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Spring Newsletter
Fifty years ago Bill Callahan and Dolly Pomerleau founded Quixote Center with a dream to be a progressive faith-based center for challenging injustice. Our founders were influenced by liberation theology and animated by a commitment to solidarity with the vulnerable and
marginalized, within the Catholic Church and in society. They dreamed the “impossible
dream” of a world more justly loving, armed with the faith that their love and persistence
could make impossible dreams come true.
Haitian Flag Day
In Haiti and the throughout the diaspora, May 18th is a day filled with music, dancing, parades, religious services, and cultural events. It’s Haitian flag day, a national holiday and day of celebration, but its significance is far deeper than a day off work and a time to party. Schools often hold ceremonies, and communities gather to celebrate Haitian heritage, identity, and pride.
Solidarity in Action: Caring for Migrants Across Borders
After visiting shelters and meal programs across Mexico, Guatemala, and Panama, one truth keeps surfacing: compassion doesn’t wait for permission, it acts.
In border communities, the scene repeats itself day after day. Families arrive weary from the journey, hungry, dehydrated, and carrying everything they own.
Between Borders: Jose's Story
Jose left Venezuela to save his livelihood and search for a more hopeful future.
A family farm that once sustained them no longer can, as the country's political and economic crises are making it harder to survive.
He crossed South and Central America, making his way north to seek asylum in San Diego. Now, he is in Panama, stranded between borders, with no clear way forward and no safe passage out.
What Do "Haitian-Led" Solutions Look Like?
Last year our government brutally dismantled USAID, sending shockwaves around the world. The world's largest foreign humanitarian aid provider is reduced to a few remaining programs, including the successful HIV treatment and prevention program PEPFAR, now run by the Department of State. At a cost of less than 1% of the US total budget, many diplomats considered USAID an effective soft power strategy that consolidated alliances across the globe.
Haiti: Headlines & History
It starts with a notification. A headline flashes across the screen. It’s Haiti. Violence is escalating. A hurricane on the way. A migrant caravan. Another crisis breaking through.
A few days pass, and the alerts stop. The story slips out of view and disappears. What remains is an idea of crisis, without any context of what came before or what might come next.
From the Gallery: Witnessing a Rare Victory for Haitians in Congress
by Claudette David, Quixote Center Board Member
On April 16, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1689 to extend protected status for Haitians and it did not happen quietly.
It started with a discharge petition, H. Res. 965, led by Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-7). What followed was a succession of floor votes that included officially discharging the petition and a bill passage back to back. That alone is rare. That kind of moment does not come often.
Between Borders: Erick's Story
Erick first left Guatemala as a teenager in 2004, after being threatened by gangs and fearing for his future. He made the journey to the United States to stay with his siblings and try to build a life.
His journey was not easy. He has been kidnapped, robbed, and mistreated. He has been deported several times, but cannot safely remain in his home country.
Today, he is staying at La 72 Hogar-Refugio para Personas Migrantes (one of our partners in Tenosique, Tabasco, Mexico)
Haiti's Vulnerable Children
The people of Haiti are suffering. Violent criminal gangs perpetrate kidnappings, sexual violence, murder, and child trafficking. Over half the country is facing extreme food insecurity and 1.4 million people are internally displaced. For comparison, Haiti is about the size of Maryland, so it would be like 11% of the population of Maryland displaced and without homes.
Report from Panama: On the Ground with Our Partners at Medalla Milagrosa
Quixote Center traveled to Panama from March 22-26 to meet with our partners at the Red Franciscana para Migrantes (Franciscan Network for Migrants or RFM in Spanish) and assess the current situation in the country. Panama continues to be a major transit hub for people seeking a better life or to reunite their family.
Between Borders: Melona's Story, Part 2
In part one, Melona shared how she fled Eritrea, sought asylum in the United States, but was deported to Panama instead. A country that she has no ties to and does not speak the language.
This did not happen in isolation. The US government is sending people on deportation flights to Panama (and soon to Costa Rica) under a formal agreement. Melona was forced on one of those flights.
Between Borders: Stories of Migration, Deportation & Survival
Headlines move so fast. We hear about migration all the time. Shocking stories of ICE patrols, border crossings, asylum claims, and deportations. We rarely hear about what happens to the real people along the way. Names are lost in the numbers, people disappear under the policies.
For many, the journey doesn't begin or end at a border. It stretches across years, across countries, and across systems. People are surviving in the in-between space, unable to return to the countries they fled and unable to move forward.