The Jesuit Border Podcast

We are thrilled to welcome Fr. Chris Kellerman, S.J., Secretary of Justice and Ecology for the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, which engages in government relations and federal advocacy for the Jesuits. The United States just had the biggest congressional election landslide in 50 years, so Chris will talk about what that means in Washington DC. He will cover some legitimate policy proposals where we could see Congress push for immigration reform around areas like DACA and TPS. Chris will also give some concrete advice on the most helpful (and not so helpful) ways to engage in advocacy around issues that matter to you. He has some great pointers to offer.Brian and Juan share stories about Lorena, a Honduran woman living in a shelter in Reynosa. Juan talks about the day she taught him to make tortillas, from kneading the dough to rolling them out and flipping them on the hot grill. The women in the kitchen gave him a compliment he never expected. Brian shares a more troubling story about what happened when Lorena’s husband attempted to enter the U.S. undocumented. It is an alarming account that could point to corruption in Border Patrol, so Brian immediately sought out ways to advocate and report the incident for investigation.

We are excited to welcome Brian Concannon, the Executive Director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH). He lived and worked in Haiti from 1995 to 2004 and then returned to the U.S. to found IJDH. He provides a helpful historical framework for Haiti, which is particularly relevant given the Supreme Court ruling at the end of June that allowed the administration to end Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for 350,000 Haitians living in the U.S. That ruling is having a devastating impact on the Haitian community. Brian shares the story of Pierre Damas Bel’s tragic death. You don’t want to miss it.Brian and Juan share stories that reflect the call of the Gospel for us to imitate the Good Samaritan. Juan shares the story of Enriquez, a young man from Reynosa who lived in the deep south of the U.S. for most of his life until he was detained and deported. Juan was most struck by the questions that guide how Enriquez responds to the difficulties of his life. Brian talks about a recent reunion with Genese and Jean Philippe and their two-year-old daughter. Brian met the Haitian couple in 2024 when Genese was pregnant and they were in a shelter in Mexico. After Genese legally entered the U.S., she needed help and support. Brian found just the group to respond like true Good Samaritans.Link: Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti

We are delighted to welcome Lulú Gonzalez from Casa Clínica Lulú in Reynosa, Mexico, which she founded in 2017. Casa Clínica is a migrant shelter, soup kitchen, and medical clinic. She shares some of the extreme cases she has faced over the years, like a Haitian man with his stomach split open and a stroke victim deported to Mexico, only to discover he was a U.S. citizen. Regardless of the case, Lulú always puts the care of the person first.Juan and Brian share stories about how our ministry tries to communicate to people this fundamental message: your life matters. Brian talks about Daniel, who has been stuck on the border for years, and now finds himself as one of just three migrants in a shelter that used to hold hundreds. What do visits look like now?  Juan talks about how the tamest version of “pass the soccer ball” helped endear him to a sweet little girl in Reynosa. The next time Juan saw her, her tender act instantly melted his heart.Link: Casa Clínica Lulú

We are excited to welcome Savi Arvey, the Director of Policy for Refugee and Immigrant Rights at Human Rights First. Savi runs the flight monitor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) flights. In this episode, she pulls back the curtain of ICE Air, a massive operation of the government to contract private airline companies to move and deport migrants. She talks about forced third country transfers, and if you do not know what that is, you are going to want to know. It is shocking that our country is doing this to people, and by the thousands.Juan and Brian share stories that reveal the importance of vital information. Brian talks about a recent encounter with Susana, a Honduran woman who thought she was falsely deported because she is married to a U.S. citizen. Unfortunately, she was missing some vital information. Juan recounts his dramatic encounter with Mexican police as he helped to translate for Rhonda, a migrant from Zimbabwe. Rhonda and her daughters had been kidnapped, and it was vital information that got to her aunt in the U.S. that helped save their lives.Link: Human Rights FirstLink: Third Country Deportation Watch

We are very excited to welcome Sr. Norma Pimentel, MJ, the Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley. She talks about the important work of Catholic Charities accompanying families that have been separated by immigration enforcement. She also shares the harrowing story of Sr. Letty, a Catholic nun who was picked up by ICE on her way to church this summer. It is crazy to hear all the efforts from Sr. Norma as soon as she got that urgent phone call telling her: “Sr. Letty has just been handcuffed and taken away!”Juan and Brian share examples of people who allow their faith to lead them. Juan tells the story of Alexa, a woman from Venezuela who lost her newborn daughter just a month after birth. Now a new family tragedy back in Venezuela has her feeling distant and powerless. Where can she turn for support?Brian shares the story Marcos and Elvia, along with their two adult children and 3-year-old granddaughter Ada. After Ada’s father was murdered, the family fled Honduras. When Brian found out they were visiting a local soup kitchen on Saturdays, he was not surprised. But when Elvia explained why, he was totally stunned.Link: Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley

We are excited to launch Season 11 of The Jesuit Border Podcast. In this opener, we welcome this season’s co-host, Juan Ruiz, SJ, a Jesuit priest who is spending a month with Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries.Juan shares some of his initial impressions of the ministry, especially the dynamic at Mass in migrant shelters and how it encourages active participation. How will kids respond if a microphone is handed to them mid-Mass? Brian talks about his ministry at ICE detention centers. He started wondering why most of the people who he sees in the detention centers are wearing blue uniforms. Turns out it really sheds light on the profile of who is being detained around the country right now.Tune in to today’s season opener to hear these stories and more about the reality on the border and around the country.

In this bonus episode, we welcome two Jesuit scholastics who are in formation for the priesthood, Ian Peoples, SJ, and Justin Kelley, SJ. They are both studying theology at Boston College and visited Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries this summer. Ian and Justin talk about their motivations for coming to see the border reality and their initial reactions upon arriving, especially meeting families like Angie and her son Joxan that have been on the border for as long as two years. They share some of their favorite moments, like little Zoe falling asleep on Justin’s lap during Mass and little Sofi grabbing onto Ian and not letting go (with one notable exception!). They talk about what it was like to witness the resilience of people amid the hardships of their journey and the joy that breaks through in our visits and the celebration of Mass.Brian begins the episode by providing some updates, including the recent Supreme Court rulings that are impacting migrants, like Haitians and Syrians who are losing their Temporary Protective Status (TPS). He talks about the new dynamic in immigration court of “mega master” hearings, including the story of Tania and her daughter who had to bus across the country when their court hearing was advanced by months with just days of notice. Brian also comments on the increase of ICE enforcement efforts and the fatal impact it is having, like the recent shootings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine.Enjoy this bonus episode and stay tuned for Season 11 of the podcast to launch in the Fall.

In this bonus episode, we are saying farewell to Joe Nolla, SJ, the co-host of The Jesuit Border Podcast for the last three years. In June, Joe is heading off to theology studies in Paris, France, to continue with his formation as a Jesuit in preparation for his ordination to the priesthood.In this episode, we bring on Eric Clayton, deputy director for communications at the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States and long-time editor of the podcast. Eric turns the questions on us, first by asking for some updates about what has happened on the border since Season 10 wrapped up in early April. Then he turns to Joe to get his reflections on his experience working on the U.S.-Mexico border for the last three years. Joe talks about the graces he has experienced, the way this ministry has shaped his formation, and the surprises he has encountered along the way. Both Brian and Joe share a range of stories, from accompanying people at rock bottom, to diaper leaks, and what it means “to be a gentleman” when you are served tuna salad. Of course, the episode wouldn’t be complete without Joe answering the question he poses to all our guests. So give the episode a listen to finally hear Joe’s own image of heaven.We send off Joe with all our love and prayers. He has been a gift to our ministry and to our community. As he ends every podcast, we now say to him: “que Dios te bendiga.” May God continue to bless him in his life and vocation.

For our final episode of Season 10, we are excited to welcome Jonathan Blitzer, journalist and staff writer at The New Yorker. Jonathan’s 2024 book, “Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis,” was named a New York Times Top 10 Book of 2024. Jonathan talks about the origins of his interest in journalism and writing about immigration. He reflects on the spellbinding stories that drove his book and the challenges of bringing the historical arc up to the present moment. The vision for the end of the arc was recent policy choices, under both President Trump and former President Biden, that have ushered in the death of asylum for people fleeing violence and seeking safety in the United States.Joe and Brian share stories that demonstrate the all-out assault on the asylum system. Joe shares the story of Ana and her kids, who fled a terrifying situation of domestic violence and came to seek asylum in the U.S. When Trump took office in 2025, Ana had her appointment for legal entry canceled, so she continues to live in Mexico, hiding in fear. Brian shares the story of Erika, a young mom from Venezuela, who has reached the point of giving up her asylum process in the U.S. because of the campaign of fear from the administration and the horror stories of migrant detention. But as a Venezuelan national without an active passport, she is finding out just how difficult it is to exit the country and avoid the mass detention machine.Thank you for joining us for the 10th season of the podcast, and blessings as the summer approaches. We will be back with a new season in the Fall of 2026.

We are delighted to welcome Kristin Heyer, who holds the Joseph Chair in Theology and is a Professor of Theological Ethics at Boston College. Kristin reflects on the current campaign of mass deportation in light of a Christian ethic. Framed by Church teaching from Vatican II to Pope Francis and Pope Leo, she critiques the intrinsic evil of mass deportation and offers a vision of a more Christian corrective to the border and immigration policy that is attentive to human dignity. As an educator, Kristin shares ways that her students have been transformed by experiences of encounter that force them to shift away from the dominant narratives of immigration.Brian and Joe share stories about shifting the narrative as well. Brian shares the story of Samantha, a 7-year-old girl from Honduras whom he first met back in the Reynosa plaza in 2021. After a couple of years in the U.S., Samantha was excelling in school and had picked up perfect English. Everything seemed to be going great until Brian got some voice messages from an unknown phone number in Honduras. Joe shares the story of celebrating a communion service with women at a local detention center. The detained women felt falsely accused by the dominant narrative as being “the worst of the worst,” when the reality is that they have no criminal convictions and have been separated from their families. Accompanying detained individuals in a religious service like this reveals the reality and shifts the narrative.