December 22, 2025
ANNUAL REPORT FROM ALBERGUE, SAGRADO CORAZÓN PRO MIGRANTE I.A.P.
This has been a year of significant change, development, and growth for the Morelia Migrant Shelter—Albergue, Sagrado Corazón Pro Migrante, I.A.P.—and the team dedicated to its work. Policy changes on immigrating to the USA have meant that our original target group has changed significantly. However, our core aims and principles—provision of temporary care to vulnerable migrants while they are passing through Michoacan—remain steadfast. Below, we summarize for all interested parties the work we have been able to achieve this year.
The Migration Landscape in 2025
Migratory patterns in Mexico shifted constantly during 2025. Flows from the south dropped by 90%, leaving many Mexican shelters with a far lower flow of migrants. U.S. political uncertainty created unpredictable conditions. Massive U.S. government anti-immigrant activities began and continue to grow. Migrants across North America “hunkered down,” fearful of detention and deportation. Many migrants seeking asylum or humanitarian protection in Mexico began looking for stable support, and many of them have sought to return to their countries of origin.
In all this, we stayed open, professional, and ready: the only overnight migrant shelter in the state of Michoacán. At the beginning of the year, authorities notified us that large numbers of deported migrants—many of them families with children born in the U.S.—might begin arriving in Morelia by bus and plane, and we prepared for large waves. So far, the number of deportees reaching us has been limited, but we expect that this group will increase considerably over the coming years. Meanwhile, we have used the time to actively develop new kinds of activities and to deepen and broaden those we were already doing on behalf of migrants.
Who We Served in 2025
Although we have seldom filled out the dorms, the service we gave was deep and impactful.
Across the year, we provided hundreds of “migrant-nights” of care. People stayed anywhere from four nights—our original limit—to several weeks as conditions worsened and administrative processes slowed. We did not send families or vulnerable people back to the streets.
Of the numberous migrants, each is an individual case. Over the course of the last year, for example, we helped: (a) three Guatemalan farmers, who were tricked by their coyote and dumped in mid-Mexico, to obtain safe transportation home; (b) a young Venezuelan amputee on his way home to obtain a plane ticket home; (c) a Venezuelan family with three children, who were stranded for six weeks by paperwork delays, and who had passed through our shelter months earlier, heading north, and now were returning, to get plane tickets home; (d) a Honduran mother and baby to obtain plane tickets for her safe return; (e) a Belizean man seeking help to return home; (f) an El Salvadoran man to travel by bus to Ciudad Juarez to reunite with his family; (g) a young Venezuelan man who needed legal protection for almost 4 months; (h) two Cuban migrants who chose to stay in Mexico to by securing legal status, employment, and housing; (i) a Mexican family fleeing lowland violence, now safely resettled; (j) a Mexican man who was deported to Mexico after 31 years in the U.S., to stabilize and return to his pueblo; (k) a single Mexican woman, 79 years old, who suddenly was deported from San Diego after living there for 30; and (l) multiple deportees in transit, arriving in Morelia and moving on the same day.
We also assisted migrants elsewhere in the city, met stranded families, and supported people applying for asylum in Mexico or seeking voluntary repatriation. In several of these cases, we worked with embassies and other institutions to secure safe passage. All of these people make voluntary decisions to travel where they want to go—human rights don’t require a passport.
As months-long stagnation increased, children arrived having missed months or years of school. We created a children’s activity corner and assembled learning materials. We also created recreation and play opportunities, a stable, calm, safe environment with support for young parents. We are presently working with UNICEF to expand this work and strengthen our abilities to protect and nourish children.
Organizational Progress
2025 was a year of major structural consolidation. First, as regards staff, we maintained a lean, highly committed paid staff: one on-site daytime coordinator, one full-time cook, and one night watchman / coordinator. All positions have written contracts and clear responsibilities.
Volunteers—local / national, and expatriate—were essential.
More than 50 volunteers participated this year, with 12–15 active at any time. They staffed shifts, cleaned, organized clothing, helped with legal orientation, ran fundraisers, participated in trainings, and built community with our guests.
Concerning infrastructure and certification, we completed or advanced the following: full health and safety certification for our buildings (a major accomplishment, with smoke and gas detectors, fire extinguishers, window screens, etc.), reinforcement of our back security wall, laundry-area improvements, children’s activity space, security cameras and fencing upgrades, and improvements to administrative, interview, and sleeping spaces.
In addition, we prepared for module two, which will double capacity from 25 to 50 beds. At the present time, the shelter is clean, dignified, and prepared for future increases in need. Our excellent dining area is often used for city-wide events focused on migrants.
We also strengthened accounting, government documentation, record-keeping, database construction in NGO management software, our website, Facebook, WhatsApp, and telephone systems, and expanded local outreach through print, interviews, and media. These foundations now allow steady growth of our supportive local community and accountability.
Partnerships and Institutional Collaboration
We have built an impressive, statewide and national network of partnerships. Governmental partners now include the Secretaría del Migrante (state), the Instituto Nacional de Migración (federal), the (new) Office of the Migrant (city government), the Secretaría de Salud, DIF (state and municipal), state police and local police agencies, as well as local bus and airport authorities. These collaborations secure transportation, documentation, health services, food support, vaccinations, and joint programs for returning families.
We have also cooperated with international agencies such as UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), which works with us on our multiple capacity-building workshops including international human rights training, legal orientation about Mexican law, prevention of sexual abuse in migrant contexts, data management for people fleeing violence, and psychological and social self-care.
Civil society partners include other migrant shelters across Mexico. One of our directors is developing contact and establishing academic partnership with institutions such as UNAM and the Universidad Michoacana, women’s defense groups, and expat organizations such as Morelia United, and the Casa Michoacán in Chicago, with whom we share materials and coordinate support. We have also established contacts with European Union programs to help migrants.
In November, our president, Pedro Beltrán, began serving on the state committee that issues recommendations to the legislature on migration policy, giving the shelter a direct voice in shaping humane public policy. This creates an important leadership role for the shelter.
Training & Capacity-Building
We have completed and will continue to ensure rigorous health and safety certification, and we are taking advantage of training provided by the government, as well as multiple UN-sponsored workshops. UNESCO is starting child-centered training for our team, including volunteers. This is in addition to new specialized training for asylum support, which will assist in professionalization of staff roles and volunteer orientation.
This year, we started a new and very important initiative for Mexican families who have relatives in the USA. We hosted our first large workshop for these families, providing them with information on how to act quickly if a loved one is detained by ICE. This project includes online materials, printed guides to be distributed across all 113 municipalities of Michoacán, workshops and presentations to be conducted through the Secretaría del Migrante. At the beginning of December, a pilot event was held in the town of Coeneo, Michoacán.
Fund-Raising in 2025
From the first weeks of the year, we faced significant financial uncertainty. Then and now, we operate with extraordinary efficiency. We spend about $89 per day, which covers all expenses—salaries, fixed and emergency costs of utilities (expensive water, electricity, gas, internet), cleaning supplies, accountant, insurance, basic maintenance, regular expenditures for fresh food and consumables, events such as trainings (sometimes with invitees from the entire city) and meetings with other institutions, and workshops for families of migrants.
We receive in-kind, material donations from various sources and these are very important to us, especially non-perishable items. We receive no money or material donations from the church, although we occupy land that is owned by the diocese on a rent-free, 30-year contract. However, several government agencies donate non-perishable food, clothing, blankets, and consumables. Individual families and charitable organizations have also helped with material donations. A fully volunteer board and several other highly active volunteers are foundational to our work.
This year we secured tax-deductible status in Mexico and achieved significant progress toward U.S. deductibility. In addition, we built a professional donor database and submitted proposals to the Canadian Embassy, the French Embassy, European Union refugee programs, local corporations (Oxxo, Femsa, Pepsi), and the local chambers of commerce. These proposals have thus far not been successful, but we are confident that an income stream will materialize in the future.
We have had steady success, locally, with raffles, bazaars, and a benefactor breakfast, and are planning a dance in January 2026. We have continued building monthly donor support through PayPal, Stripe, and GoFundMe. At this point, twenty-eight people make small monthly contributions, and we received helpful gifts from others throughout the year on an ad-hoc basis. Mainly, we benefit from the extraordinary generosity of Morelia residents and expatriates.
Despite all this, we still do not raise enough to fully cover our basic operating costs. We are stable but fragile. Permanent funding remains one of our most important goals for 2026.
Looking Ahead to 2026
Conditions may shift at any moment. Projections indicate a strong potential for mass deportations over the next two to four years. We intend to be ready.
Our goals include completing module two, increasing capacity to 50 beds, securing more stable monthly donors, achieving U.S. tax-deductible status through Global Giving, expanding workshops for families across Michoacán, strengthening partnerships with shelters nationwide, continuing to professionalize staff and volunteer systems, and ensuring long-term sustainability.
With Deep Gratitude – and a Courteous Request
To all who have contributed money, goods, time, skills, or compassion, thank you. You are the reason the Morelia Migrant Shelter exists. You are the reason migrants this year slept indoors, ate well, healed, learned, and found their paths forward with dignity.
As we enter 2026, we humbly and respectfully ask you to consider becoming, or increasing your gift as, a monthly donor. Monthly contributions—small or large—help us plan, stabilize operations, and meet urgent needs with confidence. You can set up automatic monthly donations in MXN pesos through PayPal or Stripe, or in USD dollars through GoFundMe.
Every recurring gift strengthens the shelter and directly supports migrants in crisis, and we, and they, thank you for it.
With determination and hope,
Pedro Luis Beltrán Cisneros
President of the Board of Directors
Clay Slate
Treasurer of the Board of Directors