shoes
notes: label: Description
content: These shoes, with the shoelaces missing, were worn by a migrant on the journey to the United States across the U.S.-Mexico border and then discarded at the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley near the border. When asylum seekers are detained by Border Patrol agents, their shoelaces are taken away, according to the Border Patrol, as a safety precaution. One of the first things migrants want when they arrive at the Respite Center are shoelaces or new shoes. The Respite Center gives them shoes, and migrants have the option of keeping or leaving their old shoes. The center’s founder Sister Norma Pimentel uses discarded shoes such in her talks about her work.
label: Description
content: The Humanitarian Respite Center was founded in 2014 by Sister Norma (Sr. Norma) Pimentel, executive director of the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, the charitable arm of the Diocese of Brownsville. Out of a belief in supporting the dignity of vulnerable people, Sr. Norma established the center at a time when a surge of Central American migrants caused a humanitarian crisis and great political controversy in the United States. The center shelters and cares for migrants for a day after their release by the Border Patrol before they travel to the homes of sponsors, typically family or friends, as part of their immigration process. Among the center’s supporters are members of the predominantly Mexican-American local community who donate clothing, toys, and other necessary supplies to help the newcomers. Between 2014 and 2021, the center assisted over 100,000 refugees.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Philanthropy
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2021.0012.03
label: accession number
content: 2021.0012
label: catalog number
content: 2021.0012.03
objectType: label: Object Name
content: shoes
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: textile, rubber (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: 2021.0012.03a: 9 cm x 10.5 cm x 27.5 cm; 3 17/32 in x 4 1/8 in x 10 13/16 in
label: Measurements
content: 2021.0012.03b: 10.5 cm x 10.5 cm x 27.5 cm; 4 1/8 in x 4 1/8 in x 10 13/16 in