Media Center

All the Latest

Want more details about what we do? Scroll below to find stories and the latest updates about how our work is helping make an impact. We invite you to learn more about our efforts and help spread the word about our important cause.

 Note: asylum seekers and other migrants encountered at the shelters are referred to by an initial or nickname to protect their privacy.

——————————————

4/21/26

SSF Shelter Report

Well. Jan St Peters has been driving each week to Sonoyta, and I somehow didn’t realize my car registration had expired… in December. Imagine my surprise when Angel Chevrestt and I pulled up to the guard on the Mexican side of the border this morning and he asked for my registration and it was no good. We had to turn around and cross back to the U.S. side, but there were safety cones in each of the lanes. I was able to get the car registered online while we waited at least, and then we parked by the duty free store and walked across the border to make sure the receipt was sufficient proof of registration. It was, so we walked back to the U.S. side, had our pictures taken 😳, got back in the car, and entered Mexico successfully. That took about an hour, so everyone was wondering where we were when we finally showed up at Casa del Migrante.

Two guests are preparing to leave this evening. One has a 4 year-old son in Colorado. He said, “Only for the love of my son will I undertake this journey.” The other guest has 2 daughters who are begging for his return. His wife is in the U.S., and his patrón has work waiting for him. They feel confident in their plans, but, of course, we worry and wish for a net of safety over them. We found out that 2 other guests who left several months ago on the bus to Caborca were robbed of everything by cartel members. The manager has heard nothing of them since then. We forget, because they are safe when they are at Casa del Migrante, that they would rather risk everything to get to loved ones. 

I had brought cake for a birthday celebration, so after we filled the propane tank and had our seafood lunch at Mr. Pancho’s, we picked up carnitas (like shredded pulled pork) and all the fixings (tortillas, shredded veggies, sauces) for all the guests, grabbed some pistachio ice cream while we were grocery shopping, and headed back to CDM for a little fiesta. 

Rochi is doing amazingly well. It took a week longer than it should have for his chemo pills to arrive from Mexico City (that is another story!), but he has been on them since Friday.  So far his side effects are bursts of energy when he’s out walking, extreme sleepiness when he lies down, and hunger. He says he’s hungry all the time. He only had pain last night. No nausea. We are wondering what’s in those pills! At least for now, he looks and feels good.

The manager says his marriage is 2 months away. I teased him that it’s been 2 months for four months already, but he says Bertha has to gather all her documents, and they need 2 witnesses to swear they’ve known each other for several years. After they marry, it will be 3 months before he receives his legal documents, and then he can travel to El Salvador to find his family. Bertha says she will stay in Sonoyta to care for her mother  who has a weak heart. The manager says Bertha’s already threatened to send the police after him if he doesn’t return to her from El Salvador!

That’s all the news that’s fit to print for this week.. hug someone and don’t let the bastards grind you down.

Carol

———————————————

4/14/26

SSF Shelter Report

Tom and I visited Casa del Migrante this morning in Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico. We brought donations of non-perishable food and some sheets for Rochi’s bed. It was a beautiful spring day, with temperatures in the high 60s when we arrived at CDM.

Of course the dogs were the first to greet us. Niña appears to have regained some social ground. She’s no longer the bullied victim, and no one seems to have stepped into her place (I was going to say ‘shoes’, but…). The guests (6 today) unloaded the donations, and we visited for awhile. One guest was cooking eggs in a frying pan over the open fire, and Panda was supervising. 

D is still there. This week he had some downtime from his job working construction for a local church, so he painted the outside of CDM’s office area. It’s so much brighter now! He says, after his awful experiences in the desert, he is reluctant to cross again. He once again spoke for all the guests to express his gratitude for the support you all have provided that makes it possible for people to wait with dignity while they decide their next move. 

Rochi was feeling pretty good. He had taken a pain pill at 11 so that he would be pain free while we shopped for groceries. He was also really hungry! He said he had 3 eggs plus tortillas for breakfast, but he was ready to eat again. We ate lunch at Yesi’s Restaurante. Last week Rochi ordered caldo de res, but the soup was so hot it melted the polygrip holding his dentures in place, so this week he got a burger and fries. He somehow cracked the two upper front teeth of his dentures. He thinks it was when he bit into a crunchy tostada, but his dentures should have been able to handle that. He said he has more pressing problems than his dentures right now. He is hoping the chemo pills arrive today from Mexico City so he can begin his first course. On the bright side, he and one of his brothers are now in steady phone contact, and the sister who visited is going to return later this month with one of his other sisters. It is such a relief to us that he has family at this difficult time. 

We stopped at the pharmacy for some meds for one of the guests, then picked up groceries at Bodega Aurrera. It was very quiet after the Easter rush. 3 dogs were lined up sleeping in the shade beside the shopping carts outside the store; I didn’t see them at first until a nice woman pointed them out to me. I got all three fed and watered, and then we returned to CDM. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, enjoying the nice weather. 

After putting away the groceries, we said our goodbyes till next week. Jan has returned safely to Washington and the guests are already asking about her!

Hug someone and don’t let the bastards grind you down.

Carol

——————————————-

2/19/26

SSF Shelter Maintenance Report

Rick Weibel and Tom Wingo brought supplies and tools to Casa Del Migrante this morning for a work day. They replaced shower valves and a urinal valve, hung 2 smoke detectors (one in dorm #3 and one in the outer office area), wired a new light and switch over the cooking area, and set up a work station so the guests could build/replace the window screens in the dorms. 

More wiring remains to be done and more screen spline needs to be added, but today was a pretty good day.
****************************

1/5/26

Hello Everyone! I hope all of you are well and enjoying time with loved ones. Here in Ajo, we are enjoying the quiet after the holidays and balancing news-viewing 😬 with trips out in the beautiful Sonoran Desert. 
 

2025 was a busy year for Samaritanos Sin Fronteras. Thanks to our supporters, SSF provided funds for ultrasounds, removal of a benign cyst in a CDM guest’s shoulder, dental extractions for 3 guests, dentures for 2 guests, treatment for amoebic dysentery, antibiotics for an extensive infection of the manager’s upper jaw and sinus, treatment for prostate issues, and over-the counter and prescription medications.

We were also able to purchase a new hot water heater and a new toilet for Casa Del Migrante, essential for health and comfort. 

With our weekly grocery runs, accompanied by CDM’s cook who made a list each week of needed items, we were able to buy food to supply approximately 5,840 meals, including special meal celebrations for Easter, Mexican Independence Day, and Christmas Eve. As part of the Christmas Eve celebration, due to generous donations, each guest received a complete set of new clothes in appropriate sizes: a warm jacket, pants, long-sleeved t-shirt, button-down long-sleeved shirt, underwear, socks, shoes, warm gloves, and a knitted hat, plus there was a fun raffle where each guest won a prize of his choice from food items and extra clothing. 

Animals: as of December, there are 9 dogs at CDM and 1 desert tortoise. SSF, vía Karla Vásquez and Clinica Esperanza, has had 8 of the 9 dogs spayed or neutered. The dogs have also had their shots, and SSF provides their food. If you’re looking for a good dog…..

SSF helped the shelter at the beginning of the year with an invasion of ticks and at mid-year with an invasion of bedbugs, providing chemicals and applicators to rid the shelter of creepy-crawlies. We also provided fly strips and mouse traps for ongoing pest control.

When a former CDM guest needed to return to his home country of Honduras to care for his ailing brother, SSF was able to help him with travel funds, and when a former resident of Casa San Pedro migrant shelter (now closed) whose family entered the US legally seeking asylum had a family member deported and subsequently murdered, SSF supporters raised funds to transport the body from Guadalajara to Guerrero, his mother’s home town, bringing a sad closure to an awful and unnecessary tragedy. 

We are continually amazed at the resilience and kindness of those we encounter at Casa Del Migrante, and at the generosity and support of good people all over the world. You are truly making a difference in the lives of folks who, for whatever reason, can’t reach home. People eat healthy food because of you, they have a comfortable place to stay, clean clothing, medical and dental care, and canine companions (and a tortoise!) to give them affection while they are deciding what to do next. Life is better for guests at Casa Del Migrante because of your support. Thank you.

Attached is our revenue statement for 2025.

Happy New Year, everyone, and don’t let the bastards grind you down. Together we can affect change❤️

- Carol​

———————————

Note: If you are able, please consider a donation either via our website donate button, via Zelle [Samaritanos Sin Fronteras (413)695-9571], or as a check made out to Samaritanos Sin Fronteras/121 Rocalla Ave/Ajo, AZ 85321. Thank you for your continued support.

—————————————————

Checks can be made out to 

Samaritanos Sin Fronteras 

c/o Doug Schnare, treasurer 

121 Rocalla Ave

Ajo, AZ 85321

Or we can accept Zelle (National Bank of Arizona) or PayPal on our website www.samsinfront.com) 

—————————————————

Samaritanos Sin Fronteras Amazon wishlist:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/6SDJCN1N0XMX?ref_=wl_share

or if you’re in Ajo and have donations, contact one of the members of SSF who will be glad to deliver them. We all make a difference.

​

We have the 2026 Candid Gold Seal of Approval:

https://app.candid.org/profile/15337525/samaritanos-sin-fronteras/?pkId=f10ec1df-6f76-48ce-8507-b32c69ef7ce7&isActive=true