Christmas 2.0: Fleeing in Hope

Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt.
Matt 2:13-4

While the joy of Christmas lingers in our hearts and we take down our Christmas creches, the gospel of Matthew plows forward with a very sobering second chapter in Jesus’ life: the flight into Egypt. A new father, led by his faith, moves his family to another country because their lives are in danger. This is a mystery worthy of our reflection and one that millions of people can relate to everyday. 

I think of Alfonso¹, a Mexican father traveling with his son to seek protection from the cartels in Sinaloa, Mexico, and officials stopping their bus at a Mexican checkpoint. These same officials then allowed cartel members to get on the bus and demand 2,000 pesos extortion from each person before they could continue the journey north. When Alfonso and his son crossed the US border, they turned themselves in to the Border Patrol with the intention of stating their case for asylum and seeking protection. Border Patrol never gave them a chance to do so. Instead, they were deported to Nogales, Mexico.

Or Blanca,¹ who was living in Mexico City before she fled threats from her partner and came north to the US with her two teenage children. Although Blanca is a Mexican national, Mexican immigration officials kidnapped her and forced her to call a family member to pay them 3,000 pesos before they could continue on their journey to safety.

I minister at the Kino Border Initiative along the US-Mexico border where thousands of families fleeing violence have passed through on journeys of faith that can move mountains. Most of the families that we accompany are internally displaced Mexican citizens, fleeing cartel violence compounded by generational poverty, lack of sustainable resources because of climate change, and little recourse with the local authorities who are often colluding with the cartels. In the recently published report Fleeing Terror in Southern Mexico: Why Numerous Guerrero Refugees Qualify for Asylum, we shared stories about how:

Sixteen criminal organizations have terrorized Guerrero, a strategic hub for drug trafficking in Mexico. In addition, State actors—including soldiers, police, and government officials—are responsible for human rights violations by actively taking part in killings and disappearances, colluding with criminal groups, and blocking accountability for their own abuses and the crimes of cartels.

As well as Guerrero, families are also fleeing the western state of Sinaloa and the southern state of Chiapas, where gunmen killed a well-known Catholic priest and Indigenous activist. 

Mireya, a woman who arrived at Kino recently, described the dire situation she was facing with her family in her home in Culiacán, Sinaloa. People there are living in fear and cannot leave their homes, not even to go to work or school. She and her family were constantly afraid a bullet would hit them through their own windows. The only way they could see to protect themselves was to leave. The situation has been getting progressively worse  as Catholic Bishops have been calling authorities to accountability and justice. 

Mireya, like so many people who are forcibly displaced today, hopes for a place where she can live with her family in safety. She doesn’t know where they are going, but she hopes. 

I have witnessed the power of hope and faith in Mireya, Alfonso, Blanca and others who leave unthinkable situations and journey toward new life. They speak to me of their hope in God, and I see them hope for a life of safety for their children. I hear their hope in a community that they can enrich. They hope for dignified work. They hope to support the family members they had to leave behind, and they hope to reunite with family in a new home. 

The inauguration on January 20 is fast approaching and families who were hopeful of making a new life in the U.S. are facing the reality of an incoming administration that has been clear in its intent to execute mass deportations, increased detentions, and work-place raids. People waiting in Mexico for the chance to ask for asylum, U.S. families of mixed status, businesses that rely on migrant labor, and others are facing very real fears. 

As I reflect on the Holy Family, I imagine how Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt. Full of fear. Full of hope. From what I’ve witnessed, fear and hope co-exist in the people of God as they journey toward new life. 

But, they haven’t lost hope.

These resilient communities are preparing. Many learned from the previous Trump administration, during which billions of tax dollars went toward funding the Wall and Title 42 expulsions were a boon to cartels and smugglers.  People are anticipating dark times with faith and courage. 

At Kino, spaces are offered where people can mourn, grieve, and be supported, where resilience can be grown and skills learned. The Florence Immigration Refugee and Rights Project team is educating people about their rights, current laws and anticipated changes.  Global Refuge has shared their new State and Local Advocacy Toolkit which provides advocates with steps on how to organize a campaign at the state and local level. My own congregation, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, are strengthening their networks of allies in preparation for accompanying and advocating people in their communities who are facing potential family separations, detentions or deportations. 

During these times, hope is present in people who are present to each other, walking in solidarity, praying for justice and taking the next right step as it appears on the journey. I suspect that many of us are accompanied by Holy Families that witness how fear and hope co-exist, producing courage and faith. What a blessing to be able to walk with them.

The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
    on them light has shined.

Isaiah 9:2

For more good Messy Jesus Business about immigration, try the podcast with Sister Norma Pimentel, this article by Sister Eileen McKenzie, and this book review.

 1 Name changed to protect privacy.

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