Our Mission
In a Gospel spirit of service and solidarity, we accompany the migrant, refugee, and economically vulnerable peoples of the border region through hospitality, advocacy, and education. We place ourselves among these poor so as to live our faith and transform our understanding of what constitutes more just relationships between peoples, countries, and economies.
Our Houses
Annunciation House actually operates several houses of hospitality, each of which has a different focus, although these distinctions are fluid and change with the needs of our guests:
Annunciation House
Annunciation House actually includes several houses, each of which has a different focus, although these distinctions are fluid and change with the needs of our guests. Annunciation House itself is the entry point for many of our guests. It hosts guests with short-to mid-term needs, who stay for weeks to months. These range from people who have come to the US seeking work, to those who have fled violence and extortion in their home countries, to undocumented families living in El Paso, who have come upon financial hardship.
Casa Vides
Casa Vides is a longer-term house of hospitality for guests with ongoing needs, such as political asylum cases, other immigration proceedings, or medical situations. Casa Vides also provides hospitality to a number of Mexican nationals, widows of U.S. citizens, who must spend a certain amount of time in the U.S. each year to collect the Social Security benefits to which they are entitled.
Casa del Refugiado
Casa del Refugiado was opened in the spring of 2019. It is capable of housing large numbers of guests, most of whom are recently released from ICE detention with permission to travel within the country. They typically stay for only a few days while we help them make arrangements to travel on to friends and family elsewhere.
Casa Emaus
Casa Emaus is the former site of a simple pallet house in Anapra, a colonia of Ciudad Juareaz, Mexico. A number of Annunciation House volunteers have lived here over the years in accompaniment with the people of the surrounding community. A more recent, larger building on the site is used for occasional community meetings and to host border immersion groups.
Casa Teresa
Casa Teresa houses the offices of Annunciation House. It also contains an apartment that volunteers can use as a retreat on their days off, or as a place to gather for recreation and community time.
Get Involved
Annunciation House is run entirely by volunteers who commit themselves to an experience of transformative service and solidarity. Some of our volunteers are local community members, while others come for a time to both live and work in our houses of hospitality. Volunteers form a close-knit community: besides the common ground of living and working together, they meet every morning for reflection; take time off together each month to relax and have fun; and often form friendships that last for life.
