A woman in El Paso, Texas, lights candles during a vigil July 5, 2022, to honor the 53 migrants who died in a cargo truck in San Antonio June 27. (CNS photo/Jose Luis Gonzalez, Reuters)
~ by Rhina Guidos for Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) In a recent homily San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller railed on smugglers as well as the injustices toward immigrants, referring to the June 27th deaths of 53 people in a sweltering cargo section of an abandoned semitruck near San Antonio as they were being smuggled into the U.S. He place blame on the “traders of death who consider lives as merchandise.”
But he also urged the “lay faithful to create the political incentives for our elected representatives to fulfill their duty to pass comprehensive immigration reform” and cut down on such incidents that take place because there are few viable paths to migrate safely and legally.
The archbishop, who has ministered to migrant workers, visited some of those who survived the deadly trek in the sweltering semitrailer without water or air to cool down as they traveled in temperatures that topped 100 degrees. It’s still unclear how long they were inside the trailer.
“Anyone who is not outraged is complicit at least to some degree,” said the archbishop, “they are God’s children. We grieve the loss of these immigrant brothers and sisters, because they were members of God’s family.”
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