.- The Archdiocese of Monterrey, Mexico, has begun construction on a housing facility for Central American immigrants who pass through the city on their way to the United States.
Fr. Luis Eduardo Villarreal, director of Social Ministry, announced that the land has been purchased and that $87,000 will be invested in the construction of the building which will be able to house 30 people. The “Home of the Migrant” will be open at the end of the year.
According to Fr. Villarreal, the intention of the Archbishop is that “just as the Mexican government demands a just treatment of our emigrants in the United States, it should respect the rights of those who come from Central America.”
At the new home, shelter, food, clothing, spiritual and medical care, as well as legal advice, will be provided for residents.
Residents will be required to be sober and drug-free and to help out with cleaning chores.
Monterrey, located in the state of Nuevo Leon, is one of the last Mexican cities through which the main railway line passes on the way to the United States.
According to Irma Garcia Hinojosa, regional director of the National Institute of Migration, in the first 5 months of 2004 alone, more than 632 illegal aliens, mostly from Central America, had been rounded up in the area. In the same period in 2003, 349 were detained, and in 2002, 487 were detained.
