A very border Christmas unites Arizona and Mexico groups advocating for migrants

Versión en español

NOGALES, Sonora – The spirit of Christmas was present at the Nogales border last weekend, as the Kino Border Initiative organization held a binational posada that brought together families, volunteers and community members in a space of connection, faith and solidarity.

It was a posada that crossed borders.

In an area marked by walls and divisions, the festive Mexican gathering, rooted in Catholic belief, served as a reminder that Christmas is born precisely on the journey, in the search for refuge and in shared hope. People from both sides of the border gathered to walk together, sing Christmas carols and share fellowship, recreating the pilgrimage of Saint Joseph and the Virgin Mary, a Christian story that continues to resonate strongly in the reality of those who migrate.

The participation of faith communities, including St. John Vianney Catholic Church from Goodyear, Arizona, demonstrated that the church and society can be bridges of welcome. Beyond nationalities and languages, the posada was experienced as an act of collective love: hands that served hot food and voices that sang traditional carols.

From early on, Pesqueira Plaza, located a few meters from the Dennis DeConcini port of entry and across from the border wall that divides Nogales, was the meeting point. Arizonans from Nogales, Tucson, Yuma, and Goodyear gathered there. Among the attendees were Bishop Gerald Frederick Kicanas of Tucson and Bishop José Luis Cerra Luna of Nogales, Sonora.

Before the walk began, Kicanas said that Christmas is a very important time in life. "Thank you for this opportunity to walk together; we are thinking of the migrants who are walking like Mary and Joseph," he said.

Cerra Luna said that he was pleased "that we are gathered just a few meters from the line between the two countries and that we have members from both nations. That is a very beautiful testimony because often what is sought is division, distance, that even though we are only a few meters apart, we are so separated." 

The posada tradition is both beautiful and pious, he added, but it is also very tragic. Just as Mary and Joseph were accompanied on that journey to the inn, they would also accompany millions of migrants who have had to leave their homes in search of a better life.

Stations for the migrant journey

After these reflections, the 1.5-mile walk began, proceeding along International Street until reaching the Luis Donaldo Colosio beltway, where the Kino shelter and soup kitchen are located. During the journey, four stations were held, each with a different message, accompanied by live songs and Christmas carols from a platform that moved alongside the group.

At the first station, the message was about the detention and deportation process. They read the testimony of a migrant named Fernando, who was detained in Arizona and deported to Nogales.

At the second station, they spoke about the dangers that migrants face in Mexico: fear, danger and the possibility of extortion by authorities at all levels. However, they emphasized that in the midst of these storms they may be experiencing, they are kept strong by the hope they find in the hands of those who receive, welcome and provide everything that people need.

At that point, they placed a cross on a table. There was paint, and next to the cross, on white paper, attendees could paint their hands, as if Christ were seeking hope, they explained.

They also called on the Mexican government to restore resources to the offices of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance so they can respond to the increase in asylum applications in Mexico. 

At the third station, the community of Ambos Nogales was invited to join activities at the various shelters in the area to hear these sacred stories firsthand and, together, change the narrative about migrants — information that is often manipulated for political purposes and interests.

At this station, a call was made to media outlets to do justice to the truth of the lives and realities of migrants, setting aside the interests of any political party.

Finally, upon arriving at the Kino dining hall, the fourth station and the much-anticipated traditional Christmas posada procession took place. There, companies in Nogales, Sonora, were asked to treat migrant workers with dignity.

The entire journey, explained Jesús Robles Arvayo, Kino's education coordinator in Mexico, was to ask for shelter, a safe place.

As they sang the traditional posada song to ask for shelter, the lyrics were changed to emphasize the migrant journey, as if they were the ones asking for refuge and as if the police were the ones telling them there was no shelter for them, explained Robles Arvayo, who also coordinated the event.

He added that it was done to give voice to migrants and the realities they experience, to join the traditional Christmas processions in Mexico, and to foster unity between the United States and Mexico.

"We advocate and fight for dignified mobility and fair and humane treatment in the migration process," commented Robles Arvayo.

At the end of the procession, the shelter welcomed the group with hot food, mariachi music and a sense of community. Stories like that of Heriberto Guzmán, originally from Morelos, who attended with his wife and daughter, could be heard. Guzmán recounted that he arrived in Nogales intending to cross into the United States, but he hasn't tried yet.

That morning, the border ceased to be just a line and became a path and a place of refuge.