Social Concerns Seminar: México-U.S. Border Immersion

(2 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Spanning the fall and spring semester, this experiential-learning, Catholicism-Across-the-Disciplines-designation seminar about immigration issues-especially those related to the Mexico-U.S. border-has three distinct parts. In the fall (two credits), we will meet in class to read and discuss social scientific research about such topics as why migrants leave their home countries, what they encounter and experience when attempting to cross the border, the responses of U.S.-based citizen groups to unauthorized border crossings, and the effectiveness of current U.S. enforcement policies. We also evaluate normatively these responses and policies, particularly from a Catholic perspective (but also other faith, non-religious perspectives). In early January, we will travel to the Southern Arizona borderlands for our weeklong immersion trip. During this trip, we will, among other things, observe Operation Streamline legal proceedings, attend a humanitarian aid training, tour a Border Patrol facility, visit the border wall and learn about its environmental impact, hear from Catholic and other faith leaders about their social justice work along the border, visit Arivaca and Nogales to experience everyday life in a border community, and participate in a Samaritans' humanitarian desert trip. After our trip, we will again meet in class for the spring semester (two credits) to process, reflect on, and expand our immersion experience, including discussing what a uniquely Catholic border policy would look like, strategies to raise awareness about what is going in Southern Arizona, and migration issues and responses to them in other parts of the world.