Annunciation House

Fr. Roy Bourgeois Arrested at Border Crossing

andalemos — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:46:45 +0000

At about 11:30 AM on Sunday, February 19, members of the Border Patrol arrested Maryknoll priest and SOA Watch founder Roy Bourgeois, and Nico Udu-Gama, SOA Watch staff member, after they participated in a non-violent action protest by the border fence located in Anapra. Accompanied by over 100 participants, Father Roy and Nico spoke eloquently about foreign policies that oppress the poor in Mexico, subjecting them to unprecedented levels of violence and then denying them the relief of seeking protection in the United States or legal entry so as to be able to work and earn their daily bread.

After speaking to the crowd that accompanied them, Father Roy and Nico Udu-Gama walked across the international boundary line and entered Mexico. After speaking with some of the people on the Mexican side of the border, Father Roy and Nico Udu-Gama crossed back into the United States, and in so doing, violated US federal

law. At the end of the action/protest, Border Patrol agents moved in and arrested Father Roy and Nico Udu-Gama and charged them with Entry Without Inspection (EWI), which is the standard charge that immigrants face when entering the US without documents. The two were searched, placed in Border Patrol vehicles, and driven to to a Border Patrol sub-station, where they were questioned. After ascertaining that they were US citizens, the charges were dropped and Roy and Nico were released.

In 2008, Father Roy was presented with Annunciation House’s Voice of the Voiceless Award for his advocacy and witness on behalf of immigrants, the countless who have been forced to flee because of the violence in their home country.

The Diario published covered this action/protest in a Spanish-language article, available here.

A “Scizophrenic Relationship” Between Annunciation House and ICE

andalemos — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 05:10:08 +0000

Friends and family sometimes ask Annunciation House volunteers, “How is it that the house hasn’t been shut down by Immigration and Customs Enforcement? Do they not know about you?”

The answer: not only do they know, but they need us. They actually depend on the services that we provide. Our immigration and enforcement policies result in the detention of far more people than ICE has the capacity to house. For years, Border Patrol and ICE agents have brought undocumented people to our doors, hoping we will take them off their hands–especially if they are pregnant, sick, traveling with children, or in other ways present a particular “burden” to ICE’s resources.

This article from the Catholic News Service details the unlikely cooperation between ICE and Annunciation House.

“Self-Deportation”: A Policy of Misery

andalemos — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:27:11 +0000

When Mitt Romney suggested “self-deportation” as a kinder, gentler method of immigration enforcement, he failed to acknowledge what this policy would actually mean for undocumented people (and families of mixed documented status) living in the US today: increased fear, increased struggle to meet basic needs, increased alienation from their communities. Essentially, such a policy relies on making the lives of undocumented people in this country so utterly miserable that they would choose to return to their countries of origin, which are often ravaged by violence and poverty. In this New York Times opinion article, high school student Antonio Alarcon writes courageously about how U.S. immigration policy has fractured his own family, concluding: “Deportation, and “self-deportation,” will result only in dividing families and driving them into the shadows.”

2012 Voice of the Voiceless Award / Solidarity Dinner

webmasterannunciationhouse — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:16:28 +0000

Dear friends of Annunciation House, We are pleased to announce the
2012 VOICE OF THE VOICELESS

SOLIDARITY DINNER & FORUM ON IMMIGRATION
Saturday, April 28
Solidarity Dinner:
6:00 -9:00 pm, Santa Lucia Parish Hall

Forum on Immigration:
9:00am-1:00pm, location TBA
Please join us. Your invitation is forthcoming. Keep informed of details at: on this site and by following us on facebook.

Tickets, available February 1, can be purchased via mail, in person at:
Casa Teresa, 815 Myrtle Ave., 79901, 915.533.4675.

We are honored to announce that the 2012 Voice of the Voiceless Award recipient will be:

JAVIER SICILIA: Mexican journalist, poet, and activist

JAVIER SICILIA: Mexican journalist, poet, and activist

On March 28, 2011, Sicilia’s son, Juan Francisco, a university student, was massacred with several other students. In response to the killing of his son as well as the tens of thousands of others that have been killed in Mexico’s war on drugs, Sicilia launched a movement of peace known as El Pacto Por La Paz that expressed itself through national cara- vans that gave a public platform to victims and their families. In selecting The Protestor as its 2011 Person of the Year, Time profiled Javier Sicilia as among those international activists calling for radical change in their home countries. For his courageous witness and uncompromising commitment to be a voice for the tens of thousands affected by the violence in Mexico, Javier Sicilia will be presented with our 2012 Voice of the Voiceless Award.

Groups denounce Juárez police action; watch video – El Paso Times

webmasterannunciationhouse — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 16:51:55 +0000

Groups denounce Juárez police action; watch video – El Paso Times.

“We also call for an end of the criminalization and the systematic repression of Juárez youth, and also an implementation of a true culture of legality beginning with the authorities, police and military forces,” said Ruben Garcia, director of a immigrant support organization, Annunciation House.

Immigration Forum

webmasterannunciationhouse — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 15:13:28 +0000

In conjunction with the 2011 Voice of the Voiceless Event,

ANNUNCIATION HOUSE presents an:

Immigration Forum -SATURDAY, APRIL 2ND, 2011

Catholic Daughters Hall
801 Magoffin Avenue

There is no cost to attend.

Translation will be provided./ Habrá traduccion.

Light refreshments will be served

The Forum will explore the reality facing the immigrant in both Mexico and the United States, offer new ways of conceptualizing immigration, and outline the communal imperative to work for immi-grant justice – to bring the immigrant down from the cross.

8:00 AM REGISTRATION

8:45 AM WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

9:00 AM PRESENTATION: THE REALITY FOR THE IMMIGRANT IN MEXICO

• Friar José Raúl Vera López, OP: Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico

9:30 AM PANEL AND QUESTION & ANSWER:

• KIDNAPPINGS, RANSOME, TORTURE, & THE GANGS AND CARTELS

• Presenter: Rev. Pedro Pantoja: Director, Belén, Posada del Migrante of Saltillo,Coahuila, México.

• THE VIOLENCE IN MEXICO – THE NEW IMMIGRANT

• Presenter: Ms. Elizabeth Flores: Director, Pastoral Obrera, Diocese of Juárez, México

10:15 AM PRESENTATION: DYING TO LIVE: A NEW IMAGE OF IMMIGRATION

• Rev. Daniel G. Groody, C.S.C: Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame: Producer of the Documentary: Dying to Live – A Migrant’s Journey

11:00 AM PANEL AND QUESTION & ANSWER:

• DEATH IN THE DESERT

• Presenter: Ms. Kat Rodriguez: Program Director, Coalición de Derechos Humanos, Tucson, Arizona

• DETENTION & DEPORTATION

• Presenter: Kathleen Erickson, RSM: Sisters of Mercy Justice Team West-Midwest Regional Community and Co-founder of the Omaha Immigrant Detainee Accompaniment Program

• LIVING IN THE UNDERGROUND

• Presenter: Anonymous Undocumented Immigrant

12:00 PM PRESENTATION: THE IMPERATIVE: FREE MY PEOPLE

• The Honorable Jose F. Rodriguez -Texas State Senator

12:30 PM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Human Rights Reports – Central American Immigrants in Mexico

webmasterannunciationhouse — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 00:12:27 +0000

Reports on the Conditions of Central AmericansMigrating through Mexico by:

Migrant Posada Belen, Ac, Humanity Without Borders, Ac, Justice Border, Ac

Reports in PDF format

Voice of the Voiceless Dinner 2011

webmasterannunciationhouse — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 13:53:01 +0000

Award Recipient: BELÉN, POSADA DEL MIGRANTE
Keynote Speaker: Friar José Raúl Vera López, OP
Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico

SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2011
6–9 PM
The Amistad Center
of Santa Lucia Parish
518 Gallagher Street
El Paso, TX 79915
Dinner Ticket: $50

All proceeds support the work of Annunciation House.

ANNUNCIATION HOUSE
815 MYRTLE AVE, EL PASO, TX 79901,
915-533-4675
contact Voice of the Voiceless

BELÉN, POSADA DEL MIGRANTE
Located in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, Belén, Posada del Migrante has offered hospitality to more than 40,000 immigrants, largely Central and South Americans. Together with two human rights organization it hosts, Belén, Posada del Migrante boldly advocates against the kidnapping, extortion, sexual abuse, and murder of migrants by criminal organizations and the simultaneous complicity of public officials. In the context of impunity, Belén, Posada del Migrante, was an outspoken critic of the 2010 massacre of 72 migrants in San Fernando, Tamaulipas.

OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKER: BISHOP RAUL VERA
Bishop José Raúl Vera López, OP has been a bold defender of human rights throughout Mexico, especially of those of the indigenous and the immigrant. He speaks out against the kidnapping of immigrants and the Mexican government’s inability to disarm drug cartels.

No Escape – Texas Observer

webmasterannunciationhouse — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:49:37 +0000

No Escape:

For Mexicans fleeing violence, the United States offers no refuge.

by Susana Hayward

LINK

Video on Texas Monthly

webmasterannunciationhouse — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:09:16 +0000

Video on TexasMonthly

Watch El Pasoans talk about their city and the continuing violence along the border.