti or they had a family member who was killed, or someone tried to kill them, or their wives were raped."
The level of violence and trauma suffered by Haitian migrants shocked him, Gonzalez said. A Haitian migrant told him: "There can be a shooting here, and for me, it is as if there are fireworks. I have been exposed to shootings since I was 10 years old. For me, shootings are normal."
However, González is more concerned for the thousands of migrants—including Haitians—who are being expelled, detained and forced to remain along the Guatemala border in southern Mexico.
González worries about migrants being held at the Siglo XXI migrant station in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost city and one of the most important migration corridors in the world. "It is a very harsh, very rude and very bad migrant station," he said.
Siglo XXI is the first checkpoint migrants face upon entering Mexico. Its staff is being investigated for torturing migrants and violating their human rights.
In April 2019, Pastor Rosalío Sosa, coordinator of Red de Albergues para Migrantes—the Migrant Shelter Network—in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and member of Fellowship Southwest’s immigrant relief ministry, helped free 800 black migrants who were illegally detained, malnourished and living in an overcrowded yard at Siglo XXI.
Inhumane treatment explains “the reason why many migrants arrive (in northern Mexico) with those traumas," González said.
In addition to feeding, sheltering, and protecting migrants, González and his church are preparing to serve migrants in a more transformative way. "We are currently planning to provide medical services, legal advice and host in baking, welding and boxing workshops," he said.
According to news reports, a new Haitian caravan will reach the U.S. border in 20 days, and another 60,000 Haitians are on the way.
Please pray for González and the volunteers who work daily to love and welcome migrants amid so much uncertainty.
Fellowship Southwest supports González and his church’s work as part of its immigrant relief ministry all along the U.S.-Mexico border. If you would like to contribute to our network of pastors serving migrants on the border, click here.
Elket Rodríguez is the refugee and immigrant missions and advocacy specialist for Fellowship Southwest and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
