Local churches facing challenges while trying to help migrants

With the recent influx of migrants to the Borderland, El Paso churches are working harder than ever to make sure the migrants are cared for.

ABC-7 has reported how local churches are stepping up to do their part to help, but there are some new challenges churches are facing.

“Everytime we get migrants it’s hectic, but we love it,” said Monica Cabrera, a social worker at the Caminos De Vida church.

Cabrera helps hundreds of migrants who come through the doors of the lower valley church.

Cabrera says on Thursday, Caminos De Vida received 115 migrants, but 25 of those migrants were from a group that they were not expecting.

The 25 migrants had been taken to a downtown church that does not operate as a shelter.

“They don’t do refugees, they don’t know anything about refugees,” Cabrera said. “She (pastor at church) just knows me because she’s a pastor and she just knew that we were doing refugees, so she called me to see ‘what do I do, I have know idea what to do.”

Caminos De Vida took in the 25 migrants.

Cabrera also helps in finding the migrants transportation to their sponsors across the country.

She says it can sometimes be difficult to find transportation tickets during the holidays, but working with bus companies hasn’t been an issue.

“There are sufficient buses to transport them. That’s not the problem,” Cabrera said. “There is not enough shelter places or churches that are opening up their facilities to do this.”

And while Caminos De Vida is dealing with the increased amount of migrants taken to their church, another church in El Paso’s lower valley is on standby and ready to help.

Karl Heimer is the pastor at the Ysleta Lutheran Mission.

He says his church can house up to 60 people and that he’s been in contact with ICE, but so far his church hasn’t received any migrants.

The church in turn has been donating food and other items to other shelters in both El paso and Juarez.

“We’re in the business of helping people and that’s what we’re going to do,” Heimer said. “I think what’s really important is that we need the prayers of everybody to help us because the task is going to be tremendous.”

And for Cabrera, it’s a rewarding feeling for her after she is able to help a migrant through the process of getting to their sponsor.

The thanks she gets everyday makes it all worth it.

“So seeing those smiles makes us so happy and joyful and that it gives us extra strength to continue to do this work,” Cabrera said.

Both churches are in need of volunteers.

If you would like to donate some of your time you can call the Caminos De Vida church at 915-873-5061.

You can also find them on Facebook.

To reach out to the Ysleta Lutheran Mission, their number is 915-858-2588.