It is Monday, March 13th, and by now we have all arrived to our homes or our next destinations. After a week of living so close together it is nice to have alone time, our own space, and (most importantly) time to think and process. All of us feel as though we have a deeper … Continue reading A Reflection of Some Sort
Today was our last day on the border. Thus far, we’ve travelled from Tucson to Agua Prieta and Nogales. We’ve visited border patrol, spoken to humanitarian aid groups and much more. The last stop was Florence Correctional Center, a detention center for undocumented immigrants from many different parts of the world. A part of ICE … Continue reading Day 7: Florence Detention Center
After two days of early mornings, speaking Spanish, meeting with empowered women and Border Patrol agents, and traveling through borderlands in Arizona and Mexico, we spent the day at Borderlinks. While it was a more restful day, two people from an environmental conservation organization and a humanitarian group came to talk with us about their … Continue reading Day 6: How to Take Action
WHAT WE SAW: Today, following our overnight visit in the New Hope community center in Agua Prieta, we got up bright and early and loaded up the van at 6:00 am. We first traveled to Nogales, Arizona, crossing back through to the US-side. There, we got close up to the border wall in Nogales, where … Continue reading Day 5: Nogales
OVERVIEW: Day four was jam packed in every sense of the term. We started with a long drive to the border, stopping briefly in Douglas, a small historical town in south Arizona, to meet Randy, a volunteer for Frontera de Cristo, a Presbyterian border ministry focused on education and aid in Arizona and northern Mexico. … Continue reading Day 4: The Wall
WHAT WE HEARD: Today we had the opportunity to examine the legal component of immigration from several different perspectives. In the morning, we listened to a talk by Matthew, a member of the “End Streamline Coalition.” He told us about Operation Streamline, a policy enacted to expedite the legal process for people apprehended attempting to … Continue reading Day 3: Operation Streamline
Today we walked a migrant trail with the humanitarian aid group No More Deaths. We left food and water on the trail and visited a shrine for migrants. We also met with the humanitarian group People Helping People. WHAT WE SAW: The first time we crossed through the border patrol checkpoint, we didn't even … Continue reading Day 2: Walking A Migrant Trail
It was a long day, starting with a 5AM bus departure, a drive to Columbus, two flights, and another bus. We arrived at the Borderlinks space, our residence for the next week, and that was just the beginning.. The stress and exhaustion of the travel experience brought the group closer together. Upon arrival, a lot … Continue reading Day 1: Travel and Orientation
Border Crossings 