Ministry to migrants looks like many things one would not predict. Most people assume it includes providing meals, clothing and shelter. Emotional and spiritual attention is just as important in FSW migrant ministries, too. But caring for the whole person, the whole family, also involves commemorating special celebrations like birthdays for children.

It was a normal Monday night in a middle class neighborhood full of busy families driving kids to and fro activities, cooking dinner and doing homework. A fellow mom, Nancy, texted 22 of our neighbors, including me, with this:

Linda and I traveled to West Brownsville as an advance team for our church, Iglesia Bill Harrod, located in West Dallas. Anyra Cano, director of Programs and Outreach for Fellowship Southwest (FSW), inspired our trip. We carried donations from what one might euphemistically characterize as an economically challenged church in an economically challenged West Dallas to Iglesia Bautista West Brownsville, a neighborhood and church with challenges on a whole different level.

Calling all Texans! The Senate is getting to pass two terrible immigration bills that would encourage racial profiling and create a lot of fear and chaos.

The conversation in Austin seems so very far from the realities of those making their way to our southern border.

Last week, as elected officials at the Capitol were debating further militarizing the border and passing punitive policies hoping to deter migrants, Fellowship Southwest was coordinating teams of volunteers to offer those same neighbors a warm welcome, and to work alongside our partners who do so every day.

Today, 39 national and local organizations launched a new campaign to #LetAsylumSeekersWork faster. The effort comes at a time of historic national labor shortages. People seeking asylum in the United States are eager to support themselves and join the labor force yet are currently required to wait up to six months or more to access work permits. Groups behind the effort are calling for urgent congressional action to reduce the amount of time asylum seekers must wait before being eligible to apply for work permits. 

Take action now!

We are at a critical juncture where our faith and values call us to stand up for justice and compassion. We invite you to join us in a vital advocacy effort alongside various faith-based organizations and religious leaders. Together, we aim to address the injustices perpetuated under Operation Lone Star in Texas.

Our Christian faith calls us to stand alongside our immigrant neighbors, particularly Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, known as 'Dreamers.' These young individuals were brought to the U.S. as children and enrolled in the DACA program, which provides protection from deportation and allows them to work. However, our commitment to solidarity is now urgently needed as recent developments have cast a shadow of uncertainty over the lives of nearly 600,000 Dreamers, who have known no other home than the United States.

Marianela Hernandez knows what it’s like to immigrate to the U.S. from Venezuela. She and her family went through the process just seven years ago. But a lot has changed since then, and on her recent trip to Brownsville, Texas, to serve migrants, she saw people who could have been her, had her family waited until now to leave.

No hay manera de que los soldados romanos que pusieron la corona de espinas sobre Jesús reclamaran que no sabían que estaba mal y era insultante. Tampoco, podían alegar que no sabían que Jesús estaba siendo crucificado por agenciarse facultades exclusivas al Mesías, poniendo de relieve que hoy ni el César ni Herodes eran el Hijo de Dios.

The Roman soldiers who put the crown of thorns on Jesus knew that it was wrong and insulting. They also knew that Jesus was being crucified for claiming to be the Messiah, highlighting that neither Caesar nor Herod were the sons of God. And yet, at the end of the day, there was no way to prevent the Kingdom of heaven from being at hand.

This past May, we issued an urgent call for volunteers to come to Brownsville, Texas, across the border from Matamoros, Mexico, where numbers of migrants were spiking. Our ministry partner in Brownsville, Iglesia Bautista West Brownsville and their pastor, Carlos Navarro, needed help serving the migrants coming through the bus station near them. Many Fellowship Southwest friends made quick plans and answered the call. Though the immigration numbers have stabilized, help is always needed, and this past weekend, three churches from around Texas convened in Brownsville.

Stephen Reeves offered this pastoral prayer at First Baptist Austin on Sunday for migrants, for law enforcement, for our politicians, and for all of us. For the video of the prayer, click here. It begins at 38:55.

Imagine que tratar de cruzar hileras de alambre de púas fuera más seguro que quedarse en casa.
Imagine que el sumergirse en un río embravecido con su bebé les ofreciera una mejor oportunidad de sobrevivir que el regresar a su país.

Ahora imagine que aquellos que toman tales decisiones fueran blancos y hablaran inglés. ¿Podría usted imaginar que se pusieran en efecto las actuales políticas y tácticas del Gobernador Abbott que resultan en más muertes innecesarias?

Imagine that trying to cross rows of razor wire was safer than staying at home. 

Imagine that plunging into a raging river with your toddler offered them better odds of survival than going back to your country. 

Now imagine if those making such choices were white and spoke English. Could you imagine Governor Abbott continuing policies and tactics that result in more unnecessary deaths?

In early May, we issued an urgent call for volunteers to come to Brownsville, Texas, and serve migrants at the border. If you recall, Title 42 was due to lift May 11, and tensions at the border were swelling. Our primary partner in Brownsville, Pastor Carlos Navarro, was preparing for an enormous increase in the numbers of migrants he would be serving at the Welcome Center adjacent to the bus station and at his church's immigrant respite center.

On Wednesday FSW staff members Anyra Cano and Stephen Reeves traveled to the small village of La Modelo to celebrate the opening of a new building. The structure will soon be a shelter for migrants who hope to apply for asylum in the US and others who are seasonal workers in the nearby fields. It will be part of the Red de Albergues de Migrantes, Tierra de Oro which is led by longtime FSW partner Pastor Rosalío Sosa.

Fellowship Southwest is privileged to support interns at Center for Church and Community Impact (C3I) at Baylor’s Diana Garland School of Social Work. These graduate students, some of who are dual-degree students getting their M.S.W. and their M.Div at Truett Seminary, have been serving at C3I this year for their internship. They each chose a project related to their focus of work and developed an asset map. Two staff members from Fellowship Southwest, Cameron Vickrey and Anyra Cano, attended their presentations in person in Waco to learn from them and see the impact of their work.

Today, May 11, 2023, is the long-awaited day when Title 42 finally lifts. But instead of rejoicing, we are bracing for what comes in its aftermath: the Biden Asylum Ban.