MARFA — Last Friday night, Ruben Garcia of El Paso’s Annunciation House spoke at Agave Festival, an annual event honoring the people, plants and ideas of the Chihuahuan Desert. There were few dry eyes in the house after Garcia’s talk, which walked the audience through nearly five decades of advocacy on behalf of migrants, refugees and undocumented people seeking shelter in the United States.
Since 1978, Garcia — who formerly worked in youth ministry for the Catholic Diocese of El Paso — has grown one floor of borrowed space from the church into a network of shelters, volunteers and advocates, including a legal offshoot called Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, which fights for systemic change. The organization estimates that it has helped more than half a million people find safe harbor on this side of the border.
Garcia’s work has earned him many admirers — and some very powerful enemies, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who accused Garcia of operating a “stash house” similar to the buildings cartels use to house migrants in unsafe conditions. Last week, the Texas Supreme Court ruled against Annunciation House, giving Paxton the green light to continue investigating Garcia and his associates for criminal conduct.
After Friday’s talk, part-time Marfan and attorney Dick DeGuerin offered a mea culpa to Garcia — he’d been on the legal team that had unsuccessfully attempted to remove Paxton from office. “I have to apologize to you personally that we failed to impeach Paxton,” DeGuerin said.
The Big Bend Sentinel sat down with Garcia to get more information on his work.
You probably can’t say much because the litigation is ongoing, but can you tell us what’s next in this case?
The Supreme Court’s decision is a 60-plus page decision, and it’s available online. You can read it, but you’ll probably need an attorney to help. I certainly did.
My understanding of the Supreme Court’s decision is that the Supreme Court did not address the question of the merits. In other words, the Supreme Court said they’re not deciding the issue of whether or not Annunciation House is trafficking, smuggling and runs stash houses. That’s an issue that goes back to the district court and then you litigate that on the merits and see what comes from that.
What does it feel like to see this charitable project that you’ve worked on for so long be lumped in with criminal organizations committing human rights abuses?
I keep using the word “sad.” It’s very sad. I experience it as very sad because it distracts us from what is happening to these people [who come to Annunciation House]. I get calls from journalists, and so often journalists are asking me, “How are you doing? How’s Annunciation House doing with fewer refugees?”
I understand their focus, however in another sense we’re missing the point of this. When someone makes a decision to cross the Darien Gap [a dangerous region of Panama many migrants cross], you are literally making a decision to risk your life. I would ask you, “What has to happen for you to be willing to take a step that is going to put your immediate family at risk?” Can you verbalize anything that would bring you to that point?
I think people need to be asking: “How are the refugees doing?”
It also sidesteps the question of how we support efforts that would leave fewer people to leave their countries. Everyday, the second or third largest nationality [of people coming across the border] is Guatemalan. They’re coming from Guatemala because they can’t eat. What can we do to help the economy and help Guatemala so that people can earn the money they need to feed their families?
What advice do you have for folks living in an age where people with dissident viewpoints are being disappeared or otherwise punished? Do you have any encouragement for folks who feel afraid to do the right thing at this moment?
I don’t encourage people to get into debates. I’ve been at this for such a long time, and I’ve gotten into my fair share of debates, and I just come to the point where nothing gets resolved. I only go away feeling that all that happens is people get more entrenched and that’s just not helpful.
I think what is really important is for us to ask ourselves the question of value. I think most people are going to talk about the sacredness of human life. I just think we need to speak with each other more from the I and less from the you.