Fr Tony is an expatriate New Zealand priest working in the parish of San Filipe de Jesus in a town on the border between Texas and Mexico.

"This distracts from what is actually going on the border, especially with unaccompanied child refugees from the central American countries of Guatemala, Salvador and Honduras, boys and girls," says Fr Tony.

In recent years more than a hundred thousand unaccompanied child refugees have been received and housed in refugee centers in the United States.

The children arrive at the border escaping violence and poverty in their own countries.

"Here in the Rio Grande Valley there are some 14 refuge centers run by non-governmental non profit organizations," says Fr Tony.

The centres are not detention centres. The children are well cared for.

Fr Tony says that some years ago president of one political party decreed that unaccompanied child refugees, all in high physical and moral risk, must be received when they present themselves at the US border after having traversed Mexico and other border to get there.

"Today it is the president of the other political party who quietly supports the continuance of this policy."

The children stay in the refugee centres while family members living in the US are contacted. Their situation is processed before they are allowed to travel to these approved family members throughout the USA.

After this, their process continues and few are deported.

"For this the USA can be proud," Fr Tony says.

"I visit six of the centres for religious services: masses and confession. Confession is a great moment for the youth to commit themselves to life, repent of their past and commit to the future."

"They are truly great kids. They have been through much but are humbly strong and in their simplicity boldly resolute."

Kids from three refuge centers come to San Filipe de Jesus for Sunday mass.

"People love them,"

"Lat year some 120 came for Christmas cheer, pizza, games and intermingling with our youth."

Recently they stayed after mass for a Central American meal which the parish mums prepared after swatting up Central American recipes.

"They were so excited and had double helpings many of them."

The bishop, Daniel Flores, a very socially conscious man came to celebrate the mass and joined in the fun and fare.

Source

• Supplied

Part of Fr O'Connor's ministry, working in the Brownsville Texas parish, is to visit two detention centres, one for captured minor migrants and the other for captured adult migrants.

Given their personal circumstance and after all they have been through, Fr O'Connor offers a listening ear.

Fr O'Connor says that despite their detention he has a quiet admiration for the detained minors.

To get to the detention centre they travel around 1,200 miles.

Outlining a typical journey, Fr O'Connor says the kids ‘train surf'; travel on the top of long trains called the "Bestia" (the Beast), they walk and bus through Central America and Mexico, they cross over the border in the desert where there are no high fences and border control and are either caught or in some cases give themselves up.

The minors that make to the detention centres are treated very well, but many get left in the desert, Fr O'Connor says.

Not all end up in detention centres.

"Others make it and cross the border without getting caught and end up hiding for a time in ‘stack houses', where hundreds are locked in a room", he says.

The atmosphere in the adult detention centre is very different, run by the State, they are more like a prison; barbed wire included, he says.

"Those in red overhauls have serious criminal records in the USA, those in "safety orange" have light criminal records and the blues (majority) are just ‘illegals' caught crossing the divide", he said.

With more than 1,300 adult men detainees Fr O'Connor suggests it is not all negative.

"The last time there we had a full auditorium for mass, lots of pretty gutsy confessions too. Who says "men don't cry?

As well as "locals" currently there are three from Ghana, one from Somalia, people from Ecuador, Peru and five Chinese; whom he thinks made their first communion.

Commenting on his new mission, Fr O'Connor says that after being on mission in Peru and Venezuela for more than 30 years, he says it's taken a bit of time to get his feet on the ground.

With the Peru - Venezuela district closing, Fr O'Connor was asked by the Society of Mary's Superior General, Fr John Hannan, join the Marist mission in Brownsville, USA.

Fr O'Connor says while preferring to work with the more physically poor he can see the wisdom of living to saying, "‘Where the captain sends, the sailor goes'. It works for me".

On Tuesday 8 July, 2014, BBC reports:

"The fate of tens of thousands of child migrants in the United States is turning into a major political problem for President Obama.

"This week he is expected to ask Congress for US$2bn to build detention centres and hire new officials - just to cope with the number of unaccompanied children arriving from Central America.

"Many of President Obama's supporters are upset at plans to send the children back to their home countries."

Fr Tony O'Connor is a New Zealand Marist, working in the United States and part of the Society of Mary USA Province Brownsville Parish ministry.

Sources

• Fr John Murphy, Society of Mary New Zealand
• Image: Press TV