Pat Murphy Steps Down ( happily) as Director of Casa del Migrante

After 12 years leading Casa del Migrante, the oldest migrant assistance facility on Tijuana’s border, Father Patrick Murphy will step down as director of the Scalabrini Center.

“I’m not going to cry. If I’m going to cry, it’s from joy because they finally listened to me and it might change my life a little” said Murphy in a press conference on thursday at Casa on Colonia Postal.

“His leadership, his testimony of faith and service, and his tireless defense of human dignity have left an indelible mark on our community,” states the press release from the institution announcing his departure.

The American priest of Irish origin arrived in the city during a migration crisis caused by massive deportations under the Barack Obama administration and concludes his mission as Donald Trump administration policies have effectively closed the border and there is a small but steady number of people expelled from the U.S. due to ICE raids.

Another persistent problem has been the lack of official support from the Mexican government and the cancellation of resources that came from the United States.

Murphy transformed Casa del Migrante from a temporary shelter exclusively for men into a training space that also helps with reintegration into their communities of arrival. In pursuit of that mission, he built the Scalabriniano Training Center for Migrants.

Beginning September 17, Lorenzo Chaidez will assume the directorship. Chaidez is a priest native to Durango who has served at migrant centers in Nuevo Laredo and the state of México.

Tijuanapress.com spoke with Patrick Murphy, who says he is happy to leave but will stay close and continue to work for the migrant community on both sides of the border.