Search
  • Dec 2
  • 22 min

BISHOP MARK SEITZ: PASTORAL LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD IN EL PASO

Not likely that you have spent time with a bishop's pastoral letter but, as I'm reading this, I'm thinking of an exceptional man whose 50th wedding anniversary I attended recently. He had the standing and gravitas to address his following generations in the words that introduced the wedding vows fifty years ago. We were dazzled. It gave me some hope that the Bishop of El Paso will find a hearing among us. Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for t
  • Nov 28
  • 1 min

Happy Thanksgiving

We love our angels and we give thanks that you are among them. Truckloads of food baskets have been shared this week with the needier families. Not many new arrivals are familiar with roast turkey, but like language classes, citizenship classes, parenting classes, U.M nutrition classes, even zumba classes, it is fun to acquire. The practical people will want to know, "where is the ask?" Our first ask this week is that God bless you and hears your thanksgiving. Abrazos y bendi
  • Nov 15
  • 1 min

“Asylum-Seekers Get Attorney Access Before Return to Mexico,” The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO — A federal judge has ruled that a Guatemalan family seeking asylum in the United States must be granted attorney access before being forced to wait in Mexico as their case winds through U.S. immigration court. District Judge Dana Sabraw’s temporary restraining order may have far-reaching consequences if applied more widely to a key Trump administration policy to address a surge of asylum-seekers arriving at the U.S. border with Mexico. The judge scheduled a hearing
  • Nov 15
  • 6 min

What to the Immigrant is Veterans Day?

In March 2003, the first U.S. Marine to give his life in the Gulf War called Operation Iraqui Freedom was Lance Corporal Jose Gutierrez, an orphan whose parents had been killed in Guatemala's military repression of the indigenous majority. At 14, by walking and jumping freight trains, he made it to California, where he was raised in foster homes. He joined the Marines to make money for college- and to send to his sister in Guatemala. In his last letter home on March 1st, he a
  • Nov 13
  • 3 min

Supreme Court May Side With Trump On 'DREAMers'

By: NINA TOTENBERG The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority signaled Tuesday that it may let the Trump administration shut down the Obama-era program that granted temporary protection from deportation to roughly 700,000 young people, commonly known as DREAMers. Brought to the U.S. illegally as children, the DREAMers were allowed to legally work and go to school if they met certain requirements and passed a background check. The program, begun in 2012, is known as DACA —
  • Nov 11
  • 9 min

The Trump Administration’s Plot to End DACA Faces a Supreme Court Test

By Jonathan Blitzer On August 24, 2017, some twenty Trump Administration officials gathered in the Roosevelt Room, at the White House, for a meeting about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or daca, an Obama-era policy protecting from deportation nearly a million immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. In attendance were Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the White House adviser Stephen Miller, and an official at the Department of Homeland Security named Ge
  • Nov 2
  • 1 min

All Souls Day

Yesterday was All Saints' Day. In the Western tradition, it's a time to honor Christian saints and martyrs. Pope Boniface IV originated the holy day in around 609, in the process of consecrating the Pantheon of Rome to the Virgin Mary. At that time, All Saints' Day was celebrated on May 13. Pope Gregory III changed it to November 1 in the mid-700s, possibly to coincide with, and incorporate, the Celtic pagan festival of Samhain, a time when the border between the dead and the
  • Oct 31
  • 2 min

The Eve of All Hallows, Todos Santos, Toussaint, All Souls, Dia de los Muertos, Todos los Difuntos

In western civilization, these days gave us All Saints Day, and All Souls Day. In the belief system of the Mayan people, and in the belief system of the Celtic people, these days addressed the same meanings. For the Maya, the portal between the living and the deceased was thought to be opened at this time. For the Celtic people throughout Europe, the portal between the living and the deceased was thought to be opened at this time. In both cases, in the old world and the new,
  • Oct 29
  • 3 min

A Teen Refugee's Brain May Be Disrupted More By Poverty Than Past Trauma

Alexandra Chen was a trauma specialist working in Lebanon and Jordan when she noticed that a specific group of kids were struggling in schools. Chen kept getting referrals for refugee students who had fled the war in Syria. They were having trouble focusing and finishing schoolwork. Some had even dropped out of school. She wondered to what extent the different stressors they faced — exposure to violence in Syria, lack of resources or concerns for the future — affected how the
  • Oct 23
  • 3 min

39 Bodies Found In Truck In Essex, United Kingdom

Here’s what we know so far about the tragedy, which appears to be the result of a migrant smuggling operation gone wrong The bodies of 39 people were found in the back of a truck in Essex, United Kingdom in what authorities say may be the result of a migrant smuggling operation gone wrong. The truck was found at an industrial park in the Thurrock area of Essex. Police believe that the truck was from Bulgaria and entered the United Kingdom on Saturday through Holyhead, a Welsh
  • Oct 23
  • 1 min

Nicklaus Children's Hospital comes to the GMC

Appreciating the attention, this family of 5 gleeful children received exams, cleaning, x-rays, fluoride, and extractions, services valued at $2500.00, completely free thanks to the Nicklaus Children's Hospital The GM Center welcomed thirty children today, to see two dentists and two dental assistants. Children without insurance, parents with low income available. Plans for November ** and December ** are underway. Agradeciendo la atención, esta familia de 5 niños alegres rec
  • Oct 14
  • 1 min

Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Rethinking How We Celebrate American History

Johns Hopkins University observed Indigenous Peoples’ Day for the first time in 2018. “The culture around Columbus and how Natives are viewed is slowly changing,” Indigenous Students at Hopkins (ISH) president Tyra Andrews said that day. “It’s really important, especially for the younger generations.” Organized by ISH and the university's Office of Multicultural Affairs, the commemoration included a campus powwow and an evening presentation by Victoria O’Keefe (Cherokee and S
  • Oct 14
  • 1 min

Judges block's Trump's policy that favors wealthy immigrants

A federal judge blocked Friday a Trump administration rule that was scheduled to take effect next week that would have denied permanent legal residence to low-income immigrants living in the United States. The nationwide injunction from District Judge George Daniels in New York City halts the administration's attempt to redefine what constitutes a "public charge," or immigrants who are, or who might become, overly dependent on government assistance. The rule would have affect
  • Oct 9
  • 1 min

Do the right thing - Magaly Diaz-Perez

The Do the Write Thing Challenge is a nationwide writing challenge which gives middle school students the opportunity to examine the impact of youth violence on their lives and make a commitment to do what they can to reduce youth violence. Through students, teachers, parents, coaches, and other community members learn how to acknowledge and address youth violence in a constructive manner. Magaly is an 9th grader at Palm Beach Lakes High School. She attended Howell L. Watkins