Immigration

Neighbors Come Together to Help Welcome Asylum-Seeking Migrants From Texas

Volunteers are gathering supplies and food to provide to asylum seekers

NBC Universal, Inc.

Dozens more migrants are finding their new temporary homes in the surrounding suburbs, and one community is now home to dozens who are being housed in a hotel.

While this group of asylum seekers settle in and wait for further travel instructions, they are taking in the world around them through their windows and the parking lots of their hotels.

“They need that love the stories I’ve heard so far going through jungles… I can’t imagine myself going through a jungle,” Michael Airhart the CEO of Taste for the Homeless said.

Michael is one of the volunteers that is making his way out to meet with these groups and feed them. The stories they've told him of their journey to the U.S. are enough to keep him coming back and doing more.

Michael tells NBC-5 he can't imagine trekking through a jungle for a better life. He's found it in his heart to bring them something fresh to eat each of the last three days.

“This is what we are doing and we are not millionaires we just love and we care and whatever we have and whatever we can provide that is what we are going to do,” Airhart said.

This group got their first taste of an American dessert when Airhart brought them cheesecake, and they all loved it. While food is a necessity, it's not all that the group needs. They need personal hygiene items and clothes especially as the fall weather looms around the corner.

Two women armed with a U-Haul, a pair of strong hands and full heart have taken it upon themselves to collect and distribute these items.

“As they settle in it’s really important to me that they don’t forget that they are loved that they are welcomed and that we are never going to turn them away,” one volunteer said.

Monica and Marissa have been spearheading the effort through this Facebook group, and they are asking neighbors to chip in and help out.

“This is just a small way that we can give back and I really hope that they feel welcomed I really hope that people who are unsure about these busses coming in treat these people just like they would their neighbors because there is no difference,” Marissa Yoder said.

Contact Us