Sr. Jacinta Powers, right, works in the clothing section of the Kino Border Initiative with two other religious sisters. From March 4-April 4, 2024, Sr. Powers served with the Kino Border Initiative, a ministry begun in 2009 to offer humanitarian assistance to migrants on the border of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. COURTESY OF SR. JACINTA POWERS, OSU

BY ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC

Working with unaccompanied minors who have migrated to the United States, and helping them reunite with someone who can take care of them, is one of Miguel Quintanilla’s favorite aspects of his work with Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Owensboro.

“God manifests himself in these kids,” said Quintanilla, a paralegal with Catholic Charities who serves as the legal services coordinator for unaccompanied youth in Kentucky. 

Quintanilla said that when he starts assisting a young person, he gives a Know Your Rights presentation and explains “how they can stay here, and what are pathways to stay here,” such as applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status. If that classification is granted, the minor may qualify for lawful permanent residency, which is also known as getting a green card.

Ultimately, the goal is to release them into the custody of a stateside family member who will care for them.

He said that despite common assumptions, not all of the minors are from Latin America. He has also served young people from Africa, South America, and Cuba, among others.

Many minors enter the U.S. with a friend or family member who also wishes to settle here. But if they come without a mother/father, they are classified as unaccompanied – because they cannot be released into the U.S. with someone who is not their parent.

Quintanilla said he has seen unaccompanied minors as young as seven or eight years old. They miss their families, like any kid would.

But the parents who send their children to the U.S. have no alternative, he explained. If the young people remain in their home countries, they will soon be forcibly recruited by the cartels to sell drugs. Sending their children away is the greatest act of love the parents can do for their futures.

Other young people, he said, come to pursue education – because the only other option is a life of poverty and hunger.

These can be difficult concepts to grasp if one has not experienced anything akin to the struggles of migrants, said Sr. Jacinta Powers, OSU, who also works with Catholic Charities.

This past spring, Sr. Powers volunteered with the Kino Border Initiative, which offers humanitarian assistance to migrants on the border of Arizona and Mexico. Services include offering Sunday Mass, psychological accompaniment, legal assistance, daily meals, clothes, medical care, and occupational support to help people find work while they wait on their cases.

In accompanying these individuals, she learned that “the cartel is after them – that’s why they are fleeing for their lives and their children’s lives,” she said.

Ahead of World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which takes place this year on Sept. 29, Sr. Powers said it is important to follow “what our Catholic catechism teaches – that these are our brothers and sisters.”

Sr. Powers cited the words of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who presided at the closing Mass for the National Eucharistic Congress this past July. In his homily, the cardinal challenged the faithful not to stay in their churches after Mass, but to “go out” to the community.

“If we don’t take (the Gospel) out, we have not succeeded,” said Sr. Powers. She added that everyday people, who are not able to serve at the border or work with migrants, can always pray for them – “We can all pray; people in nursing homes can pray!”

Quintanilla said the stories and experiences vary among the children he helps, but he is always moved by what he hears.

“I admire a lot of these kids, because they have big plans,” he said, recalling multiple youths who enthusiastically shared with him their dreams of starting their own businesses one day.

He said many aspire to attend university, because here in the United States, they have a chance.

“A lot of these kids are going to go on to do great things,” he said.

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Owensboro recently qualified to participate in a new program called Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) through the Resettlement Services of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Stay tuned for more information, and to learn more, contact disaster case manager/paralegal Khaibar Shafaq at [email protected].

Originally printed in the September 2024 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.