Catholic priest helps Mexican migrant shelter raise farm animals to cut costs and reduce migrant stress

A shelter in Ciudad Juarez on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border has tried to mitigate longer stays by migrants and asylum seekers by raising its own food – a move which not only cultivates self-sufficiency but also provides stress-relieving activities for its guests.

So far, Rev. Hector Trejo has brought chickens and pigs to the premises and soon hopes to set up a small fish farm, too – all in a hope that he can help cut food costs while also helping relieve stress for migrants who often spend months at the San Matias shelter, ABC News reported.

“On one side you have a space with the possibility of producing food; on the other you have a safe and decent space for the families so they can go through their process in the most harmonious way possible,” Trejo said.

The Catholic priest notes that his guests appear to enjoy petting and feeding the animals and spending time helping with vegetable production in the property’s greenhouse.

“It is relaxing just going to the chicken coops to feed them,” one migrant said. “Of course it helps you. It makes you forget for a moment your problems and additionally you have something to do here.”

Although the Biden administration reinstated the Migrant Protection Protocols – colloquially known as Remain in Mexico – on Dec. 6, a record number of migrants have continued to pour across the U.S.-Mexico border, adding pressure to shelters along both sides of the border.

Biologist Benjamin Navarrete’s Biological Innovations company designed the farm operation and believes it could be replicated at the sites of humanitarian crises.

“It is a great model, especially in the case of shelters where most of the expenses are for food and all this is an organic production,” Navarrete said.