SAN ANTONIO – Due to concerns for their safety and security, Casa de RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services) Director Jenny Hixson said she doesn’t want the public to know the name and location of the larger local church serving as the new emergency shelter for the Central American asylum seekers released from area detention centers.
Hixson said the families fear possible retaliation against them and their families back home.
Janice Clayton with the Interfaith Welcome Coalition said they are coming from “some of the most violent countries in the world, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.”
“It’s really important to us that we’re in a safe and secure place where people’s privacy is protected,” Hixson said.
Hixson said the Casa de RAICES staff has been overwhelmed by the community’s response to the needs of these women and children. She said they have more than enough donated clothing.
“It’s a nice problem to have,” Hixson said. “We are beyond thankful. I think everybody who works at Casa de RAICES is crying constantly because we’re just so moved by the incredible generosity of people.”
Topping the list on the Casa de RAICES website for what’s most needed now is financial contributions.
Hixson said they would help cover anything that might be needed in response to an ever-changing situation, from air mattresses to medical expenses.
A medical clinic on-site for the families is now in the works.
“This literally is our dream come true,” Hixson said.
Many of the people are ill when they come out of detention centers, despite the centers having medical facilities.
Clayton said the coalition’s response has been motivated in large part by the children whose mothers have risked their lives to reach the border, who are then detained.
“Children have been incarcerated in the United States of America. Children should not be held in a prison,” Clayton said.
They’re called family residential centers by the government. A spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said nearly 2,400 remain in custody, 599 in Karnes City and 1,799 in Dilley.
In a statement on Monday, the ICE spokesman said the releases were part of normal operations, not last Friday’s court ruling preventing family immigrant jails from being licensed as child care facilities.