Day 15: Remembering His Mercy, Mercy at the Courthouse
Editor’s Note: On the fifteenth day of our 2025 Advent blog series, “Visions of Visitation: Love in Motion,” recently returned lay missioner Kim Wagner shares a moment of mercy that she witnessed while she accompanied a family in an immigration courthouse.
“He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy.” – Luke 1:54
As I sit under the bright fluorescent ceiling lights in the hard plastic chairs of one of the waiting rooms for the immigration courthouses in El Paso, a family walks out of the elevator and into the waiting room for court. For this particular family – consisting of a mom, dad, and three-month-old son – it is just the mom who is here for a court hearing today on her asylum case. Once the mom is called back to court for her hearing, I watch the dad pace around the waiting room, rocking his son as they anxiously await the judge’s verdict.
After some time, the mom finishes her court hearing and comes into the waiting room. I immediately approach the family. I ask the mom to have a seat, introduce myself, and ask her how court went and what the judge said. She hands me the sheet of paper with the decision on her asylum case. The mom’s case was not dismissed – she received another court date in early 2026, but, for the ICE agents waiting downstairs, whether their case was dismissed or they received another court date does not matter. If the people coming to court are on the list of people for ICE to arrest, they will oftentimes be arrested as they try to leave the courthouse.
I begin to explain this to the family and get more information from the mom as we speak. I found out that she arrived in the United States last year, the family currently lives almost five hours from El Paso and drove in that morning, and the mom is breastfeeding her son. I walk the family through the different precautions we take with the people coming to court – we make sure their families and loved ones have their A number to locate them in ICE detention, give them sharpies to write phone numbers on their arms to call their loved ones from the detention centers, and get their information to organize visits for them at the detention centers. The mom had her partner’s phone number memorized, and her partner had her A number.
I asked the mom if she was ready to go downstairs, to which she shook her head yes. She stood up, took her son out of the baby carrier and into her arms, and began to walk towards the elevators. Her partner and I quickly followed behind her as she called the elevator up to the fifth floor. We all got on together, and I could feel the tension in the space as the elevator doors closed and we descended to the ground floor. As I watched the floor numbers on the screen count down, I said a silent prayer in hopes that this mother was not on the list and that the family could remain here together.
As we reach the ground floor of the courthouse, the elevator doors open, and I walk out first, immediately seeing six ICE agents stationed around the floor. As I walk with the family towards the door, we are stopped by the head ICE agent, who pulls the mom to the side and asks to see her court document from the judge. As the agent pulls the mom to the side, he sees her son in her arms and asks her if she is breastfeeding. She hands over her court document and confirms that she is breastfeeding her son. The ICE agent confirms that the mom is on their list of people to arrest that day, but he steps away to call his supervisor to discuss the information that has come to light. As he steps away, the mom rocks her son in her arms and begins to cry. I continue to pray silently and stay present as we all wait for answers on the fate of this family.
A few minutes later, the head ICE agent comes back and informs us all that the mom will not be arrested today. We all collectively breathe a sigh of relief as I walk the family out of the courthouse, offering the resources that I can. I say a silent prayer of thanksgiving, knowing that tonight, that family is together. Yet another moment of mercy in my accompaniment ministry.
I have never encountered God’s mercy more in my life than with my accompaniment ministry at the courthouse. In a time when it is easy for God to feel distant, through moments such as this, I am reminded over and over again that through God’s help and His mercy, He remembers all of us.
When God feels far away, we remember:
He is here, He is present, and He has not forgotten any of us.
Questions for Reflection: Reflect on a moment when you witnessed God’s mercy. Who can you extend God’s mercy to this Advent?
