Local opinion: Casa Alitas must be funded

We believe that it is imperative that the City of Tucson, Pima County, the State of Arizona, and federal agencies continue to provide funding to Casa Alitas for supporting those who are legally seeking asylum in the United States. Tucson has a long and rich history as one of the birthplaces of the Sanctuary Movement and has asserted itself as an immigrant welcoming city. To turn our backs on vulnerable families and individuals is not in alignment with our values.

As volunteers with Casa Alitas, we represent 30 years and many thousands of hours of service assisting legally processed asylum seekers reach their sponsors and final destinations across the country. We greet the Border Patrol agents who drop off asylum seekers at Casa Alitas’s doorsteps, after they have been approved to stay in the country. We meet them and hear their stories. We learn of their heartbreaks and triumphs, see their unbridled courage and hope, and receive their unending gratitude for just a little bit of kindness and care.

The people who are brought to Casa Alitas came to the United States because they believed that they had no choice but to uproot themselves, their families, and their lives to seek a safer, better life for themselves and their children. They come from Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and Asia. They have survived dangerous journeys through rivers, jungles, and deserts to find a home where they can live freely. We believe they deserve a chance at a decent life, free of the kinds of threats and acts that have brought them to the U.S.

Casa Alitas has been doing the valiant work of assisting these men, women, and children to connect with their sponsors and reach their final destination and continue with the asylum process. This involves receiving and sheltering asylum seekers who have been given legal federal authority to remain in the United States. These guests are welcomed at Casa Alitas and receive a few meals, clean underwear and some clothes, a shower, basic medical care, a bed for a night or two, as well as assistance with travel planning to reach their sponsors. Approximately 99% of the asylum seekers are bound for another state. Sponsors (or the asylum seekers) pay for airfare and bus tickets; Casa Alitas provides transportation to the airport or station.

As early as April 1, the Tucson community will see hundreds of people released daily on our streets. Leaving people with little or no English language skills and often no money to find shelter, food, and resources on their own is inhumane and against our community values. This will make these families and individuals vulnerable to those who would take advantage of them. Casa Alitas has provided a safe and organized process to assist these travelers, and to completely abandon these efforts is against everything for which our community stands. Limiting Casa Alitas’s work unfairly puts the burden on community members to fill the void in assisting asylum seekers to safely reach their sponsors.

The City of Tucson 2023 Phase One: Community Engagement Survey identified our “friendly and open to all” atmosphere and local culture that embraces diversity as positive aspects of Tucson, but the unsheltered populations and unsafe public spaces as areas of concerns. By continuing to support Casa Alitas, we can ensure an open, diverse community and limit the number of people placed on the streets, thus addressing safety concerns. We, as people of conscience, believe that treating all who come into our communities with respect, dignity and fairness is the only way to live the values we have pledged to uphold.

Again, we believe that it is imperative that the local, state, and federal agencies fund Casa Alitas. Help us live up to our reputation as a caring, welcoming, and humanitarian community.