Walking the migrant path in Sasabe, Arizona

We just finished day two out in Arizona. Day one was primarily an uneventful travel day from Scranton to Atlanta to Tuscon. However, we were able to sneak in two stops on our way from Tuscon down to Nogales. Our first stop was San Xavier del Bac Mission.

San Xavier del Bac

Jesuit Father Eusebio Kino founded the San Xavier del Bac Catholic mission in 1692. The Church was built nearly several decades later. The Jesuits were expelled a few years after the first Church was built and then the Franciscans took over its operations. Instead of celebrating Francis Xavier at the mission, the Franciscans celebrated St. Francis of Assisi. They celebrate both feast days now. We then traveled to Mission Tumacácori. Tumacácori was also founded by Kino and the Jesuits. The two missions are well worth a visit if you are on your way to the border.

Tumacacori

Today, we traveled from Nogales to Sasabe, a community off the beaten path for those traveling the North-South corridor by car. However, it is the place where many undocumented migrants make the hike north across the border and into the United States.

It was a really powerful experience knowing that thousands of migrants, mostly Mexican, walk this path each year. Today wasn't too hot and we didn't walk that long (two hours or so) so you could only imagine how difficult the trek would be after having already walked several days, traveling at night, and carrying a pack or maybe even a small child. Honestly unbelievable.

Finally, we ended the day with Mass and lunch in the community. The Mass and potluck were fine until we listened to a talk by one of the local landowners. She started ranting about ISIS terrorists coming across the border and how it was nothing new - Muslim terrorists have been working with the cartels to come across the border for the last decade. She wanted the government to build a much longer wall than the one that already exists and to build a forward operating base as well. She had several other whoppers. We were guests so I didn't want to argue her facts.

With the other people we spoke to this afternoon, one gets the impression that they are more concerned with cartels using the foot paths than they are migrants using them. The community used to provide food and water to the travelers. They still do but less so given that they are concerned about the threat of trafficker violence. In some ways to demonstrate that they are not against people coming north for work or other noble ventures, they mentioned that they were interested in a Bracero Program or something similar.

Tomorrow, we are off to the Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Sonora. I am looking forward to the visit. It should be quite the experience.