Quixote Center recognizes migration as a fundamental human right that also benefits the communities that receive them. Beyond their economic contribution, the integration of people from all over the world enriches the cultural diversity and strengthens the social fabric of the United States, a nation built by migrants for migrants. 

The Quixote Center’s principal international partnership is with the Franciscan Network for Migrants (FNM). The Franciscan Network for Migrants is an effort to connect shelters run by Franciscan orders which provide humanitarian assistance to migrants who are traveling through Mexico, Central and South America. We serve as the fiscal sponsor for the Franciscan Network for Migrants within the United States, and coordinate advocacy efforts with their staff.  

Quixote Center and FNM organize Solidarity Trips every six months since 2022 as part of our advocacy, bringing U.S. based migrant justice professionals to Southern Mexico and Panama to see firsthand how the U.S. border externalization policies impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of people trying to seek refuge in the United States. 

Find out more about our Solidarity Travel Program .

As a result of our 2024 Solidarity Trip to Panama, we are currently working with the FNM Panama team on a Training of Trainers program to equip volunteers to provide spiritual accompaniment and observe that the human rights of migrants are respected in the Darien where FNM has established a permanent presence in the community of Bajo Chiquito.

Statements

Read March 11, 2025's Executive Decree from Panamanian President Jose Mulino en

Read the Red Clamor statement February 2025 in y en . 

Read the Red Clamor Panama statement February 2025 . 
Read the Red Clamor Panama statement February 2025 in Spanish . 

Read January 21st, 2025 Joint Statement with our partners at the Franciscan Network on Migration  

Read November 22nd, 2024 statement from the Franciscan Network on Migration's National Assembly in Mexico .  

Reports

Participants from the March 2024 trip wrote the report:  to denounce US efforts to further externalize US border to Panama.  

  

 

History of the Program

The Quixote Center launched the Migrant Justice program in 2018 to demand justice for migrants at the US border, within the United States and throughout their journey. We worked to end immigrant detention, and defended the right to asylum, which has been eroded over the last several years. We also partnered with organizations who work with migrants in the United States and in Latin America, organizing webinars and publishing reports.

Location of Shelters in the Franciscan Network on Migration

DC architecture with American flags.

The Truth About Busing Migrants from the Border to DC: A Story of Welcoming

Thu, 08/11/2022 - 4:46pm by Alexandra

UPDATE: The DC Attorney General's office, whose funding is separate from that of the mayor's office, has of $150,000 to aid nonprofits leading the welcoming response. We welcome this news, but unfortunately this level of funding is still woefully inadequate to meet the needs of mutual aid groups.

Mural at La 72 Migrant Shelter.

A Teacher's Reflections on the Quixote Center's Solidarity Trip

Thu, 08/04/2022 - 4:39pm by Jennifer Molina

Two days before the Quixote Center trip to Mexico, a local journalist called me. Louisiana legislators had just drafted a proposal allowing teachers to bring guns to school, and the press wanted a comment from a local teacher. Just ten days after the Uvalde shooting, leaders hastily crafted legislation to demonstrate their resolve in preventing such tragedies in Louisiana.

“As an educator and a parent, Ms. Molina,” said WDSU's anchorman Sherman Desselle. “What's your response to this proposal?”

People hiking up a hill.

Reflections from Tenosique

Wed, 07/06/2022 - 6:29pm by Alexandra

In June, I had the opportunity to visit migrant shelters operating under the Franciscan Network on Migration, a Quixote Center partner, in southern Mexico. No two shelters were alike. To walk across the threshold was to enter a new kind of haven, each beautiful and kinetic in its own way. La 72 in Tenosique seemed always to be bursting with energy, with some migrants entering and leaving the shelter in just a day, and others staying long-term as they worked to determine their next steps and heal.

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Quixote Center on the Migrant Trail

Fri, 06/17/2022 - 1:24pm by Kim Lamberty

Delegates with staff at La72[/caption]

The heat was the first thing I noticed upon arrival in Tenosique, the location of La72, one of the largest shelters in the Franciscan Network on Migration, a Quixote Center partner. March to May are the hottest months, but in early June the heat was still oppressive, even without much humidity. Imagine walking miles every day in that heat.

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