After Florida governor Ron DeSantis flew migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, I wrote about how non-profits cover the gaps of our broken immigration system for Deseret.
This is the pattern; the official system is broken, and charitable organizations and activists keep a broken system from being even worse than it is.
It’s organizations and individuals who put out water in the desert, trying to save migrants from death by dehydration. It’s border-based religious charities like HIAS and Catholic Charities that wait at bus stations, help migrants reach their intended destinations and settle in a city where they have family or countrymen. It’s people who work every day on the border who have a Quechua translator on retainer.
The space between what the government provides and what asylum-seekers need is a gap that can’t be covered simply with good intentions and a willingness to get involved. It requires sustained investment and institutional presence.