The upper northwestern corner of Montana has the fastest growing “micropolis” in the U.S. We had a large influx of Venezuelan immigrants, and there are a lot of Mexican workers as well. In 2021, we formed Valley Neighbors to assist refugees and immigrants with housing and other needs.

Becker Rengifo del Castillo is a client of ours. He’s here legally under humanitarian parole and as an asylum seeker. He was stopped by police for a broken taillight. He had his ID. The police called Border Patrol, [who] arrested him. We have the Border Patrol because we’re less than 100 miles from the border [with Canada]. People were shocked; people who had never been involved with immigration work before were really shocked. [Many protesters] showed up that night at the Border Patrol station, and we brought a lawyer. After six days, Becker was released with no explanation, which was a victory because we made a lot of noise. Becker is back in the community. He has decided to sue the police department because they violated their policies. They engaged in racial profiling, and there’s body cam footage.

This work has felt like ministry to me, but we’re not a religious organization. It’s an opportunity to be practical help to people. I don’t know if my faith would be as strong as [many of our clients]. Maybe the muscle was built up from the things they’ve been through: walking through the Darién Gap and seven countries, escaping violence, and now dealing with the horrible things [our country] is inflicting.

For me right now, action is prayer. A lot of my life was receiving content and learning. Now is the time to use all that and put it out in something that, hopefully, is useful.

Rebecca Miller spoke with Sojourners associate editor Josina Guess.