Immersions

Reflection by Samm Sposito & Jessica Del Haro

This past week has been one of the most profound experiences of my life. The people, the sights, the experiences will be something that will forever be encased in my brain, soul, and heart. Coming on this immersion, I did not know what to expect. However, coming with a blank slate, open mind and open heart allowed me to gain knowledge without biases and truly from the source. Especially today as we talked about how the border wall not only divides cultures and peoples but the additional victims of this tragedy are the ones that are overlooked: nature. Nature knows no boundaries. Rivers flow wherever they please. Plants grow wherever there is a source of food. Birds do not speak English nor Spanish. The main takeaway of these examples is that nature does not understand boundaries. However, the victims of the militarization of the border walls are not only people fleeing persecution, war, abuse, crime but animals in search of their next meal and survival. This is the story people fail to bring light to as more barriers continue to rise, animals are victims as they are prevented from migrating to areas that they once had access to.

In an attempt to summarize the amazing, impactful events and stories that we heard this week, I just wanted to share one thing I think is important to note. With issues such as immigration and everything concerning it, it is impossible for one person to take it upon themselves to solve these problems alone. As long as you put all your effort and strength into something impactful no matter how big or small, you need to realize that what you are doing is amazing. There is not One who will save us, but there are Ones who can. It is easy to fall into the trap of trying to solve so many issue at once, but what we all need to realize is that any contribution we make can be the difference in someone’s life.

Sergio from The Sierra Club organization was so full of love and appreciation for animals and nature. He also spoke extensively about the human condition and the importance of listening to all different kinds of experiences from different people, and the importance of representation and diversity in activism and leadership positions. This was a perfect conversation to have on today on International Women’s Day. Being an all female immersion, I felt that this day was especially meaningful and impactful. Our group has had many opportunities all week to be vulnerable with one another and really show up in terms of the activities we had planned, and I think being an all female immersion allowed for that aspect to be easier to reach and bond with one another. We celebrated today by taking pictures as a group and having a final reflection ceremony that was emotional and beautiful. I couldn’t have asked for a more powerful and incredible week in Arizona with these incredible people.

Organizations: Sierra Club Border, Sanctuary Coalition 

Reflection by Abbie & Annika

              Today was our fifth full day on the Border Immersion. To start the day off, we drove to hear from the Florence Project, the only organization in Arizona offering free legal services to immigrants. People are ten times more likely to win their case if they are represented by a lawyer in court. Most immigrants are unable to pay for such a luxury. Hearing a personal story of a young woman the Florence Project was able to help was incredibly impactful and solidified the understanding of the need for the services they provide.

              Upon arriving back at BorderLinks, we dove into an “immigration simulation” where each of us played the role of an individual attempting to navigate the United States’ immigration system. This exercise was meant to provide an answer to the question of “Why don’t they just get in line and come over legally?” The answer was disheartening with white, skilled, privileged, European men consistently finding the easiest way to navigate the system and black and/or brown, unskilled, impoverished, usually South and Central American men and women either having to wait eleven to forty years to begin the process or just being denied entry outright. These extreme differences in people’s accessibility to begin or continue through the system occurred regardless of their actual need for U.S. residency.

              Our heavy week was interrupted this afternoon with a few hours of light-hearted exploration. First, our delegation leader, Josué introduced us to one of his go-to restaurants, Crossroads, where we enjoyed an all-you-can-eat Mexican buffet. Then, we ventured out to San Xavier Mission, a mission built on Native American land. While we were there, many of us admired and bought locally crafted pieces of art, lit candles and prayed inside, and wandered up a hill that offered a beautiful vista of the Arizona countryside.

              DACAmented Voices in Healthcare presented their project to us after our return from our day trip. The project consisted of using Photo Voice as a method of research to explore DACA recipients’ experiences with the United States’ healthcare system. Seeing the images the participants created and the texts paired with them reminded and proved to us how powerful photographs can be in telling an individual’s story. Both presenters shared their personal experiences, which left many of us deeply impacted. Our admiration for these individuals is exponential.

              We finished the day with a reflection that, although many of us felt disheartened, left us with a feeling of love highlighted by a beautiful desert sunset.

Organizations/People: The Florence Project, San Xavier Mission/Tohono O’odham   
DACAmented Voices in Healthcare 

Reflection by Caity Igarta and Julie Zavala

We started our morning traveling to Nogales, Arizona which was about an hour drive.  When we got there, we could see the wall which was not at all what we were expecting to see.  We didn’t expect the wall to divide the city in half the way it did. We met with a man from Mexico working with Borderlinks, named Manuel.  He works with the delegations within Borderlinks to bring awareness and provide education about the border.  We walked along the wall which consisted of a fence with lots of barbed wire to keep people even more separated.  We had learned that they recently added more wire to the wall to prevent families from having meals and holding hands across the wall.  We got the opportunity to see the Jose Antonio Memorial. He was a sixteen-year-old boy that was shot and killed through the wall by border a patrol agent.  After the trial case, the border patrol agent was found innocent.  This made us think, what is considered a crime? If killing a boy is not considered a crime, then what is? Hearing these personal stories about immigrants brings frustration and anger over our judicial government.  We were surprised to learn that we are always being watched and monitored around the border by surveillance cameras and agents in their cars going up and down the wall. 

After the wall, we went to a supermarket where we priced essential items and compared them to the price of labor in Mexico.  We determined how much each item would cost for a U.S. minimum wage earner if buying power in Mexico and the U.S. were equal.  After comparing, we realized that these essential items are much cheaper for us because of a higher minimum wage; whereas, those in Mexico are getting paid significantly less (about $4 a day) making it more difficult to get all that they need.  After this activity, we came to the realization that we are so fortunate here in the U.S. where we are getting paid enough to make a living.

After returning from Nogales, we met with Eddie from Mariposas Sin Fronteras.  Mariposas is an organization that seeks to end violence and abuse of the LGBTQ people held in immigration detention centers.  Some of their works include: detention center visits, letter writing, bond fundraising, and post detention hospitality.  Eddie shared his story as an immigrant from El Salvador trying to cross the border. He fled his country because of his lack of support as part of the LGBTQ community and the discrimination he faced.  He shared his struggles that he faced when crossing the border.  Eddie was taken to an immigration center where Mariposas helped him seek his asylum case.  After the case, he became a part of Borderlinks and has been our amazing cook throughout the week. 

Today was a heavy and eye-opening day, but we look forward to learning more throughout the rest of the week.

Organizations: 
Mariposas Sin Fronteras

Reflection by Selene Andrade Bernal & Meghan Childs

Today’s main activity consisted of the desert walk, watched the abuse documentation, and reflected about our day. We headed down to Aravaca, AZ through a border checkpoint and down to where our desert walk began. We were joined by another delegation from Alvernia University, a UP alum Jacob, and another BorderLinks employee and No More Deaths volunteer Josh.

After an hour drive in an air conditioned van, we each carried a plastic gallon of water, and begun our journey. As we were walking, we were informed that that path we took was very well paved, since it was more of a trail. Having been on hikes before, it is safe to say that we expected flat land filled with cacti, however, this was most certainly not the case. Instead of being flat and sandy, as one may expect a desert to be, it was rocky and far from flat. The terrain consisted of many hills, fallen trees, and assortment of plants, and creeks and puddles left over from rain. We followed Josh about a mile in until we reached the first water drop and then proceeded, after a small rock climb, to the second drop to gauge how much water we should leave at each drop. At a certain point in the trip, we were asked to point which way was north, and only a handful out of twenty people pointed towards the right direction. We can only imagine what it must be like to not even have an idea to where you are heading without a guide, and in these extreme conditions facing dehydration, exhaustion, and many more possible complications. We were also lucky enough to only have walked a mile of a paved way, with a tour guide, properly dressed and packed. Even in these harsh conditions, I was able to see a little bit of one of the many motivations that kept immigrants going: faith.  In one of the water drops, there was a mini altar with a few rosaries, crosses, and images of our catholic saints. After a few mental prayers, we left the site and a few gallons of water.

When we returned back to BorderLinks we met with a different No More Deaths volunteer and watched the abuse documentation presentation. This faced us with the reality of crossing the border and the cruel barriers they face both from the terrain as well as from Border Patrol Officers. We learned that around 8,000 bodies have been recovered from the BorderLands since the 90s, and that are only the bodies that were found, so in reality that number is probably closer to at least 10,000. We also learned about the abuse that migrants face at the hands of Border Patrol included dusting and scattering from helicopters, physical abuse, the destruction of humanitarian aid meant to save their lives, and even murder. This presentation called on us to face the terrible reality of crossing the border from Mexico to the U.S. It called on us to see the humanity of all and to not feed in to the current practice of dehumanizing immigrants, because no human should have to endure that kind of suffering and even death.

To end our day, we reflected about today’s activities, and came to the conclusion that today was certainly overwhelming. Many US citizens in our immersions had begun to make the realization of how blessed they were to have been born in this country, but they did it in a way that they had never thought about before. They also realized how close to home this border immersion hit to the other participants of this immersion, and to those that it didn’t, they also realized that a large percentage of people that they care about really do think about this issue every single day.

Organizations: No More Deaths
                            No More Deaths – Abuse Documentation

-Reflection by Sarah Ponce

Today we met Josue, our program leader, who shared with us his experience as a DACA recipient and proud member of the Latinx LGBTQ community. Josue shared with us his work in organizing the community to stand up for their rights and in educating everyone who comes through the BorderLinks program to work together towards collective liberation. This introduction began the week with a theme of vulnerability, story-telling, listening, and learning. I look forward to learning even more throughout the week, because, as Josue taught us, education can either uphold current dominant social structures or challenge them. I believe that each of us on this immersion has the potential to gain a sense of empowerment and ownership over what each of us can do to create more space for those impacted by the immigration system.

As a group, we reflected on how the media portrays the border, how our communities see the border, how we, individually, see the border, and what other borders we may see in our communities beside the geographical borders. People shared based on their varying perspectives and we could recognize our own biases based on where we come from.

We also participated in an interactive timeline activity to learn about the history of immigration and human rights movements from the founding of the United States to today. This activity was extremely eye opening for everyone, not just because many of us were not aware of all the immigration related policies that have impacted many subgroups and nationalities, but because we were able to understand deeper historical patterns behind migration, such as the role of capitalism, international conflict, labor shortages, anti-communist ideologies, and racial discrimination. This activity was especially beneficial in envisioning how immigration policy has evolved over time (and reverted backwards), and what role that plays in my own understanding of immigration.

Both my paternal and maternal grandparents immigrated to the United States in the 1950’s and happened to arrive during a peaceful time in history in regard to allowing the easy documentation of immigrants. My privilege as a third-generation Mexican-American could be traced to the good fortune that my grandparents were alive when they were, crossed the border when they did, and were allowed a healthy and happy life they could pass on to their children and grandchildren. I am better able to understand my place in this timeline and the importance of keeping this knowledge alive.

Organization: Borderlinks