Asylum journeys bring some young women to Chicago's Bethany House

Migrants cross the Rio Bravo in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Feb. 4, 2021, to turn themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, to request asylum. (CNS/Reuters/Jose Luis Gonzalez)

Migrants cross the Rio Bravo in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Feb. 4, 2021, to turn themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, to request asylum. (CNS/Reuters/Jose Luis Gonzalez)

Since 2017, Bethany House of Hospitality in Chicago has welcomed young women seeking asylum in the United States. Benedictine Sr. Patricia Crowley, board president, describes the  circumstances of some young women who found refuge at Bethany House.

She describes one case in which four sisters from southern Asia made their way to the United States via Brazil. Their father had trafficked the oldest sister; she escaped, and the sisters decided to come to the U. S. They arrived March 20, 2020, at the U.S. border – just as COVID-19 hit. The sisters were separated, with the oldest going to Bethany House. Eventually the four were reunited at Bethany House.

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GSR shares clips from our friends at A Nun's Life Ministry. Check out full episodes of all their podcasts (Ask Sister, In Good Faith, Random Nun Clips and more, like the archived Motherhouse Road Trips) on their website, ANunsLife.org.

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