Two reporters for The Marshall Project and Latino USA/Futuro Investigates visit El Refugio, a hospitality house for families visiting people detained at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. “El Refugio was founded on the principle of radical hospitality, a commitment to welcome anyone into the house who needs it,” they write. As ICE arrests and deportations have risen, El Refugio has seen a surge in visitors. Last year, the organization hosted about 800 people; this year, they estimate that number has doubled. Heffernan and Martinelli speak with the volunteers that do this compassionate work—helping families that come to rest and eat, and simply offering them a safe space.
A little after 9 a.m., the first visitors of the weekend trickled in. One group said that guards at Stewart had sent them to El Refugio to use the bathroom. Another woman drove about three hours and needed to nap. Some of the people seemed to scan the volunteers’ faces, looking for the catch. McGinnis and Badeaux explained that no, they aren’t missionaries trying to convert anyone. And no, there’s no surprise price tag.
McGinnis and Badeaux offered each group a prepaid gas card, funded by donations to El Refugio, to help offset travel costs, and gave brief tours of the house. There were two bedrooms upstairs and three more downstairs. Each had freshly made beds and a welcome bag with a bar of soap set neatly on the pillows.
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