It’s 8 AM at the Mexican-American border and there is already a lengthy line forming at the Port of Entry. No, it’s not made up of tourists and families. Instead, it’s made up almost exclusively of children carrying backpacks filled with notebooks, markers, and lunches. Where are these children going? They’re going to school.

For almost 800 American students, this is a daily norm. JoAnna is no different. A fifth grader at a public school in Columbus, New Mexico, JoAnna, an American citizen, lives with her family in Palomas, Mexico.

For her, it’s a free education as New Mexico’s state constitution grants American citizens a free education no matter where they reside. However, hundreds of other students cross the border to attend costly private schools in places such as El Paso, Texas.

Many of these children have parents who were deported by the American government. Instead of sacrificing their child’s education or leaving the deported family member behind, they move to border cities in Mexico where they can have the best of both worlds–a family and the opportunity of an American education.

In JoAnna’s school, two-thirds of the students live in Palomas. It would be easy for the children from Columbus to isolate those living in Mexico, but instead they interact just like any other group of fifth grade girls. “We usually talk about what we’re going to play outside and secrets…But I can’t tell you,” JoAnna laughs.

You can read more about JoAnna and her classmates here.

After facing gang violence and other disasters that tore apart their families and homes, many Central Americans are forced to flee their country in search of safety. In the past, many of these individuals had their sights set on the United States. Now, however, due to recent changes in the US immigration laws, many of these asylum seekers are choosing to remain in Mexico and observe the US immigration climate from a distance…at least for a while.

One young mother fled to Mexico after narrowly escaping violence in her home country of Guatemala. She envisions a life in America, a life where she can reunite with her father and two sons. But for now, she remains in Mexico, waiting for a window of opportunity to achieve her dream.

She is not alone. The number of asylum applications was 8,781 in 2016. This number is expected to rise to 22,500 in 2017. However, with Mexico’s grip on migrant regulation tightening, Central Americans seeking asylum are forced to move faster and more dangerously before. The risks and uncertainty that refugees hoped to leave behind instead follow them as they search for safety and security.

While their stay in Mexico may mean extra months or years before a reunion with family members, it provides Central American refugees a haven to safely plan the rest of their journey. They remain hopeful for permanent asylum in Mexico, Canada, or the United States and for a better life than the one they are running from.

You can read more on why refugees are staying longer in Mexico here.

“When you see women and unaccompanied children fleeing as migrants, that’s when something really bad is going on. That’s the least mobile demographic. You just don’t see it unless it’s life or death.”

This statement from former AILA president, Laura Lichter, sheds light on the current situation at the United States border.

In December, more than 400 women and children were released from the Dilley, Texas immigrant detention center, just days after a judge denied the center the license which would allow them to legally detain children. While this appears to be a step in the right direction to ending family detainment, some are questioning to what extend the government will comply with this order.

Even after the release, it is predicted that close to 1,900 women and children are being held in that facility instead of being processed and released locally, as they are supposed to be. And this number is increasing. One respite center in the area says they were averaging 300 individuals per day just one month ago. Now, they are down to fewer than 90.

While migrants are still being released to these respite centers, it is guessed that this is due to lack of space in the detention centers. Currently, many women and children are detained for months at a time, sometimes close to a year. They are held in detention centers without the proper license to do so. Those lucky enough to be released are often done so through “alternatives to detention” or ATD. This includes ankle monitors, house visits, phone calls, etc. This type of supervision is to ensure that the migrants make it to their court hearings. The Department of Homeland Security is expected to triple the number of migrants in this program within the year.

Human rights advocates are worried that migrants who do not get released from custody with ATD are going to be held in the detention centers for indefinite lengths of time, likely until their deportation proceeding. They are worried that each individual will be deported, if possible, when they are unable to prove that they qualify for asylum.

So why are these individuals still being held in such horrific conditions? Partly because of current laws and legislature, although it began before the current administration, and partly because for-profit prison companies are getting paid to detain immigrants.

You can read more on this problem here and here.

January 15 is the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Pope Francis has declared this year the year of “Child Migrants, the Vulnerable and the Voiceless.” Join us in praying for these most vulnerable of individuals.

Dear Lord,
Be with the displaced and the migrants.
Be with those who have lost contact with their families.
Be with those who long for a friendly face.
Be with those who long for a loving touch.
Be with those who are weary and find it hard to keep going.
Be with those who are cold and long for a warm fire and a cozy chair.
Be with those who sleep on hard ground and long for a comfortable bed.
Be with those who have no home.
Be with those who long to feel safe from wars and hatred.
Be with those who are in hiding from violent people.
Be with those who have lost hope.
Be with those today who have to leave their homes to look for a better or safer life.
Grant them a safe journey and welcome wherever they go.
Be with those who have been trafficked.
Grant that they might meet a compassionate person who will release them and give them back their freedom.
Be with those who are vulnerable and alone, especially children.
Grant them protection from those who would exploit their vulnerability.
Be with those today who are separated from loved ones at the time of death.
Grant them a safe home in heaven and eternal life in your presence.
Be with me today and with those I love.
Help us to recognize you in all the people we meet
in the homeless,
in the sick,
in the needy,
and in the stranger.
Help us to extend a caring hand to all your people so that we can build a better, just, and caring world where all will be one.
In the name of Our Lord. Amen.