When migrant children arrived in Dallas, this Southlake woman didn’t hesitate to help
When Elisa O’Callaghan learned that unaccompanied migrant children were coming to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, she jumped at the chance to volunteer.
O’Callaghan, who often traveled to the US-Mexico border to help children seeking asylum, said she wanted to do what she could to help the teenage boys who are staying at the convention center while waiting to be reunited with relatives.
O’Callaghan said she was volunteering on behalf of the advocacy organization Justice for Our Neighbors, a Methodist immigration ministry that provides low-cost legal services for migrants. She described how the facility was clean, and the children were fed burritos for breakfast and ground beef with rice for lunch. There was plenty of water and juice available, she said.
“They were ready to learn. It was a very pleasant, nice experience,” she said. “I got to teach a little class, and they sat around me and talked to me.”
O’Callaghan said she spent her time helping the boys learn some English words and phrases and showed them maps of different countries that were hanging on the walls.
According to WFAA, 1,500 teenage boys are housed at the convention center and more could be arriving.
Jeremy Bermender, a spokesman for Catholic Charities Dallas, one of the agencies providing assistance at the convention center, said he does not have exact figures on how many are volunteering as the numbers fluctuate daily.
“Our mission is to serve all in need, there is no question that these kids need help. We are proud to be a part of a community that will do all in our power to keep kids from suffering,” Bermender wrote in an email to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Michelle Saenz-Rodriguez, a Dallas immigration attorney who also is volunteering at the convention center, told CNN that the teenage boys are in a ballroom where there are separate areas for sleeping, eating and for doing activities.
“This is a transition shelter; it’s a big operation,” she said.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, released photos showing migrants in an over-crowded holding station near the border in Donna, Texas, with images similar to those seen during the Trump Administration.
According to the Texas Tribune, U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn are touring the Rio Grande Valley later this week to look at the conditions for the unaccompanied migrant children.
They criticized the Biden Administration for a lack of preparation, and Cruz said in a statement that the press should accompany the delegation, but the Biden Administration is not allowing the media access.
Gov. Greg Abbott was also critical of the Biden Administration’s handling of the influx of unaccompanied migrant children when he visited the convention center in Dallas, the Texas Tribune reported.
Domingo Garcia, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), held a press conference outside the convention center Wednesday afternoon where he demanded that Abbott authorize the Texas Rangers to request an S visa for unaccompanied children.
An S visa, issued by the Department of Homeland Security, is given to migrants who assist law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting crimes.
According to the Texas Tribune, last week Abbott called on federal authorities to allow Department of Public Safety officers to interview the unaccompanied children at the convention center to try to identify human traffickers.
“Governor Abbott, if you are sincere, if you believe these kids are victims, use your authority. Use your power to get the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and to get these kids out of detention centers,” Garcia said.
Garcia also called on Homeland Security to grant the children temporary legal status and to reunite them with family members within three days. He also called on Abbott to work with DFPS to find temporary foster care for the children.
O’Callaghan said she will continue to volunteer and hopes others will step forward to help the children.
“You either have the heart for this or you don’t,” she said.
“I loved having them know there are kind people in the world who wan to help them,” she said.
This story was originally published March 24, 2021 at 11:21 AM.