NEW YORK (OSV News) — A “network of friends and collaborators” is clearly “key to success” for incoming immigrants, a prominent Mexican-American woman religious who ministers in Texas at the U.S.-Mexico border said at a Jan. 20 dialogue sponsored by Jesuit-run Fordham University.
“And we cannot leave God out. It is so important to make sure that God is at the center of who we are and what we do,” said Sister Norma Pimentel, a Missionary of Jesus, who is executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.
When she wakes up each morning, she said, she thanks God for that day and asks him, “What do you need me to do?”
The dialogue, titled “The Mayor’s Office and The Church: NYC Migrant State of Emergency,” featured Sister Norma discussing the current state of affairs with Anne Williams-Isom, New York City’s deputy mayor for health and human services. Open to the public, it was held at Fordham’s Rose Hill campus in the Bronx and drew about 50 people.
Lack of political will
Williams-Isom addressed the overall environment in the city. “That should be the message: There are people in need; what can I do to help? … to show people how you can deal with something with humanity,” she said. “There’s not a political will to solve this problem; it is not because of a lack of solutions.”
She mentioned critics’ comments on Mayor Eric Adams’ verbal missteps, but noted there also should be attention to his determination from the start, in 2022, to help asylum-seekers amid the growing crisis, when Latin American immigrants were bused to New York City from Texas.
In September at a town hall meeting, Adams was quoted by the press as saying the migrant crisis “will destroy New York City,” and he appealed to the Biden administration to provide federal funds to help the city meet the needs of Immigrants.
In November, he renewed his push for federal funds but at the same time said New York City “continues to do its part to support asylum-seekers,” according to a release on the city’s website. It said Adams has expanded immigration application assistance centers and convened a Resettlement Working Group “to focus on collaborating with national refugee resettlement organizations and municipalities across the country looking to boost declining populations.”
Stories changing hearts
Organizers of the Jan. 20 dialogue said the primary goal of the conversation was to engage in a “compassionate and reflective dialogue, designed to deepen the understanding of the formidable challenges faced by incoming migrants and residents alike.”
It spotlighted the pivotal roles played by New York City’s communities and its religious and nonprofit organizations in offering critical support to all those in need.
Moderated by Gemma Solimene, a Fordham University professor of law and immigration specialist, the dialogue explored and encouraged potential strategies for enhanced collaboration among stakeholders, aiming to address “this pressing humanitarian issue effectively.”
“I think that we are here for only one reason, and that’s not to lose sight of who these families are — what they’ve been through; their stories are so sad,” Sister Norma said during the two-hour event, adding, “Like the children that I encounter at the detention facility (in Texas), crying and saying, ‘Sácame de aquí.’ (‘Get me out of here.’).” She also spoke of desperate mothers willing to have their children go with U.S. immigration officials without them.
Sister Norma noted there have been many instances of critics having a change of heart after she invites them to visit her immigrant respite center in Texas, where they witness firsthand the desperation and dire need among asylum-seekers, many of whom are robbed and abused by the Mexican cartels as they approach the point of entry.
Church-state collaboration
Consensus developed among the participants to help 170,000 asylum-seekers and included recommendations such as New York City, the Church, interfaith groups and community organizations looking for ways to increase and improve collaboration, with continued wise use of funds; “radical faith” always being a key factor in emergencies; advocating for expediting the work-permit process, so that asylum-seekers can be better prepared to obtain housing; and promoting intercity cooperation.
The lead organizer of the dialogue was Christie de la Gándara, a visiting associate professor of practical theology and religious education at Fordham.
Sister Norma’s dedication to refugees and immigrants in the United States, which has been acknowledged by Pope Francis and others, saw her included on Time’s prestigious list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.
Williams-Isom was formerly the CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone, a nonprofit devoted to breaking the cycle of generational poverty in Central Harlem. She is a Fordham University alumna and a native of Queens.
Armando Machado writes for The Good Newsroom, the online news outlet of the Archdiocese of New York.
