McALLEN, Texas — Roselins Sequera and her family of seven faced a challenging journey from Venezuela to the United States, eventually finding refuge in a migrant shelter located along the Texas border. The Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley provided them with meals, a place to sleep, and invaluable assistance in securing employment as they contemplated their next steps, particularly a potential relocation to Iowa to reconnect with friends. Sequera remarked, “We had a plan to go to Iowa, but we didn’t know how.”
Multiple shelters, established by various aid organizations along the U.S.-Mexico border, have been vital in supporting the growing wave of migrants. These facilities have become essential to overwhelmed local communities, often collaborating with Border Patrol to assist migrants who are released with immigration court notices yet remain unfamiliar with their surroundings or transportation options such as nearby airports and bus stations.
However, the rising scrutiny from Republican figures concerning these shelters has sparked concerns. Allies of President-elect Donald Trump regard these facilities as attractors for illegal immigration. Many of these nonprofits depend heavily on federal funding, which includes substantial sums that reached $650 million from a specific program in the previous year.
The Trump administration is poised to implement a far-reaching immigration agenda, which includes proposals that promise mass deportations. The newly appointed border czar, Tom Homan, expressed intentions to evaluate the necessity of non-governmental organizations, questioning whether such groups have inadvertently contributed to a “humanitarian crisis.” Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur aiding Trump with budget cuts, has criticized these organizations, characterizing them as inefficient uses of taxpayer money.
Ramaswamy stated, “Americans deserve transparency on opaque foreign aid & nonprofit groups abetting our own border crisis,” in a recent post on social media. Repeated attempts to get comments from the Trump administration went unanswered.
These developments have caused alarm among immigration advocates and local officials, even within the Republican party. Many warn that a lack of shelter support could result in collapsing local resources in border communities reliant on humanitarian assistance. Aid groups assert they are not facilitating illegal immigration, instead addressing the urgent needs placed upon border towns through humanitarian efforts.
Rochelle Garza, president of the Texas Civil Rights Project, emphasized that the groundwork is being laid for a broader confrontation against nonprofits that strive to uphold civil rights. Recently, Texas has initiated investigations targeting several organizations that assist migrants with shelter, food, and travel guidance. While courts have largely dismissed Texas’s attempts to shut down these organizations, including the case against El Paso’s Annunciation House, several appeals are still in process.
The investigations were spurred by unsubstantiated claims made by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in 2022, where he accused border nonprofits of prompting illegal crossings and aiding in transportation for migrants. Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley operates a shelter in McAllen with the capacity to accommodate 1,200 individuals. In March, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton contacted Sister Norma Pimentel, the organization’s executive director, requesting an interview to probe alleged facilitation of migrant crossings.
While Pimentel has opted not to comment due to the ongoing inquiry, her legal team described the state’s actions in court as a mere “fishing expedition.” Within the welcoming space of the downtown McAllen shelter, families can find travel resources while their children engage in play with volunteers. Throughout this year alone, nearly 50,000 migrants have utilized the shelter, which also features a designated area for personal items and sleeping arrangements.
The Sequera family spent two weeks at the shelter, establishing a routine of rising early, cleaning their sleeping areas, and enjoying communal breakfasts. They contributed through chores such as cleaning and laundry, essential for maintaining the shelter’s operations. Volunteer attorneys are also present to assist migrants with work authorization, significantly accelerating a process that could otherwise be both lengthy and costly.
Current McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos finds himself at odds with Paxton, despite both being Republicans. The shelter’s capacity for daily migrants has been reduced to about 140 in 2024, a stark contrast to the peak in 2021 when an overwhelming number of crossings led to closures. Villalobos noted, “They have served the purpose because the feds have not acted in what they have to do. In McAllen, we would have been lost without them.”
Former Mayor Jim Darling reflected on a situation from 2014 when he urgently sought assistance from Pimentel after a bus station closure left 25 migrants stranded. In response to COVID-19 concerns, Hidalgo County officials sought Pimentel’s expertise in 2021 when migrants were released without proper testing for the virus, leading to Catholic Charities overseeing testing and offering quarantine for those infected.
Since 2019, U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, has played a significant role in securing federal support for these shelters through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, successfully countering opposition from Republican factions. As he pondered the future, Cuellar queried, “Will they attack it again and try to eliminate it? Yes.”
