Migrant crisis, binational cooperation topic of border mass

For the 26th time, the Diocese of El Paso held its annual Mass to pray for migrant deaths on the nation’s deadly U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso.
The Catholic Mass offered prayers for the continuing migrant crisis on the heels of the immigrant community reeling from the recent election of Donald Trump to the White House.
The memorial Mass held Nov. 9 included attendees holding items like clothing to honor those who have died and others carrying flags of the various countries from where deceased migrants have originated.
One hundred and eight migrants have died over 2024 along the border in New Mexico and El Paso, according to data by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Causes range from heat exhaustion, malnourishment, and dehydration.
That number of dead migrants in the El Paso sector reached a record of 148 in 2023.
The Border Mass was celebrated in a worship space in the center of the border, where the United States and Mexico meet.
The Most Rev. Jose Guadalupe Torres Campos, Bishop of the Diocese of Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua, and the Most Rev. Peter Baldacchino, Bishop of the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, concelebrated the border mass.
As in past years, it was held at the Rio Grande canal by the American Dam near the Smeltertown Historical Park off of Paisano Drive and Executive Center Boulevard.
The annual event was established in 1997 and was intended to bring together the Juárez, El Paso, and Las Cruces communities to pray for deceased migrants, according to the Diocese of El Paso.
The Mass also offered prayers from the Catholic faithful for the continuing needs of migrants from South and Central America.
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