Synod Border Immersion
Bearing witness to lives and stories at the border
Saludos desde El Paso y Juárez
Greetings from El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua
A group from the Rocky Mountain Synod (ELCA)—including Bishop Meghan Johnston Aelabouni, Pastor Diana Linden, and Deacon Mary Stoneback—spent a meaningful week with Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey’s Border Immersion Program in November 2025. We offer special thanks to Pastor Rose Mary Sánchez-Guzmán, Pastor Juan De Dios, and Pastor Brian Erickson for their warm hospitality, guidance, and coordination throughout the immersion. The stories that follow share the voices and experiences of the people we met and the participants who journeyed together during the week.
The goal of these Border Immersions is to give participants the opportunity to go underneath all the rhetoric, posturing, and fake news and fake video to see what is really happening on the border.
Border Immersions are rooted in a simple conviction: the best way to understand life at the border is to experience it firsthand. Cristo Rey’s Border Immersion Program offers an intensive educational experience for adults, university students, and youth groups. Participants have the opportunity to:
- hear personal accounts of border life from our members
- visit the fence between El Paso and Juárez and hear stories of members and friends who live in Juarez
- meet with promoters of social justice in El Paso through non-profit organizations and ministries
- participate in a discussion with Border Patrol
- meet with an immigration lawyer
- work with youth at Cristo Rey's After School Program
- visit the colonias of El Paso, Texas and, if desired, Juárez, México
- experience Mexican and Mexican-American culture
- participate in fellowship with the Cristo Rey congregation
Participant Reflections
Border Immersion Guest Speakers
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RIO GRANDE BORDERLAND MINISTRIES Guest Speaker, Ana Reza, Bridge Chaplin for Rio Grande Borderland Ministries. Rio Grande Borderland Ministries is a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande that supports vulnerable neighbors in the New Mexico/Far West Texas borderlands by feeding, sheltering, and caring for asylum seekers and migrants, while also working in advocacy and community development with partner shelters and communities on both sides of the border. |
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BORDER NETWORK FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Guest Speaker, Alan Lizarraga, Communications Manager Participants learned how the Border Network for Human Rights equips border communities through grassroots organizing, advocacy, and documenting abuses. In the Know Your Rights session, they focused on practical steps for encounters with immigration enforcement—stay calm, exercise the right to remain silent, and don’t open the door unless officers show a judge-signed warrant. |
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IGLESIA LUTERANA CRISTO REY Guest Speaker, Pastora Rose Mary Sanchez–Guzman Participants heard Pastora Rose Mary Sánchez-Guzmán—Senior Pastor of Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey—share her call story from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to Luther Seminary (1996), and how she came to El Paso in 1997 as mission developer and has since led Cristo Rey’s bilingual ministry serving the community and connections with Juárez. |
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BREAKFAST IN ANAPRA COMMUNITY IN CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO Guest Speakers, Estela Martinez Sanchez and Bertha Aurelia Flores Torres Participants were served a traditional breakfast and heard from Estela and Bertha, residents of Anapra, who shared how they help youth and older adults thrive—building community where everyone is cared for in body, mind, and spirit. |
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CORPUS CHRISTI PARISH (ANAPRA) Guest Speakers, Columbian Fr. Bill Morton and Cristina Participants heard Father Bill Morton share how Corpus Christi Parish in Anapra is his home base for sacramental life and steady community support, while his ministry also reaches migrants through collaboration with the Columban Mission Center in El Paso and the Migrant Welcome Center at the Juárez Cathedral. Participants also supported migrant ministry in purchasing handmade bags made by migrants. |
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OFFICE OF THE BISHOP Guest Speaker, Bishop Mark J. Seitz ( El Paso Catholic) Participants heard a faith-based, practical call to solidarity and accompaniment—grounded in the belief that human dignity isn’t tied to immigration status—with concrete ways churches can welcome and protect migrant neighbors in El Paso. |
Border Ministry Features
Estela Martinez
Coming Soon
Alan Lizarraga
Coming Soon
Ana Reza
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Fr. Bill Morton
Coming Soon
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UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE LAS CRUSES, NM Guest Speaker, Judge Sweazea Participants witnessed immigration-related federal proceedings at the U.S. Courthouse in Las Cruces, gaining a sobering glimpse of how migrants and immigrants can become defendants in the federal court system. Following the session, the group had a conversation with U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin R. Sweazea, we gained a clearer picture of how federal court work unfolds through careful process, due process, and accountability—while still holding the dignity of each person at the center. |
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PAPA FRANCISCO HOSPITALITY CENTER Guest Speakers, Guests at Casa Papa Francisco, an Annunciation House shelter for migrants in El Paso, Texas. Participants prepared and served supper for migrants finding shelter at the Papa Francisco House. They also heard stories from migrants of their dangerous journeys to the U.S. full of heartache, deep loss and hope. |
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IMMIGRATION LAWYER Guest Speaker, Imelda Maynard, Immigration Lawyer from Estrella Del Paso (Former Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services, Inc.) Participants received a practical overview of immigration pathways and what to expect from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and immigration court—screenings, paperwork, and timelines. They also learned how strict rules like the one-year asylum filing deadline and long backlogs can delay cases for years, and how Estrella del Paso’s free legal services—including DOJ-accredited representatives—help people navigate the process step by step. |
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LUNCH & STORY IN THE COLONIAS Guest Speaker, Soledad Participants heard Soledad’s story of life in the colonias outside El Paso—the challenges of her immigration journey and the hardships she and her family have endured, while remaining hopeful through their faith in Christ. |
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PAPA FRANCISCO SHELTER Guest Speaker, Ruben Garcia, Director of Annunciation House |
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BORDER PATROL Guest Speaker, former Border Patrol, Michael DeBruhl Participants heard from former Border Patrol leader Michael DeBruhl about the history of the Border Patrol and what day-to-day operations look like, including how enforcement realities intersect with the humanitarian needs of migrants and families. Drawing on his experience in Border Patrol leadership and his later work directing a migrant shelter in El Paso, Michael helps groups separate “myths vs. facts” and understand the border through both public-safety and human-dignity lenses. |
Imelda Maynard
Video Feature Coming Soon
Imelda Maynard is an immigration attorney and the Director of Legal Services at Estrella del Paso (formerly Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services) in El Paso, Texas. She joined Estrella del Paso in 2021 and previously served as a managing staff attorney in its Unaccompanied Minors Unit before moving into her director role overseeing the organization’s legal units.
Maynard earned a B.A. in Political Science/Classics from the University of Oklahoma and a J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Licensed in Texas and Oklahoma (and admitted to practice before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals), she began practicing law in 2010, first in private practice focused on immigration and family law, then transitioning in 2016 to nonprofit legal work with Catholic Charities of Southern New Mexico serving migrant families and children across the border region.
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BORDER SERVANT CORPS Guest Speaker, Kari Lenander, Executive Director Participants learned about Border Servant Corps efforts to provide migrants hospitality and accompaniment. They heard first hand accounts of what the organization is seeing on the ground, how their hospitality/reception work supports newly arrived migrants with dignity, and concrete ways a group can help (volunteer, give, and advocate). |
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MILAGRO DE LA FRONTERA Guest Speaker, Pastor Juán de Dios López Participants heard about Pastor Juán's journey into ministry and how Milagro de la Frontera is ministering largely to migrants and immigrants on the border—especially refugees and asylum-seeking individuals/families moving through or waiting in the El Paso–Juárez region—offering hospitality, meals, prayer, and practical support in partnership with other shelters and ministries. |
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ABARA Guest Speaker, Jonathan Klassen (Hospitality & Office Coordinator) Participants toured and learned about Abara, an El Paso–based nonprofit that creates spaces for connection and peace-building on the U.S.–Mexico border through Border Encounters (immersive learning experiences) and Border Response (partnering with shelters to support displaced neighbors). |
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