Bishop Weisenburger celebrates Mass at Casa Alitas

This week, Bishop Edward Weisenburger celebrated Mass at one of the migrant respite centers in Tucson. Dozens of men, women, and children participated in the service. Catholic Community Services, known as CCS, operates Casa Alitas which provides temporary shelter, meals, medical care, and other support to the migrants who have been legally released into the United States while they await further processing. 

Of the migrant journey to the US, the bishop referenced his own family who emigrated from Germany. In Spanish, the bishop told the migrants that when his great grandparents came to the United States, they were welcomed with open arms into a great community, “Ustedes son bendiciones,” which means, “You are all blessings.” The Mass was celebrated in both English and Spanish as many of the migrants represent countries from all over the world.

The migrants have been released to CCS by the Department of Homeland Security after clearing fingerprints, biometrics, and other criminal record checks. On average, migrants spend less than 48 hours in Arizona. One family from Ecuador arrived at Casa Alitas earlier that morning and would depart for New Jersey the next day. The family said they were overjoyed when they saw Bishop Weisenburger at the altar. One of the religious sisters assisting bishop asked the family of six to offer the gifts during the Mass and to lector one of the readings. The family said it was a great honor because they are faithful Catholics who prayed during the month-long journey to the United States. The father told the New Outlook that they traveled from Ecuador to El Salvador and then to Mexico. In Mexico, the father said they were robbed of their belongings. When they arrived at Casa Alitas, the father said there were no words to express their gratitude at the kindness they were shown. He said, “it’s a blessing to pray the rosary the whole journey and then be met by the bishop when we arrived,” one of the daughters knelt on the concrete floor after receiving communion. 

Bishop Weisenburger also thanked the volunteers who have been supporting the mission at Casa Alitas telling them that the world is watching, “You are putting flesh on the bone of the gospel. This is an act of evangelization.”

On the Sunday before the Mass nearly 800 people had arrived at the migrant center. It costs about $1 million a week to support operations at the CCS facilities. The effort has been underway since 2019 when the diocese partnered with the State of Arizona, Pima County, the City of Tucson, and other faith-based groups to help migrants who had recently crossed the border. In doing so, migrants were not released into the streets; in a recent video posted on the New Outlook, the bishop said the collaboration has caused minimal impact to Arizona. “Because of so many wonderful people working together, Southern Arizona—and especially the City of Tucson—never witnessed the street releases and other chaotic images that we saw almost nightly on national news. Somehow, by working together—and I believe with God’s grace and assistance—we were able to respond to an extraordinary humanitarian crisis with compassion, responsibility, and diligence,” he said. 

The effort is largely funded by the federal government. Last month, Jan Lesher, the Pima County administrator told county supervisors that without federal funding, the effort would not be able to continue. Federal lawmakers are at an impasse when providing more federal funding. Last week, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs sent a letter to Congress asking for a continuation of the funds. In the meantime, CCS is preparing for a drawdown of services beginning April 1. It’s expected that without federal funding, CCS will have to drastically cut services that will result in what are known as street releases, which means federal law enforcement agents and officers will formally release migrants into the streets. The communities most likely to be affected are Douglas, Nogales, Tucson, Casa Grande, Gila Bend, Yuma, San Luis, and Phoenix.
 
If you’d like more information on how you can support CCS, please visit https://www.ccs-soaz.org/donate.