Welcoming the Stranger: Catholic Charities-run center helps migrants on their journey

Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, visits the Catholic Charities’ Houston Transfer Center to meet and pray with migrants who arrived that morning on a bus from El Paso. (Photo by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston)

HOUSTON — “We left Venezuela because of the violence and not enough jobs. And even when I could get a job, it didn’t pay enough to feed my family and make it through a week,” said Jose Sanchez, standing with his wife and three young children in a shelter not far from Bush Intercontinental Airport, where Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston operates its Houston Transfer Center.

Sanchez is one of more than 3,000 migrants served by Catholic Charities in Houston since the center opened in October.

Migrant families and individuals arrive at the center from a shelters in El Paso and Eagle Pass. The bus pulls in before sunrise after the long overnight drive and lets off its passengers — some carrying sleepy children and a single plastic bag with all their possessions.

“Jesus called on us to treat others with the same mercy as the Good Samaritan showed to the stranger by the side of the road,” said Catholic Charities President Cynthia N. Colbert, MSW. “Catholic Charities has been blessed by the opportunity to welcome our brothers and sisters through the Houston Transfer Center and other programs that serve newcomers who seek to build a new life in our country.”

The center is a stop along the way to join family members or friends who are willing to serve as their sponsors until the new arrivals can plead their case for asylum in immigration court. Everyone on the bus must have paperwork proving that they have government authorization to remain in the U.S. until their court dates, which may be up to three years or more in the future.

“We see the newly arrived migrants as our neighbors and want to provide a safe, comforting place to coordinate the next steps on their journey,” said Karina Hernandez with Catholic Charities, who directs the center. “They’re exhausted from their travels, many of them traveling for weeks, months or even years to escape from dire conditions in their home countries.”

As Sanchez described his family’s trek, he was overcome with emotion when asked about the most difficult part of the journey: “Mexico was the worst. We had to walk for three days. There were days when we didn’t have water to drink. But thank God there were people willing to help us along the way.”

Many of the families served by Catholic Charities staff at the center share stories of harrowing ordeals.

One Venezuelan mother with eight- and 10-year-old daughters recounted the horrific sights they encountered while making their way through the rainforest. The family had to pass travelers who lost their lives along the path, succumbing to factors such as dehydration, malnutrition, disease or exhaustion.

Most migrants arriving at the Houston Transfer Center come with travel plans and tickets purchased by their sponsor, ready to depart the same day. Catholic Charities ensures they get to the airport or bus station.

Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, looks on as he celebrates Mass at Casa Juan Diego in Houston on May 17. He visited with migrants staying with the home, which is led by Louise Zwick, seen at left. (Photo by James Ramos/Herald)

A FEMA grant that funds the center helps Catholic Charities purchase tickets for those who need one. The center also houses migrants at the hotel if their flights leave the next day.

When the center opened in the fall, border community migrant shelters were severely overcrowded. Originally the center was designed to receive a busload of migrant passengers daily. Unexpectedly, the flow of migrants slowed dramatically following the end of Title 42, the border policy originally put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic that allowed immediate refusal of migrants at the border. The number of buses is determined by the border communities: in May, only one was needed each week.

In mid-May, Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, visited the center to pray with families, including the Sanchezes, who were heading to New York to meet a friend willing to help. Sanchez told the bishop that he dreams of enrolling his children in school to create a good future for them.

“I am so happy that I am finally here in the U.S. with the plane ticket in hand,” said Sanchez. “And I don’t even care about myself. I am doing it all for my kids.”

That same day, Bishop Dell’Oro also visited Casa Juan Diego in Houston, also a waystation for migrants and families led by Louise Zwick and other Catholic Workers. Bishop Dell’Oro met with clients at the house, and though the numbers at the border had dropped, the house had continually reached capacity since Title 42 was lifted last month.

Zwick said the house has welcomed visitors not just from Latin and Central America, but also from the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East, coming from as far as Iran. She also said volunteers are always needed.

“It’s a mystery who is going to come tomorrow, but we’ll be here to help,” Zwick said. 

- James Ramos contributed to this story.