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Palomas 2023 On Mother’s Day weekend in May 2019, without warning, US Border Patrol started dropping hundreds of legal asylum seeking families in Deming, NM (50 miles south of Grant County/Silver City). Most without food, adequate clothing, and in poor medical condition. Our UU congregation immediately began supporting the emergency shelter originally setup at the county fairgrounds and an old WWII airplane hangar. We were the collection site for our county and sent provisions every week. Weekly emails started going out to several hundred people with lists of immediate needs. With those donations we packed emergency food bags (GoBags) as well as sent clothing, toys, medical supplies and food for the shelter. And then, all of that ceased in fall 2019 when the border was “shut,” and the Remain in Mexico (MPP) was strictly enforced. The shelter for asylum seekers in Palomas MX (just across the border from Deming) held a relatively stable number of guests waiting and waiting and waiting… and we transferred our support to them. In June 2020 Border Patrol started expelling dozens (and now hundreds) of Title 42 migrants (preventing anyone from entering the US due to COVID 19) daily into Palomas (a small town of 5000). These guests might only stay 1 or 2 days, but most were in dire need of food, sleep and first aid before they decide where to go next. And because of the pandemic they had to be kept separate from the asylum seekers who were quarantined. Two totally separate shelters have since opened for these expelled persons, including a 5 month old baby recently. We remain their primary source of supplies and the number has climbed skyward. In January 2023 alone, close to 2000 people were expelled into Palomas, with half of them getting a place to sleep and food through the fire station/shelters. We pay stipends to a team in Palomas to provide for them. In addition, in early 2022, the Deming shelter on the US side of the border re-opened for asylum seekers heading to sponsors in the US! They too need food, warm clothing and care. We supply them as well as Palomas as best we can. What we are able to do is dependent on donations from our wider community… locally, nationally and internationally. Although there are needs across the entire southern border, we remain committed to our corner of New Mexico/Mexico which generally gets overlooked in the bigger picture. In doing so we can have a bigger impact in these smaller communities. We remain a totally volunteer group with all donations and monetary support coming from individuals. If you would like to receive our biweekly emails, contact Barbara Gabioud at bgabioud@gmail.com. Note: Driven by the hope for a better future, many migrants who are being expelled from the US will continue to try to re-enter, regardless of the dangers and hardships they face.
9/27/2023
I’m sure you’ve recently seen news stories about the crackdown on the Mexican trains carrying migrants to the border, and seen live footage with most folks riding on the roofs for hundreds of miles. Here’s Gloria, one of those riders. ![]() Gloria
is two years old and with her mother traveled through the Darien Gap (a
hellhole of jungle connecting Columbia with Panama) from Venezuela
before
riding the train north. All that, and probably still in diapers.
Colores United
in Deming welcomed them with open arms. If
you would like to hear more from Ariana Saludares, the
executive director of CU, tune in to KURU at 89.1 FM (or on the web
at gmcr.org) tomorrow
morning, Thursday, at 9 AM. Their Centro is receiving upwards
of 300
guests per week with the uptick in border crossings. ![]() OUR NEXT COLLECTION IS WEDNESDAY, October 4th from
3:00 to 3:30. Special needs: BABY FORMULA, PUREED BABY
FOOD, BABY BOTTLES, DIAPER RASH CREAM, BABY WIPES, new underwear (underwear,
socks, sports bras) in all sizes for all ages. FALL
and WINTER CLOTHING. Comfortable shoes in all sizes. And for the 800 GoBags we
continue to pack and send every month CRACKER PACKS,
GRANOLA BARS, and small cans of VIENNA
SAUSAGES. We can also
use one gallon ziplock storage bags for the GoBags. We collect donations on the first and third Wednesdays of each
month, 3:00-3:30, at the UUFSC building, 3845 N Swan (not
our mailing address) in Silver City. You can drive straight down on either side of
our collection vehicles. We will get you unloaded and then you can drive
out easily. If you are bringing any of the above GoBag
items, please let the crew unloading your car know about them.
8/30/2023 Ariana
Saludares,
the executive director of Colores United, sent us this photo. Baby
Elizabeth
was born the day her mother arrived at Mariposa Ranch, the Deming
shelter. She
was named for one of the shelter employees. She and her brother, José,
came
from Guatemala with their parents. These are the kids and families to
whom you
are giving a better life. Two
important pieces of news this week. FIRST, on Monday, Ariana and David
Henkel
(UNM Emeritus Professor of Planning) presented
a profile of Colores United, migration patterns and realities, and
technical
needs of the Deming shelter to a class in the UNM School of
Architecture and
Planning’s Design and Practice Assistance Center. The end result is
that a team
of graduate students and professors will be coming down to
Deming Sept
8-10 to
assess the situation on the ground,
and develop design solutions intended to help reopen the center for
housing of
migrant guests and to sketch out longer-term uses of the space. No more
need
for hotels! Electrical and plumbing infrastructure is so
critical. SECONDLY,
Colores is now accepting FALL and WINTER CLOTHING (especially
for young boys, like José above). I know some of
you have been
holding on to some great donations for just this announcement As a
guideline,
think about clothing you or your children would want to wear when
traveling. OUR
NEXT COLLECTION IS WEDNESDAY, September 6th, from
3:00 to 3:30. Special
needs: BABY
FORMULA, PUREED BABY
FOOD, BABY BOTTLES, DIAPER RASH CREAM, BABY
WIPES, new underwear (underwear,
socks, sports bras) in all sizes for all ages. Comfortable shoes in all
sizes. And
in November we will again be participating in the
Special Holiday Coat Drive that Grupo
Beta sponsors in Palomas. We will be requesting COATS
and JACKETS (hats, scarves and gloves).
And
for the 800
GoBags we
continue to pack and send every month CRACKER
PACKS,
GRANOLA BARS, and small
cans of VIENNA
SAUSAGES. We
can also
use one gallon ziplock storage bags for the GoBags. We
collect donations on the first and third Wednesdays of each
month, 3:00-3:30, at the UUFSC building, 3845 N Swan (not
our mailing address)
in Silver City. You can drive straight down on either side of
our collection vehicles. We will get you unloaded and then you
can drive
out easily. If you are bringing any of the above GoBag
items,
please let the crew unloading your car know about them. If
you would like to read my last 3 posts they are
available on our UU website uufsc.com. It
might give you ideas of other
needed supplies. Click on the Palomas/Deming 2023 link on the left side
of the
page. Or you can dig deeper on our fellowship’s Facebook page htt 8/8/2023 FLASH
NEWS! If you have summer clothing for little boys 2T-5T
the Deming shelter is once again in need The
Las Cruces and Deming shelters continue to receive busloads of legal
asylum
seekers through both the El Paso and Tucson Border Patrol sectors.
After many
months of slow action, the last several weeks have been busy. That’s a
good
thing! Although I don’t have any big news to share this week but I want
to
reiterate how important your donations are both on our collection days
and the
financial donations many of you send in. We support the staff and many
supplies
in Palomas financially. The Deming shelter has many ‘pop-up” needs that
FEMA funding doesn’t cover. And whatever foodstuffs don’t
come in on
collections days for the 200 weekly GoBags have to be purchased.
From
last time also: The Deming shelter is still in need of VOLUNTEERS in
many capacities. At the Warehouse/Centro you
could sort
clothing/donations; launder dirty clothing; prep comfort kits for
guests
(primos); work in food pantry organizing food; paint interior walls;
organize
tools in the maintenance shop; or put up insulation. At the Shelter/Motel you
could help clean/prep
rooms; assist with towel/blanket washing; participate in activities
with
families; help with transportation booking; or help with food
prep/cooking/serving. If you would like to volunteer there,
contact
Joseline Ramirez at joseline.coloresunited@ OUR
NEXT COLLECTION IS WEDNESDAY, August 16th, from
3:00 to 3:30. With
the current influx of families, the
Deming shelter is
requesting BABY
FORMULA, PUREED BABY FOOD,
BABY BOTTLES, DIAPER RASH CREAM, BABY WIPES, BOYS SUMMER
CLOTHING
2T-5T, CHILDREN’S SOCKS, new underwear (underwear,
socks, sports bras) in all sizes for all ages. Comfortable shoes in all
sizes
are great. Still NO SUMMER CLOTHING except for little boys. And
for the 800
GoBags we
continue to pack and send every month CRACKER
PACKS, WELCH’S
FRUIT SNACKS, GRANOLA BARS, and small
cans of VIENNA
SAUSAGES. We
can also use one gallon ziplock storage bags
for the GoBags. We
collect donations on the first and third Wednesdays of each
month, 3:00-3:30, at the UUFSC building, 3845 N Swan (not
our mailing address)
in Silver City. You can drive straight down on either side of
our collection vehicles. We will get you unloaded and then you
can drive
out easily. If you are bringing any of the above GoBag
items,
please let the crew unloading your car know about them. If
you would like to read my last 3 posts they are
available on our UU website uufsc.com. It
might give you ideas of other
needed supplies. Click on the Palomas/Deming 2023 link on the left side
of the
page. Or you can dig deeper on our fellowship’s Facebook page htt |
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Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Silver City - 2012
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