Christian Thrift Store Owner Empathizes With Migrants

QUEMADO, Texas — Dan Jaeger is the store owner of Jaeger’s 3-in-1 in Quemado, Texas, a town of 1,322 people 1.5 miles of the border, according to the United States Census Bureau. Aside from being a business owner, he is also a Pentecostal pastor.

The business’ name is based on the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Outside the local business are two chickens in a cage greeting customers.

The store seems to look like a warehouse with everything imaginable including Barbie movies, study desks, baby clothes, purses, toys and more. It is air-conditioned and lively, making you feel that you are part of the community.

Jaeger says that people used to break into the room above Jaeger’s 3-in-1 last year.

Jaeger and his Mexican wife, Maria, practice their faith in La Navaja, Mexico. “La Navaja” in Spanish means “the knife.”

They have been preaching the word of God since 2018 and say they were called by God. Their faith in Christianity has kept them going.

La Navaja is in the Mexican state of Coahuila.

This small town is about 12 miles from International Bridge 1 from Eagle Pass, Texas and Piedras Negras, Coahuila.

According to Jaeger, Quemado is one of the few places in which Mexico is west of the United States.

Jaeger says that he and his wife saw four Honduran migrants walking near their home. One of the migrants approached Jaeger and asked if Jaeger could call the Border Patrol.

Jaeger had to clarify the migrant’s wish, making sure that is who the migrant wanted to talk to. He called the Border Patrol, because at the time of the occurrence, people from Honduras and other select countries could claim amnesty.

“They are people who are usually hungry, thirsty, and are either hot or cold,” Jaeger said. “Because I am a Christian, I try to help them with their needs.”

The Jaegers drive to Mexico once a week on Thursdays. Border Patrol agents have asked Dan multiple times if it is “calm” in Quemado.

He has noticed an increase of police and Border Patrol presence near the border in recent years.

Jaeger mentioned that his friend, a homeowner in Quemado, has had various migrants tear down their fence. When asked for an interview, the homeowner declined.

Despite being a Minnesota native, Jaeger opened his business in the Lone Star state in November 1999. Both of them moved into their mobile home in 2002 next to Jaeger’s 3-in-1.

His wife actually lived in La Crosse for a couple years before moving to Quemado.

Prior to meeting Maria, Dan attended a Pentecostal church in Austin, Minnesota, in which people from the church told him about Eagle Pass, not knowing it would change his life for the better.

They met at an assembly church in Texas. They met in January 1986 and married in March 1986. They have been married since despite him not knowing Spanish and her not knowing English at the time they met.

The couple resided in Minnesota for seven years and later made their way down south.

Jaeger was the first person in the area to work in electrical construction until his retirement 2 and a half years ago.

Quemado is almost 20 miles north of Eagle Pass on Highway 277.

Both spouses are building their church in Mexico to spread the word of God within the nearby communities.

When asked what is the perfect solution to the U.S-Mexico border crisis, Jaeger said that fixing Mexican and Latin American politics is the answer to this complex situation. People would not want to leave their country if it is livable, according to Jaeger.

“People want to better their lives,” Jaeger expressed. “I do not blame them. I would also want to.”

The bridge wait times is another topic of interest that is often discussed when talking about the southern border.

Jaeger mentions that he expected a long wait on Easter Sunday. To his surprise, it was a couple minutes. The longest time he has waited in line has been three hours.

The spouses do not spend their entire time in Quemado because they visit their kids in Odessa, which is 4 hours and 30 minutes away.

They are not in Quemado all of the time, so Dan says it is possible that they have missed more encounters with migrants.

He calls these people “undocumented” instead of “illegal aliens” because he said, “they are not illegal until they are proven in a court of law.”

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This project was created through a journalism class at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Journalism, Advertising and Media Studies Department. This work was made possible through the support of MPC Endowment Ltd., the philanthropic affiliate of the Milwaukee Press Club.