Living on the Edge

Reflection from the Border

by Natalie Hernández

     As a resident of Tucson, Arizona for the six years before I came to Stanford, I was hardly ever directly exposed to the immigration issues in the state.  I lived in a part of town half an hour away from where the immigrant population was concentrated.  It was not until this spring break that I began to truly understand the hardships that drive people to migrate and also those obstacles that prevent them from making their lives better.  It was a very numbing experience: I wasn’t really sure what my emotions were and how to deal with them.

     One strong emotion that I felt during this experience was confusion.  I find the topic of migration fairly simple and understandable, but am shocked when others do not acknowledge the rights that migrants possess and treat them all as though they are criminals.

     For example, I always considered border patrol agents as malicious people.  Surprisingly, most of the agents that we met seemed like very kind people.  They were polite and funny, until they started talking about their jobs.  They spoke as though their job only consisted of stopping criminals, although the majority of migrants are just coming for work or to be reunited with their loved ones.  My impression was that since these agents had well-paying jobs, perhaps many have found themselves having to justify their actions on the job by ignoring the humanity of the migrants in order to have mental peace.

     While their behavior as well as the behavior of anyone who ignores this issue may be psychologically justified, to me it doesn’t seem to be morally justified.  By allowing their perspective and mental state to be changed and ignore human dignity and rights, people are denying Jesus’ teachings of acceptance and care of the stranger.  The Bible is filled with immigration stories, yet people who may even identify as Christians disregard their call to treat everyone as brothers and sisters in Christ and choose to see them as the “other” for the comfort of ignorance.

     Due to the proximity of my home to the border, I feel like I have the opportunity to offer direct aid whenever I am at home.  Although most of the work humanitarian organizations do at the border does not solve the root causes of the problem, I know that anything I can contribute will be much appreciated.  Another way I can contribute here at Stanford is through raising awareness of the issue.  Many people do not purposefully ignore the topic so we have to help them become aware.  By letting more people know about the pain of immigrants, and our call to serve them, we may be able to act as our faith dictates and do the work of God, loving our neighbor as ourselves.

ASB Trip Arizona- A Call to Action

by Angel Jiménez

     Spending Holy Week in Arizona this Spring Break could not have been more transformative and impactful. Being there to learn about immigration issues from people that witness it first-hand was eye opening. I heard of the immigration struggles before, but I was, for the most part, oblivious to the actual situation.

     One of these transformative moments was the day spent in Douglas, Arizona. One could see the impact the new, more stringent immigration laws have had on this border city. A once lively city was now very barren. Although we were only in Douglas for one day, there were many moments that called to me.

     It was there that we met Frontera de Cristo, a religious organization dedicated to helping immigrants in need.  In a shelter they run on the Mexican side of the border, one of the things they did was wash the feet of migrants, feet that had travelled hundreds of miles through harsh conditions. Being Catholic, this spoke to me deeply as this was the Bible coming to life since later that week we experienced the Gospel for Holy Thursday of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. It was calling me to live the Bible out, to see Jesus in everybody I meet.

     Another transformative moment in Douglas was the vigil in remembrance of the immigrants that lost their lives crossing the desert. Seeing the wooden crosses with the names of people who died that were fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, husbands, wives, daughters and sons, made everything real.  I may not have known them personally, but when I was calling out their names aloud I felt pain for the family of the deceased. People do not deserve and end like that.

     Another moment in Douglas was the talk we had with Tommy Basset, one of the co-founders of Café Justo, a cooperative selling fair-trade coffee owned by a cooperative of Mexican families. This helped address one of the root causes that keeps people from making the treacherous journey. His talk inspired us to act and become aware that every purchase we make will influence other people’s lives.

     This trip was packed with so much information it felt we were there for more than a week. Not only that, I do not think that any of us came out of the trip the same way we entered it. We were all transformed or moved in one way or another.  And now, we are called to act, to spread the word and not stay quiet. The trip was very dense and draining emotionally, but it also gave me a new desire, a calling from God to help the cause. Even though I cannot be there personally at the moment, I am able to work from here and make some change.