Serving with Annunciation House is not merely an act of charity; it’s an immersion into accompaniment with refugees and migrants. The connections I made continue to resonate with me deeply.

Although I was not a Spanish speaker, I was able to connect with guests at Casa Rita using translation apps, gestures and smiles. I worked alongside them as we prepared meals, cleaned the facility, and relaxed in the garden.

On March 21, 2024, I participated in the March and Vigil for Humanity, a poignant reminder of the shared struggles and aspirations of humanity. As we gathered to advocate for justice, equality, and dignity, the atmosphere was charged with emotion. I witnessed a collective resolve to address societal injustices. Each step taken during the march resonated with the heartbeat of humanity, enhanced by the Indigenous peoples’ drum corps. At Sacred Heart Church, the community recalled the deaths and injuries from the fire in a Juarez detention center, honoring the lost and supporting survivors.

Throughout my stay I was able to immerse myself in the volunteer community. I shopped in local markets, rode buses throughout the city, and visited parks. And I explored local museums that opened windows into the rich history, art, and heritage of the region. From exhibits celebrating indigenous cultures to those highlighting the struggles and triumphs of immigrant communities, each artifact tells a story of resilience and perseverance. Delving into these narratives fosterse a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of human experience and the importance of preserving cultural heritage.

When I walked across the Good Neighbor Bridge going into Juarez, I was struck by the closeness of communities separated by borders but united by humanity. It was sobering to see how easy it was to enter Mexico and how significant the barriers to return to the USA were.

Serving at Annunciation House goes beyond mere volunteerism; it’s a transformative journey that touches the soul. It was not only through the day-to-day interactions with guests, but also through my exploration of El Paso that my understanding was broadened. Through participation in events like the March and Vigil, immersion in the community, and exploration of its rich cultural tapestry, one gains a profound appreciation for the beauty of human connection and the power of collective action in creating a more just and compassionate world. As we continue to serve, advocate, and embrace diversity, we reaffirm our shared humanity and commitment to building a more inclusive and equitable society.

Click here to download our 2024 newsletter in English.

Last updated 7/7/2025.

2/7/2024. Without warning, representatives from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Office came to Annunciation House’s door with a Request to Examine (RTE). They demanded to enter Annunciation House and examine a broad swath business records under Texas Business and Organization § 12.152. Annunciation House requested 30 days to respond to the RTE, but the Attorney General’s Office said that Annunciation House would only be given 24 hours to turn over the requested records.

2/8/2024. Annunciation House sought a court determination as to what documents the Attorney General’s Office could legally access. We were granted a temporary restraining order against the Attorney General to allow time for review.

2/16/24. The Texas Attorney General filed a lengthy counterclaim accusing Annunciation House of operating a “stash house” and engaging in human smuggling. The counterclaim revealed that the purpose of the RTE was to investigate Annunciation House for these alleged activities. The Attorney General sought to revoke Annunciation House’s license to operate in Texas on the basis of our refusal to immediately comply with the RTE.

2/23/24. Annunciation House held a press conference addressing the pending litigation, joined by allies including U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, TX Rep. Joe Moody, El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego, El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser and faith leaders from the Catholic Diocese of El Paso and Temple Mount Sinai. Video of the press conference available here. Read statements of support from Rep. Veronica Escobar , Bishop Mark Seitz, The TX Catholic Conference of Bishops, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Conference of Bishops, and over 430 faith leaders and groups.

3/7/24. The first hearing took place in the Texas Attorney General’s lawsuit against Annunciation House at the 205th District Court, overseen by Judge Francisco Dominguez. Annunciation House Director Ruben Garcia testified at the hearing.

3/11/24. Judge Francisco Dominguez issued an order in favor of Annunciation House, blocking the Texas Attorney General’s subpoena. Judge Dominguez noted that the “efforts to run roughshod over Annunciation House, without regard to due process or fair play, call into question the true motivation for the Attorney General’s attempt to prevent Annunciation House from providing the humanitarian and social services that it provides.” Judge Dominguez further stated that “there is a real and credible concern that the attempt to prevent Annunciation House from conducting business in Texas was predetermined.”

5/8/24. The Texas Attorney General filed for a temporary injunction in response to Judge Dominguez’s decision. The Attorney General renewed its request that Annunciation House be enjoined (stopped) from operating during the pendency of the litigation, and reiterated the allegations that Annunciation House is operating a “stash house” and engaged in illegal activity. Annunciation House filed a response on May 24, 2024.

6/17/24. A second hearing took place before Judge Dominguez at the 205th District Court. The Attorney General called for Annunciation House to be shut down. Jerry Wesevich, counsel for Annunciation House, responded that the Attorney General’s claims were “utter nonsense” and requested injunctive relief protecting Annunciation House from future unreasonable records requests.

7/2/24. Judge Francisco Dominguez issued a second ruling in favor of Annunciation House granting summary judgment and issuing all injunctive and declaratory relief requested by Annunciation House, finding that (1) the administrative subpoena served on Annunciation House is void and unenforceable; (2) the Texas Attorney General did not follow the procedures required under the Fourth Amendment for administrative subpoenas; and (3) Annunciation House is entitled to declaratory relief protecting it from future harassment and overreaching from the Texas Attorney General.

7/16/24. The Attorney General appealed the District Court’s decision to the Texas State Supreme Court. Read the appeal here [PDF].

12/12/24. The Texas Conference of Catholic Bishops filed an Amicus Brief [PDF] for Annunciation House that strongly defends the Gospel mandate of providing shelter to the poor, including immigrants.

1/13/25. The Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments, which were livestreamed on the Supreme Court’s YouTube channel. All filings for the Supreme Court case, including briefs and rebuttals from each side and amicus briefs, can be found here.

5/30/25. The Texas Supreme Court issued a decision that stated the District Court had acted prematurely in rejected the Attorney General’s claims and sent the case back to the District Court for further litigation.

En estos tiempos de gran agitación, queremos más que nunca conectar con nuestra comunidad. Aquí compartimos nuestro boletín mas recién, donde encontrarán una cronología de la lucha legal en curso de Annunciation House con el Procurador General de Tejas; una respuesta apasionada de nuestro director, Rubén García; y una reflexión de un voluntario de la comunidad y miembro de la mesa directiva desde hace mucho tiempo, el Padre Bill Morton, SSC.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2024
11:00 AM
at CASA VIDES
325 LEON STREET
EL PASO, TEXAS 79901

The Attorney General came to Annunciation House on February 7, 2024 stating that the organization had one day to turn over a broad swath of records to the Attorney General without an explanation. Annunciation House asked a Court to decide what documents the law permits the Attorney General to access. There is nothing illegal about asking a Court to decide a person’s rights.

The AG has now made explicit that its real goal is not records but to shut down the organization. It has stated that it considers it a crime for a Catholic organization to provide shelter to refugees.

The Attorney General’s illegal, immoral and anti-faith position to shut down Annunciation House is unfounded. Annunciation House has provided hospitality to hundreds of thousands of refugees for over forty-six years. It is a work recognized by the Catholic Church and is listed in the National Catholic Directory. Annunciation House has done this work of accompaniment out of the scriptural and Gospel mandate to welcome the stranger. Annunciation House’s response to the stranger is no different from that of the schools who enroll children of refugees, the clinics and hospitals who care for the needs of refugees, and the churches, synagogues, and mosques who welcome families to join in worship.

Annunciation House’s work is central to the City of El Paso. El Paso has made it a point of pride to provide humane support for people coming through our community in need. Annunciation House has kept hundreds of thousands of refugees coming through our city off the streets and given them food. The work helps serve our local businesses, our City, and immigration officials to keep people off the streets and give them a shelter while they come through our community.

If the work that Annunciation House conducts is illegal – so too is the work of our local hospitals, schools, and food banks.

This article was first published in Western Friends.

Annunciation House is a non-profit organization that sustains a network of shelters, facilities, and services for migrants in El Paso, Texas. When I applied to be a volunteer, I had no expectations or even knowledge of what lay ahead, no idea what I was getting into. I only knew I wanted to help migrants. The sense of injustice I feel about migrant issues grew from my experience living in Mexico and then working with undocumented Mexicans in the United States during the 1990s. I saw with my own eyes, and felt with my own heart, the pain my compañeros suffered while separated from their wives and children. Latin culture is quite different from typical North American culture. Whereas many of us who grew up in the U.S. leave our parents at an early age and settle in different parts of the country— often not seeing our immediate families for many months or even years — the Mexicans I knew were very close to each other. They would often marry and raise their new families within a few blocks from their parents and siblings.

The refugees who arrive at the doors of Annunciation House are considered guests, and we are offering hospitality. While sharing their lives and their stories, they unintentionally teach us about hope, vision, and strength. In the two-plus years I’ve lived in Annunciation House shelters, the resilience shown by the immigrants I’ve come to know is beyond my ability to comprehend. Often they fall off the border wall attempting to cross into the U.S. Many die in the process. Some are able to make it over the wall alive, only to be hit by a car when crossing the adjacent highway.

It is not uncommon for asylum seekers to be kidnapped by gangs or smugglers who try to extort ransom money from their families. One woman arrived at Annunciation House with a newborn baby, who had been born while she being held captive. When her labor pains began, she begged her captors to take her to a hospital. Instead, they invited a neighbor to assist with the birth. Then the new mother and baby were driven to an isolated area and set free beside the road. Fortunately, the mother was offered help by a kind passer-by who took her to the hospital. She stayed with us for almost nine months until her new son was awarded an American birth certificate. During that time, we watched him grow and become a happy cherubic little boy. All of us – guests and volunteers – grew very fond of him. We all shared tearful, happy goodbyes when the necessary documents were in order and the new mother and son were able to leave our house to reunite with her husband, who was already waiting in the U.S.

Living in solidarity with our asylum-seeking guests helps us to see each of them as a “fellow traveler.” Welcoming new people, day after day, each with unique and often complex needs, can make a volunteer weary. But as each new seeker comes to our door, we find ourselves energized, eager to meet a new personality or a new family of personalities. We list them on our records by their nationalities, but as we live together with each of them for a few days – eating, cleaning, and working together to help them to travel onward – we get to know them as friends, not as people from foreign countries. Working side by side, brushing our teeth at the same sink, laughing together, empathizing – these create bonds that respect culture and nationality, but are not defined by them.

I think most people in the U.S. tend to feel sympathy for migrants from places like war-torn Ukraine, more so, perhaps, because these migrants are white-skinned. However, most North Americans live far from our country’s southern border, and they don’t seem to understand the suffering that Latin Americans experience — from crime, poverty, and corrupt governments, and from lack of jobs, food, and health care. It seems difficult for North Americans to to feel empathy toward migrants from Latin America.

In contrast, the citizens of El Paso will readily extend helping hands to all migrants. For example, during the latest “border crisis” in December 2022, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents began releasing thousands of migrants onto the streets of El Paso, once all the local shelters became full. The outpouring of support from the citizens of El Paso and surrounding areas was more than generous. The street where our shelter is located became filled with migrants sleeping outside in the freezing, windy, and rainy weather. Cars of caring members of the community arrived daily to distribute food, clothing, blankets, hygiene products, and other supplies. Some even invited the migrants to stay in their homes!

News reports commonly paint migrants – especially those from Haiti, Central America, and South America, and especially Black and Brown people – as criminals or as cheaters who want to take advantage of opportunities to become comfortable and wealthy in the United States. The truth is that the decision to leave their homes is extremely difficult for most migrants, and they suffer severe hardship on their perilous journeys to the U.S. Too often, North Americans seem unable to conceive what it would be like to be forced to leave their own homes and their husbands, wives, parents, and children— attempting to arrive in another country with only the smallest possibility of earning money to send home to their loved ones.

Too commonly, North Americans see “migrants” as a faceless mob, but it’s a different experience meeting someone face-to-face and hearing their story. Bureaucrats can more easily treat migrants as political pawns when they view them narrowly as numbers or statistics. At Annunciation House, we view migrants as people, guests, and friends. Therefore, we feel moved to provide for their wellbeing in a human and humane way.

A dominant national narrative says that we can’t provide for all the people who want to come to our country, when in fact, we do need workers who want to provide for themselves while contributing to our economy. Immigration is often framed as a “problem” in the U.S, but at Annunciation House we see refugee resettlement as a goal our nation can accomplish if we work together. Whenever I hear the mantra that migrants who want to come to the U.S. should “do it the legal way,” I roll my eyes. Government bureaucracy makes it virtually impossible for anyone to go through the asylum process, and especially when they are applying while still living in another country.

Working at a welcoming shelter and meeting the migrants who come to us is a privilege. I have learned that there is always a larger table, another place to sleep, a little more food to share. Sometimes someone will step in to personally assist and encourage me to “go take a rest.” Many times, that someone is an asylum seeker who cares about my welfare and wants to help.

During my time volunteering with Annunciation House, I have become good friends with people who initially seemed extremely different from me. I have learned that my role as a volunteer is to share, not simply to give. By this, I mean that I understand “giving” to be an act of charity, reflecting that my status is different from the receiver. By “sharing,” I mean solidarity.

Justine McCoy is a full-time volunteer at Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas. (Retired?) Her career has been as a professional musician and singer, ultimately playing/ performing (?) mariachi music in Guadalajara, Mexico and in the U.S.A. She is a vegan and passionate advocate for Animal Rights. She attends /is a member of El Paso Friends Meeting (IMYM).

Casa Anunciación llora la pérdida de las 39 persones quienes se murieron en el centro de detención de inmigración en Ciudad Juárez, nuestra ciudad vecina que queda menos de una milla de donde vivimos y donde les servimos. Lloramos esta pérdida innecesaria, y en los términos más enérgicos, exigimos ¡basta ya! La gente en migración no puede continuar muriendo de políticas crueles y violentes que no solucionan nada.

Las 39 personas quienes se murieron la noche del 27 de marzo vinieron de todas partes de las Américas: muchas de Guatemala, y también de Honduras, Venezuela, El Salvador, Colombia y del Ecuador. Cada persona fue amada de su familia y de su comunidad; cada una de ellas tuvo sus sueños, sus miedos, sus historias y sus esperanzas. Todas fueron extinguidas demasiado pronto por un sistema que continuamente devalúa la vida humana y disminuye la dignidad inherente de cada persona.

La política de la frontera dio como resultado la pérdida de vida por demasiado tiempo, una realidad abominable que ha aumentado cada vez más en los últimos años. Las 39 muertes en el centro de detención son un resultado directo de las políticas actuales que prohíben la entrada de los solicitantes de asilo u los expulsan de los Estados Unidos para mandarlos a unos peligros o la muerte en vez de ofrecerles un refugio seguro. Mandan que la gente regrese a Juárez y otras ciudades en la frontera donde encuentra a lo mejor unas condiciones peligrosas y superpoblación. Y más frecuente hay más y más contacto con peligro, explotación y violencia. En los Estados Unidos y en México, les tratan a los inmigrantes y a los refugiados como si fueran peligros a sus comunidades. Los detienen y los niegan de su libertad solamente por buscar seguridad y una vida mejor.

Tras esta tragedia, unas palabras dichas y unos lamentos son falsos. Debemos cambiar las políticas duras que crearon las condiciones que causan este desastre, y debemos replantear la inmigración humana en términos que pongan la vida humana al centro y eleven la habilidad de cada persona tal que florezca. La guardia al centro de detención de Juárez les dio la espalda mientras la gente gritó por seguridad. Como individuos y como una sociedad, no debemos darle la espalda a ninguna otra.

Annunciation House grieves the loss of the 39 people who died at an immigration detention center in our neighboring city of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, less than a mile from where we live and serve. We lament this needless loss of life, and in the strongest terms possible, demand: enough. People in migration cannot continue to die because of cruel and violent policies that solve nothing.

The 39 people who died at the detention center on the evening of March 27 came from throughout the Americas: many from Guatemala, and also Honduras, Venezuela, El Salvador, Colombia, and Ecuador. Each person was beloved by their family and community; each had dreams, fears, histories, and hope. All of these were extinguished too soon by a system that continually devalues human life and diminishes the inherent dignity of every person.

Border policy has resulted in the loss of life for far too long, an abhorrent reality that has been steadily increasing in recent years. The 39 deaths at the detention center are a direct result of current policies in which asylum seekers are turned away or expelled by the United States and sent back to danger or death instead of being offered a safe haven. People sent back to Juárez and other border cities encounter overcrowded, unsafe conditions at best—and, more often, continued exposure to danger, exploitation, and violence. In both the U.S. and Mexico, immigrants and refugees are often treated as dangers to communities, and are then detained and denied freedom simply for seeking safety and a better life.

In the wake of this tragedy, words and lamentations alone are hollow. We must change the harsh policies that created the conditions for this disaster to occur, and reframe human migration in terms that center human life and uplift each person’s ability to flourish. The guards at the Juárez detention center literally turned their backs as people screamed for safety. As individuals and as a society, we must not turn our backs on anyone else.

Nos complace compartir este boletín con nuestra comunidad de simpatizantes, benefactores, huéspedes y voluntarios pasados y presentes. Se puede leer una carta de nuestro director, información actualizada sobre nuestras casas, reflexiones sobre el muro fronterizo y mucho más.

We are proud and honored to share that a newly renovated Annunciation House has reopened! Annunciation House is sincerely grateful to the thousands of individuals who made this renovation a reality. It was a collaborative work made possible by a broad community of friends, donors, volunteers, and supporters; it simply would not have been possible without those who so generously offered their time and resources. Your gifts have allowed us to transform Annunciation House into a magnificent place for refugees—one in which the dignity of each person who is received in our house is reflected in the beauty of our renovated space.

¡Nos sentimos orgullosos y honrados de compartir que la Casa de la Anunciación recientemente renovada ha reabierto sus puertas! La Casa de la Anunciación está sinceramente agradecida a las miles de personas que hicieron realidad esta renovación. Este trabajo de colaboración ha sido posible gracias a una amplia comunidad de amigos, donantes, voluntarios y simpatizantes; sencillamente no habría sido posible sin aquellos que tan generosamente ofrecieron su tiempo y sus recursos. Sus donaciones nos han permitido transformar la Casa de la Anunciación en un magnífico lugar para los refugiados, en el que la dignidad de cada persona que es recibida en nuestra casa se refleja en la belleza de nuestro espacio renovado.