Every individual that lives in the United States has been impacted or engaged in immigration in one way or another. Whether through forced migration or through chosen migration, the transition and journey is often full of uncertainty, fear, and danger.
What does that mean for those of us who have come through to the other side of that experience?
What role do we have in creating more humanity and safety at different points along that path?
What responsibility do we have to care for those currently navigating that journey?
How do we provide them with access to knowledge and resources that will guide them to a successful transition?
For our most recent trip, the JGF Board and select staff went on immersive learning experience to the Arizona/Mexico Border. The trip was curated by our grantee partner, the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights and they did a wonderful job of replicating at a very high-level, the experience of the journey someone would make when they arrive at the border to seek asylum in the US.
We started out by crossing the border into Mexico to meet with an organization named Kino Border Initiative (KBI)- they provide essential services to families as they arrive on the Mexico side such as showers, a hot meal, and a fresh set of clothes. These families have already been through a treacherous and traumatic journey over thousands of miles, mostly by foot. KBI offers support in navigating the asylum request process and helps them prepare to cross the border into the US and navigate the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) process. Our group did some volunteering while there and served lunch to the families that were temporarily residing at the shelter.
We also visited several detention centers, which is where folks end up to either wait for their asylum hearings or wait to be deported back to their home countries.
Finally, we visited the International Rescue Committee Welcome Center (IRC), which is the first stop for folks who have been granted asylum and released from CBP custody. IRC provides them with resources to navigate their first steps to living freely in the United States, such as healthcare screenings, filling medications that have been taken from them, and providing them with clothes and guidance for making travel arrangements as they embark on their first days of freedom in the United States.
We need to do better. For those of us that are here now and the ones that are on the way.
This is an except from an article originally published on juliangrace.org. To read the full article, click https://juliangrace.org/insights-from-our-boards-immersive-learning-trip/
Commentaires