JRS/U S A
The Refugee Voice
A woman at the Kino Border Initiative
facility in Nogales, Mexico. (Robert
Dolan, S.J., for JRS/USA)
Key Statistics
More than 300,000 people were de-
ported by the U.S. last year. Of these,
208,996 were deported to Mexico.
In 2008, the Border Patrol apprehend-
ed and removed an additional 723,840
individuals. A full 97.4% of the ap-
prehensions and removals occurred in
the Southwestern region of the United
States. Of those removed by the border
patrol, 59,578 were children under the
age of 18, and 117,061 were women
and girls. The majority of deported
migrants are dropped off at the border,
thousands of miles away from their
homes in Mexico or Central America.
Expedited removal from the U.S., a
procedure established in 1996, results
in removals and deportations that are
carried out with no hearing or review
by an immigration judge.
Under Expedited Removal, the Border
Patrol may deport noncitizens who
are encountered within 100 miles of
the border if they are found to have
entered the U.S. without inspection
less than 14 days before the time they
were apprehended.
J e s u i t R e f u g e e S e r v i c e / US A | 1 0 1 6 1 6 t h S t r e e t , N W, S t e 5 0 0 | W a s h i n g t o n , D C 2 0 0 3 6 | ( 2 0 2 ) 4 6 2 - 0 4 0 0 |
August 2009 — Vol 3, Issue 3 Jesuit Refugee Service/USA
Alleviating Pain
on the Border
“I was just deported and I have no money. The doctor tells me I need to eat more nutritious
food or I need to take a pregnancy vitamin. Please help me.” – Carla, a pregnant migrant
S
ome of the most forgotten and the most vulnerable people in the United States
are those migrants held in federal immigration detention centers pending depor-
tation. The vulnerability of these people does not end with deportation, however;
many of the migrants we encounter at the newly inaugurated Kino Border Initiative
(KBI) in Nogales, Mexico, find themselves stranded in the border town far away from
their homes and families, with few options or resources to plan for a future life in Mexi-
co or Central America. To help these forgotten people, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA and
five partner organizations officially launched the Kino Border Initiative in the twin cities
of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico and Nogales, Arizona, U.S.A., in January.
The Kino Border Initiative responds to the immediate needs of the deportees by pro-
viding a shelter for unaccompanied women and children, and a meal center for recently
deported migrants in Nogales, Mexico.
continued on page 2
A Note from the National Director
Dear Friends of JRS/USA:
With the Kino Border Initiative, JRS/USA has expanded the pastoral care that we
have provided undocumented non-citizens over the last nine years in our chap-
laincy program at U.S. detention centers. We are now reaching out to deported men,
women and children, most of whom are Mexican citizens, who were detained by the
U.S. government, and have been deported.
Our ministry in the detention centers and at the KBI has confirmed our belief that
God is present even in the most tragic moments of human life. Through our work in
the Kino Initiative, JRS/USA and its partner organizations accompany migrants as
they undergo the difficult transition of being deported to a country where they are far
from their families with little means of support. In addition, through the Kino Initia-
tive we seek to serve the Church by providing opportunities for pastoral formation,
faith-based social analysis, and advocacy that protects the human rights of deported
migrants and develops a deeper sense of the common good.
In this issue of The Refugee Voice, I invite you to get to know the Kino Border Initia-
tive and the deported migrants served by the KBI staff and volunteers.
Fr. Ken Gavin, S.J.
www . jr s u s a . o r g
A deported migrant receives medical attention for his blistered feet, left, while a meal is served to some of the 200 to 250 hungry deportees who are
provided the comfort of two free meals a day. at the KBI in Nogales. (photos by Travis Stoops, nS.J., left, and Robert Dolan, S.J., for JRS/USA)

continued from page 1
In the words of Fr. Sean Carroll, S.J., the project’s execu-
tive director, KBI “is the culmination of a three-year pro-
cess of reflection, discernment and conversations along the
Arizona – Mexico border about the reality of migration and
the most urgent needs with respect to migration in general
and for our Church in particular.” Through KBI we seek to
serve and to understand the needs of newly deported people
of Ambos Nogales, the twin cities straddling the Arizona-
Mexico border.
Nogales, Sonora, Mexico is about 60 miles south of Tuc-
son, Ariz. It is the point of deportation for many of the
hundreds of thousands of Mexican and Central American
migrants who are dropped off in Mexico by U.S. immigra-
tion and border authorities annually. The streets of Nogales,
Sonora, are teeming with recent deportees. The deportees
journeyed to the United States for a host of reasons: some
hoping to reunite with U.S. citizen family members, oth-
ers pushed north by increasingly desperate economic condi-
tions in their countries of origin. Others had little choice in
the matter, having crossed the border with their parents as
children.
Many of the deported migrants spent years in the United
States before detention and deportation, and they arrive in
Nogales disoriented and desperate, clinging to what few
possessions they can carry, and relying on volunteers and
the Mexican authorities to help them find their way home.
Many of the deported migrants – hundreds of miles from
their homes and families – have nowhere to go at night and
end up sleeping in the streets of Nogales.
Deported migrants have few options, as many do not have
the money to make it back to their countries or Mexican
states of origin. Without the money or means to return home,
many migrants have little choice but to attempt to re-enter
the United States soon after deportation.
HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES & GROWING NEEDS
At present, the Mexican government offers limited assis-
tance to deportees and the U.S. authorities are just beginning
to explore the possibility of working with Mexico to ensure
that it provides appropriate care and options for recently de-
ported migrants. Unfortunately, tales of abuse by U.S. im-
migration authorities, human traffickers and smugglers, and
local Mexican officials are not uncommon in Nogales. Some
migrants report that U.S. Border Patrol used unnecessary
force during their apprehension.
“[U.S. Border Patrol] grabbed me and shook me, and kicked
me in the leg. I didn’t do anything to provoke them. Now ….
my leg is hurt,” said Hector, at the Kino facility in Nogales.

Voices on the Border

“We spent most of our lives picking grapes in the country here in Mexico. We were looking for a chance to earn more money in the United States.” Rafa
“I lived in California for a year before I was deported. I came to work in the U.S. because my father cannot work…. There is plenty of work in Mexico,
the problem is finding a job with a decent salary. That is why I came to the United States.” Jorge
“I have been turned back from the U.S. border, and now I have no way to make it back to Honduras. I am stranded here.” Luis
“We just want to earn enough money to catch a bus back to our hometown.” Rafa
“I arrived here in November, and I was eight months pregnant. For me, (the shelter) is everything. Before, I had nothing, nowhere to go, nowhere to
live, nothing to eat. When I came here, I felt safe,” Araceli

2
 Other migrants arrive at the KBI center with complaints The Refugee Voice - August 2009
that they were dropped off by U.S. Border Patrol in the mid- from Nogales, Ariz., and Nogales, Sonora, and volunteers
dle of the night, without proper clothing or blankets to brave from humanitarian organizations such as No More Deaths
the desert climate. Even more distressing, migrants report and local parishes, prepare and serves food to deported mi-
that U.S. immigration authorities have refused to provide grants, who frequently have eaten very little for a number of
migrants with water or sufficient food during deportation. days. The center also serves as a place where the migrants
The town of Nogales is also a hub for smuggling gangs and can receive pastoral support from the sisters and priests of
criminal human trafficking enterprises that prey on migrants the KBI staff, which is especially important after the often
and exploit their vulnerability. traumatic and dehumanizing experience of deportation.
One migrant, Susanne, recounted a story of abuse and ex- A number of migrants seek medical attention as well, par-
ploitation at the hands of an unscrupulous smuggler while ticularly for severely blistered feet and swollen legs, a conse-
trying to cross the border to visit quence of having walked for many
her mother who lives in North days in the Sonoran desert as they
Carolina. attempted to cross into the United
“As I was crossing I was robbed States. The small outreach center,
and beaten by the coyote I hired,” just inside the Mariposa Port of En-
Susanne said. try in Nogales, Sonora, serves as a
sign of hope for deported people at
When she arrived at the KBI one of the most difficult moments
women’s shelter her face, arms of their lives.
and shoulders and back were vis-
ibly swollen and bruised. “My An important part of the Kino Bor-
mouth is so swollen I can’t even der Initiative is its offer of a safe
eat,” she said. Susanne stayed in haven to unaccompanied women
the shelter run by the Sisters of the and children through its shelter,
Eucharist for several weeks and Casa Nazaret. The KBI has hosted
made a strong recovery. more than 200 women and children
since May of 2008 and allows them
A drug war on the Mexican side to stay for up to seven days. Casa
of the border has killed thousands Nazaret provides women and chil-
of people this year alone. Deported dren a place to recuperate after be-
migrants, particularly women and ing deported and an opportunity to
children, are particularly vulner- receive pastoral and emotional sup-
able to the rising violence in the port. The Casa also enables them
Mexican border communities. As to contact their family members by
the violence from the Mexican phone and to access Mexican gov-
drug war increases, local authori- ernment services, such as the finan-
ties in the Mexican Border States A nun from the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist and volunteers cial assistance needed to make it
have directed little attention at the sort donated clothes at the shelter for women and children in
Nogales. (Robert Dolan, S.J., for JRS/USA) possible for them to return to their
special vulnerability of the deport- town of origin. Through this KBI
ed migrants stranded within their ministry, many women and children
communities. have found a place of peace and time to gain strength during
GIVING OPTIONS AND HOPE a very difficult time in their lives.
“We do not know where we would eat if not here. We are A third aspect of KBI is its community outreach. To help
glad to have found this place this morning,” Benito said dur- foster greater understanding of migration issues, KBI staff
ing a meal at the KBI. present information sessions at parishes on the U.S. side of
At the Kino Border Initiative’s outreach center in Nogales, the border, providing insight into the reality of migrant life.
Sonora, an average of 200 to 250 hungry deportees are wel- They also have hosted many high school, college and par-
comed and provided the comfort of two free meals a day. ish groups who have visited the KBI to bear witness to the
The KBI staff, in collaboration with community members migrant’s condition.
continued on page 4

Answering t h e c a l l , t h e k i n o b o rd e r i n i t i a t i v e a l l e v i a t e s p a i n o n t h e b o rd e r
3
continued from page 3

Recommendations for Action

* The United States should promulgate uniform and
binding regulations for deportation and short-term cus-
tody of migrants to ensure that migrants’ human rights
are observed during deportation processes.
* The U.S. Immigration Authorities should inform the
Mexican immigration authorities of expected times of
deportation and should take special care to inform them
of the arrival of medical cases, pregnant women, unac-
companied women and children, and elderly or disabled
individuals.
* The Mexican immigration authorities, Grupo Beta,
should give migrants a list of shelters, food and care
centers in the Nogales area that serve the needs of re-
cently deported persons.
* The Mexican government and the U.S. government should
work together to ensure that deported migrants, especially
those from Southern Mexican States and Central American
nations, have the ability to return to their places of origin, in
order to prevent migrants from being stranded for months
in border communities, homeless and vulnerable to human
traffickers, smugglers and unscrupulous officials.
* In light of burgeoning violence in Mexican border com-
munities, the United States government and the Mexican
government should ensure safe and humane accommoda-
tions for deported migrants until they are able to return to
their states and countries of origin.

The bi-national ministry of the Kino Border Initia-

tive is a collaborative effort among Jesuit Refugee
Service/USA, the California Province of the Society
of Jesus, the Mexico Province of the Society of Jesus,
the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist, the
Archdiocese of Hermosillo and
the Diocese of Tucson.

The Jesuit Refugee Service/USA Chaplaincy Pro-
gram provides chaplain services at several detention
centers in the U.S., and is funded by the Department
of Homeland Security.

Fr. Martin McIntosh, S.J., right, counsels a young man at the Kino facility. Accom-
paniment is an essential element of the mission of JRS/USA. Our close and direct
contact with people allows us to understand their real needs. (Robert Dolan, S.J., for
JRS/USA)

Jesuit Refugee Service/USA

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Washington, DC 20036
(202) 462-0400 | www.jrsusa.org

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