Migrant Ministry Stories - From Churchill Downs to the Migrant Ministry

Hanging atop a doorway at the end of the corridor, a genuine horseshoe from Churchill Downs in Kentucky now bestows good luck on the volunteers and migrants visiting Centro San Bernardino. It is a gift from SM in gratitude for the assistance he recently received from Migrant Ministry volunteers.

SM grew up among horses in southern Mexico. Being small in stature, he was a perfect fit for the job of horse handler at Churchill Downs. Every day for the past 19 years, SM exercised horses by racing them around the track. Roughly 1,000 people work in the stables of Churchill Downs, 80% who are immigrants mostly from Latin America. As long as they stay in the Louisville area, the immigrants are safe from federal agents because of their needed skills important to the local economy. SM is married and has US-born children.

But last December SM’s boss decided to take his horses to Arkansas for a race and the van in which SM was traveling was pulled over for speeding. The passengers’ immigration status was checked and SM was detained and sent to a detention center back in Kentucky.

After three months, a local agency managed to get SM out of detention, but he had to report to the ICE office in Chicago for an ankle monitor. The multi-state solidarity network lit up, and a volunteer drove him from Louisville to Chicago. SM and the volunteer spent the night at the home of MM volunteers, and the next day an MM volunteer accompanied them to the ICE office. SM was still very much traumatized from his time in detention, and being accompanied by a US citizen familiar with navigating ICE appointments was comforting. Thus the gift of the horseshoe which now connects us with immigrants from a wider area.

Thank you for your support of the Migrant Ministry. Donations are accepted on Mondays from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former Saint Bernardine School, 815 Elgin in Forest Park. We are now accepting only spring and summer clothing, as well as bedding and shoes.

Email us at [email protected] with any questions or comments.

We could not do what we do without your support. MIL GRACIAS, Catholic Communities of Oak Park!