香蕉视频

“That’s what we do, empower leaders for a just and humane world. And since most of us are migrants, we should work for migration justice in the interest of our shared humanity.”

These words, from Dr. Audrey Hudgins, illustrate a commitment to draw attention to the realities of migration and look for solidarity in service of others.

For Hudgins, a clinical professor at the Matteo Ricci Institute and International Studies at 香蕉视频, this means direct action. In 2019, she began volunteering at the Kino Border Initiative (KBI), the Roman Catholic and Jesuit organization that is bi-national, with locations in the border regions of Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.

Inspired by the spirituality of the Jesuits and Missionaries of the Eucharist, their mission is to aid and accompany migrants, educate people toward solidarity and advocate for policy in Mexico and the U.S.

Every December and January for the past seven years, Hudgins has traveled to give the staff at KBI a break and put her teaching disciplines—im/migration, global citizenship and community engaged learning—to work.

“I use my head in my teaching around migration, but I also need to do something with my hands and my heart,” Hudgins says. “I started to really think about ways we could have an enduring and sustainable product of our mission.”

From her work with the organization Hudgins had a thought: Why not expand this to include more of the SU community as an immersion experience.

In partnership with University Ministry, the Center for Jesuit Education and the College of Arts and Sciences, the Borderlands Immersion program was created, with the pilot course launched this spring followed by the immersion in summer and an advocacy effort in the fall.

Formation sessions in the spring build community among participants and explore the complexities of migration in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. The seven-day immersion with Kino Border Initiative in Nogales occured over the summer, followed by fall activities that include reflection and the development and implementation of an action plan in response to the immersion experience.

"We reflected on four values before the immersion—humanize, accompany, complicate and respond,” says Andrea Fontana, associate director of the Center for Jesuit Education and one of the immersion leaders. “The immersion combined education on the root causes of migration and border policy with direct experience accompanying migrants.”

Open to faculty, staff and students, it is the first intergenerational immersion at SU, with seven faculty and staff members and five student participants in this year’s experience, led by Hudgins, Fontana and Megan Kush, associate director for pastoral care of Campus Ministry.

“The student energy and faculty and staff wisdom complement each other well and enhanced the diversity of knowledge and perspectives among trip participants,” says Professor Emeritus Rob Andolina, PhD, who was a participant on this inaugural immersion.

The immersion humanized migration in a way that media can’t, says participant Kaylee McArthur-Jimenez, ‘27, describing the heaviness she felt walking across the border into Mexico.

“The U.S. has covered its side with barbed wire and it looks ugly and cold,” McArthur-Jimenez says. “On the other side, Mexico has murals, artwork and quotes on its side that say ‘Migrando a la libertad’ and ‘Nuestros sueños de justicia no los detiene ningún muro.’ This translates to ‘Migrating toward liberty’ and ‘Our dreams of justice are not detained by any wall.’ They have inspiration and hope, which is inspiring and a role model for many, including me.”

Professor Andolina was struck by the conversations he had with migrants that left him humbled and inspired.

“I cannot help but think that I would crack under the duress of what migrants such as Romeo, Alvin and Erica went through before they arrived at KBI and in the face of the uncertainty they will continue to deal with in the future,” Andolina says. “Their capacity to carry on, to continue learning and to find moments of joy is truly remarkable and motivates me to do more in the present and future to support migrants."

One interactive experience that stood out for McArthur-Jimenez was a Visa simulation, run by a volunteer at KBI. Each participant was handed a card that held the story of different migrants trying to enter the U.S. To begin, everyone stood at one side of the room representing the migrants’ country of origin’s border, with the other side of the room representing the U.S. border.

The volunteer asked questions that decided how many steps each participant took, at times asking them to plead their case for asylum and responding based on current policies. When the experience ended, participants representing migrants with wealth, education and English fluency had made it to the other side of the room, while others fleeing violence and persecution were denied asylum.

To gain a holistic perspective, the participants had conversations with Border Patrol in the area. They learned that individuals involved with the cartels and migrants who have entered the U.S. without inspection by Border Patrol are both often considered criminals, even though being in the country without authorization is most often a civil offense. They heard stories of officers killed by cartel members and the assertion that family separations at the border are justified by the illegality of the migrants.

“That was very difficult to hear, especially hearing it come from a Mexican native,” McArthur-Jimenez says. “I mourn for the families of officers who lost their lives because they were protecting the U.S. just as much as I mourn for the migrant families who lost their lives crossing the border, are separated or detained and those denied asylum. They all needed protection and were failed.”

The participants also visited the Sierra Club Borderlands Campaign in Tucson, where volunteers discussed the environmental impact of the border wall, including blockage of wildlife migration corridors, such as jaguars attempting and failing to squeeze through the slats.

“This reinforced an idea I heard throughout our trip, that migration is a natural phenomenon,” Fontana says.

As part of the program, every participant in the immersion is asked to come up with an individual and a collective Responsible Action Plan.

On the individual level, a responsible action plan could be as simple as telling the migrants’ stories and engaging in everyday discussions with people who hold different perspectives on migration. More organized action could include volunteering at St. James Immigrant Assistance on First Hill, observing immigration court in downtown Seattle or accompanying migrants to their check-ins with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Tukwila.

Collectively, action could include initiating a congressional letter writing campaign, organizing an exhibit on campus or joining La Resistencia’s Solidarity Days at the Tacoma Detention Center.

“A fundamental aspect of Ignatian pedagogy is that we learn best when the subjects connect to the world around us,” Hudgins says. “My hope is to accompany immersion participants as they explore realistic paths toward migration with dignity in an era fraught with injustice.”