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| U.S.-Mexico Border Nogales, Arizona |
This past week I flew down to Tucson, AZ to learn about issues of the US-Mexico border with a couple of my classmates, a recent graduate from the Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing, a Jesuit Priest, and the Director of Loyola's Center for the Human Rights of Children. While there we also joined up with students from Loyola's School of Education and Social Work. I went on this trip through our school's ISI (Ignatian Service Immersion) program. We were sponsored for the week by Borderlinks, a phenomenal organization based in Tucson that educates groups about the border, immigration policies, and social justice.
My deep interest in immigration and border issues stems from my previous work with migrant Latino farmworkers in upstate NY during college. I worked closely with the farmworker community teaching English, conducting needs assessment interviews, and reaching a new level of understanding and respect for this population. The biggest reason why migrants leave their home countries is for better economic opportunity. Violence, civil wars, and reuniting with family are other major factors that influence the decision of many to leave. This ISI trip allowed me to continue my previous engagement with this community and to deepen my understanding of the migrant experience.
Desert Walk
For me, the most impactful aspect of our programming was the desert walk in Arizona. Our guide had previously walked through the desert a number of times, so he was quite familiar with the migrant trail we followed. We walked for about 4 miles before we sat for a while to eat lunch and reflect. After that, we turned and continued back to the van.
On our way back I couldn't bring myself to join the conversations that turned quickly from our reflections on border issues to school/work concerns back in Chicago. I couldn't stop thinking about the terror of walking through the desert at night. (On their journeys migrants typically rest during the day and walk at night). There was such a stark contrast between our mild 3-4 hour (~8 mile) walk in pleasant weather (70 degrees!) and the ghastly weeks-long hike that migrants endure in boiling hot or freezing cold night temperatures in the pitch black darkness of the mountains. Can you imagine? Margaret Regan, the author of "The Death of Josseline", shares the fear of one Mexican migrant, "The noises of the desert night – the snapping of tree branches, the calling of birds, the lowing of wandering cows – seemed louder than the car horns and street music back home in Mexico City. And scarier.”
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| If you look closely you can see the lion's print in the center of the photo |
Migrant Deaths
It was horrifying to learn from the Borderlinks experts, our speakers, and in Margaret Regan's book the ways in which many migrants died over the past 20+ years. (The first wall was constructed in the mid-90s). Here are a few examples:
- In May 2001, 14 migrants died in Yuma County, Arizona: “The travelers, all Mexicans walking in one group, died in agony, victims of extreme heat and coyote error, their bodies strewn across the infamous desert pass…”(158). (The "coyote" is the individual who guides groups of migrants through the desert).
- “…In May 2003, nineteen border crossers suffocated inside a locked tractor-trailer near Houston" (158).
- "... MartÃn Olguin-Lozoya, a strapping six-foot-two native of Nogales, Sonora, died just minutes into his American journey....[He] lasted just a few miles on the Union Pacific Railroad..... he fell between two train cars and was crushed to death" (223).
I cried while reading this book. I even had to put it down a few times because the details were so harrowing. I don't mean to simply list out these deaths. I want to put a human face to these tragedies that have been occurring for years just south of our borders. Still, despite my previous work with immigrants who made these trips themselves, I'm embarrassed to admit I had no idea the extent of the adversities that millions were suffering on their journeys to the U.S. from Latin America.
Needless to say, our 3-4 hour experience in the desert did not compare at all to the deathly hardships that migrants suffer on their way north. Regardless, I deeply appreciate this opportunity to get a glimpse into the migrant journey.
Moving Forward
For the remainder of the week we heard from the author Margaret Regan, Professors from the University of Arizona, humanitarian activists, environmentalists, healthcare professionals that serve migrants in the area, a former Public Defender, and more. Admittedly, this educational experience was quite one-sided, as we learned from experts who are staunchly anti-border. That being said, though I am also anti-border and a strong advocate for immigration reform, I'm open to engaging with others who feel differently.
This border experience blew me away. Regardless of our profession, background, and beliefs, we should always strive to understand the experiences of migrants, raise awareness about border issues, and fight to address the root causes of this crisis any way we can. The wall is merely a band-aid, not the healing treatment for this malady.
"You show me a fifty-foot wall and I’ll show you a
fifty-one-foot ladder.”
-Janet Napolitano, Former Governor of Arizona and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
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| Gates Pass Tucson, Arizona |
