The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word once again call our congregational family to gather in prayer and reflection in solidarity of the preventable deaths of 50 people, including children, found this Monday, June 27, in an abandoned trailer on the streets of San Antonio, Texas. The frailty and precariousness of our migrant sisters and brothers hurt us. We recognize that this is a tragedy repeated globally, as recently occurring in Melilla, Spain, in which 23 people died trying to reach better opportunities.

We call on all people of good will to join efforts to dismantle human trafficking networks, to stop the economic, political and social systems that lead our migrant brothers and sisters to extreme vulnerability, and to encourage a compassionate and caring society, open to encounter and respect for the human dignity of every person. Today, the child survivors of this tragedy face a series of risks without the loving embrace of their parents, without the support of their friends, without a home, without a homeland, and without any system to support and protect them.

Although it may seem complex to reach a common understanding about migration and its contribution, as a support and as an opportunity for growth, we believe that inclusion, dialogue, and the appreciation of differences can heal nations, societies, communities, and people; we and they can stop violence. Today, we call to go beyond, to create bridges where the conversation and discussion of this tragedy is motivated by love and empathy toward and from the other. Today we invite you to reaffirm the human commitment to the seeking and building of welcoming communities, much as our first Sisters did when they arrived in these lands as migrants.