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Want more details about what we do? Scroll below to find stories and the latest updates about how our work is helping make an impact. We invite you to learn more about our efforts and help spread the word about our important cause.

 Note: asylum seekers and other migrants encountered at the shelters are referred to by an initial or nickname to protect their privacy.

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1/13/26

SSF Shelter Report

Jan St. Peters and I rode down to Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico this morning. We had a very friendly Mexican National Guard official at the border. He kept asking, “Cerveza? Cerveza?” and laughed when we said we were coming to Sonoyta to drink tequila. 

At Casa del Migrante, the flower garden is flourishing. I was surprised to see it hadn’t been attacked by marauding squirrels or rabbits. With its position inside the shelter, the dogs must scare off all the vegetation predators. 

We talked with the guests, most of whom were enjoying the warmth of this beautiful winter day. M had a medical emergency yesterday; the cook ran to Cruz Rojas at the end of the street and got help, and M had surgery for a kidney stone. He has 8 stitches and is taking it very easy in the sun. 

W has no identification card, so helping him get to Mexico City is not going to be easy. He’s from Honduras, but evidently has a wife in Mexico City. Because of his possible mental issues, he is difficult to communicate with: he seems to think he can board a bus with cash instead of a ticket and no identification card. I don’t know if I got him to understand that he needs both the id and a ticket to travel. 

The manager still has a growth on his eyelid that is bothering him. He has promised to go to the doctor tomorrow to get a diagnosis and a quote for treatment. That eye has been giving him fits for months, but the jaw infection took precedence. Now that has been resolved, it’s time to take care of this problem. Jan offered to operate immediately, but he was not keen on the idea and said his girlfriend had also offered to get out the kitchen knife and fix him up! 

Gallo has been working at a nearby ranch, but he got his bi-monthly check from the Mexican government yesterday (he’s in his mid-70s) and treated himself to a good time last night, so today he mostly rested in one of the hammocks.

We took the cook to lunch at Lupita’s Taqueria. Reina, the owner, wanted to know why I haven’t been coming in to eat and praised the cook for speaking Spanish to us. It is her lifelong dream that we will master the language, and she does her best to teach us when we’re at her restaurant. She’s a stern taskmaster! 

After lunch we stopped at a pharmacy for some meds for one of CDM’s guests, then grocery shopped at Bodega Aurrera, Walmart in Mexico. We paid the electric bill while we were there, and Jan had her truck washed. The guy who washes vehicles and helps with grocery carts told Jan that last week the money she paid him with had expired! She had just exchanged money at the local cambio (money exchange), so we got a lesson in trying to recognize old, expired money vs new. We haven’t quite grasped it yet though, so next week Jan says she’ll make sure to ask for fresh pesos. 🤪

Back at CDM, the dogs helped everyone unload the groceries. This weekend the men will have beef instead of chicken for their weekend cookout. W came in with a huge bundle of sticks on his back for their cooking fire. Laundry flapped on the line and dogs basked in the sun. This temporary home is not perfect, but it’s safe. 

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Hug someone and don’t let the bastards grind you down. 

Next nationwide protest is January 20. 

- Carol

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1/6/26

SSF Report

By Lynne and Owen Charles

Owen and I pulled up to the Mexican crossing in our big white van and before the border agent could even ask, Owen stated in clear and precise Spanish, "We go to the Casa del Inmigrante in Sonoyta". They asked to look in the back of our van; a momentary flash of concern crossed our minds....what could we have forgotten to take out in that vast storage space? But all was clear and we were waved through.

As we approached the Casa we saw Gallo leaving, sitting in the back of an open bed truck with other men. We called out and waved, but he either didn't recognize us or hear us and continued to look forward with quiet resolve. R. says he's going out for the day to work on some gardens just outside of town.

After lunch R. helped us procure some medicines for our friend's dog. After visiting two separate pharmacies, he suggested the animal pharmacy. We had no idea such a thing existed! When the first didn't have it, he said he knew of a second in the next block. (Sonoyta is such a practical place!). This was definitely a more humble establishment. All the shelves were bare. The only item for sale seemed to be a German shepherd puppy in a crate on the bare tile floor. This farmacia didn't have the medicine either; still, R. was such a good tour guide, showing us where to park and how to navigate crossing Sonoyta 's busy main drag. We laughed that we darted as quickly as the many adroit dogs of Sonoyta.

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Inside Bodega Aurrera was a huge display, positioned on pallets, of scores of cakes for Three Kings Day. Each cake box was marked: Exceso calorias, Exceso azucar (sugar), Exceso grasas saturadas (saturated fat). What a way to deflate the merriment! 

The dogs have grown so much. When we drove up with the groceries and the gate was opened, they seemed to gallop up at us, nosing their way to the back of the van.

R. told me that Three Kings Day is the last day of the Christmas holiday season in Mexico. The five men currently residing at Casa del Inmigrantes will enjoy their Three Kings Cake this evening, and only tomorrow, like so many Mexicans, will they take down their Christmas tree and decorations.

As Carol says, don't let the bastards grind you down. I'll add a saying of my father's: All things in moderation, including moderation.

It's a wild world. Stay safe. 

• Lynne

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1/5/26

Hello Everyone! I hope all of you are well and enjoying time with loved ones. Here in Ajo, we are enjoying the quiet after the holidays and balancing news-viewing 😬 with trips out in the beautiful Sonoran Desert. 

2025 was a busy year for Samaritanos Sin Fronteras. Thanks to our supporters, SSF provided funds for ultrasounds, removal of a benign cyst in a CDM guest’s shoulder, dental extractions for 3 guests, dentures for 2 guests, treatment for amoebic dysentery, antibiotics for an extensive infection of the manager’s upper jaw and sinus, treatment for prostate issues, and over-the counter and prescription medications.

We were also able to purchase a new hot water heater and a new toilet for Casa Del Migrante, essential for health and comfort. 

With our weekly grocery runs, accompanied by CDM’s cook who made a list each week of needed items, we were able to buy food to supply approximately 5,840 meals, including special meal celebrations for Easter, Mexican Independence Day, and Christmas Eve. As part of the Christmas Eve celebration, due to generous donations, each guest received a complete set of new clothes in appropriate sizes: a warm jacket, pants, long-sleeved t-shirt, button-down long-sleeved shirt, underwear, socks, shoes, warm gloves, and a knitted hat, plus there was a fun raffle where each guest won a prize of his choice from food items and extra clothing. 

Animals: as of December, there are 9 dogs at CDM and 1 desert tortoise. SSF, vía Karla Vásquez and Clinica Esperanza, has had 8 of the 9 dogs spayed or neutered. The dogs have also had their shots, and SSF provides their food. If you’re looking for a good dog…..

SSF helped the shelter at the beginning of the year with an invasion of ticks and at mid-year with an invasion of bedbugs, providing chemicals and applicators to rid the shelter of creepy-crawlies. We also provided fly strips and mouse traps for ongoing pest control.

When a former CDM guest needed to return to his home country of Honduras to care for his ailing brother, SSF was able to help him with travel funds, and when a former resident of Casa San Pedro migrant shelter (now closed) whose family entered the US legally seeking asylum had a family member deported and subsequently murdered, SSF supporters raised funds to transport the body from Guadalajara to Guerrero, his mother’s home town, bringing a sad closure to an awful and unnecessary tragedy. 

We are continually amazed at the resilience and kindness of those we encounter at Casa Del Migrante, and at the generosity and support of good people all over the world. You are truly making a difference in the lives of folks who, for whatever reason, can’t reach home. People eat healthy food because of you, they have a comfortable place to stay, clean clothing, medical and dental care, and canine companions (and a tortoise!) to give them affection while they are deciding what to do next. Life is better for guests at Casa Del Migrante because of your support. Thank you.

Attached is our revenue statement for 2025.

Happy New Year, everyone, and don’t let the bastards grind you down. Together we can affect change❤️

- Carol​

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Note: If you are able, please consider a donation either via our website donate button, via Zelle [Samaritanos Sin Fronteras (413)695-9571], or as a check made out to Samaritanos Sin Fronteras/121 Rocalla Ave/Ajo, AZ 85321. Thank you for your continued support.

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Checks can be made out to 

Samaritanos Sin Fronteras 

c/o Doug Schnare, treasurer 

121 Rocalla Ave

Ajo, AZ 85321

Or we can accept Zelle (National Bank of Arizona) or PayPal on our website www.samsinfront.com) 

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Samaritanos Sin Fronteras Amazon wishlist:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/6SDJCN1N0XMX?ref_=wl_share

or if you’re in Ajo and have donations, contact one of the members of SSF who will be glad to deliver them. We all make a difference.

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