USA: Bishop of El Paso to lead march & vigil in solidarity with migrants

Fence at US-Mexico border

Source: Diocese of El Paso

On the Memorial of St Oscar Romero, Monday, 24 March at 6pm, in San Jacinto Plaza in downtown El Paso, Texas, the Hope Border Institute, Bishop Mark J Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso and local community leaders and organizations will hold a March & Vigil in Solidarity with Migrants.

The March and Vigil will take place against the background of the closure of the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, harsh rhetoric against those who have immigrated to the United States, and threats of mass deportation.

Community leaders and organizations participating include Ruben Garcia of Annunciation House, Melissa Lopez of Estrella del Paso, Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Celino of the Diocese of El Paso, the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande, Iglesia Delta, Trinity First United Methodist Church, Abara, El Paso faith and civic leaders and others.

Also present at the March and Vigil will be an international delegation of Catholic bishops, including bishops from the United States, Mexico, Canada and the Vatican.

The Most Rev Mark J Seitz, Bishop of El Paso wrote the following Open Letter to the Borderlands Community in El Paso on Monday:

Dear Community,

As a pastor in the borderlands, I am sensitive to the palpable anxiety which has taken hold of so many of our residents in recent months, both immigrant and non-immigrant alike.

Over just the past several weeks, we have seen the closure of the border to the vulnerable, immigration enforcement actions against our neighbours and the denial of reasonable protections for our schools, hospitals and places of worship. In recent days, I myself have lost friends who have chosen to self-deport back to immensely challenging conditions in their home country.

The heartwrenching pain coursing through our community is real. Indiscriminate immigration enforcement, the denial of due process and the pulling apart of families strike at our community and are grave attacks on human dignity. The threat of mass deportations is untenable and immoral and demands a credible response.

Therefore, I invite all of our El Paso residents - all people of faith and everyone committed to the common good - to come to San Jacinto Plaza at 6pm on Monday, March 24, 2025, on the Memorial of Archbishop Oscar Romero, for a March & Vigil organized in collaboration with the Hope Border Institute.

There, we will be joined by an international delegation of bishops as well as many of our community leaders. Together, we will march in solidarity with all our neighbours gripped by fear at this moment.

Let us walk together, confident that God is present in our desires for a more just world and in our actions to make them a reality.

LINKS

Diocese of El Paso: www.elpasodiocese.org/

Hope Border Institute: www.hopeborder.org/