What Does it Mean to Stand up for Your Neighbor?

What Does it Mean to Stand up for Your Neighbor?

A Day in El Paso

By: Ali Moran and Rya Gibbons

Today, February 19th 2025, we learned about the global effects of migration and got a U.S immigration overview. We also met up with Cathedral High School students where we set goals for the day and got to know each other a bit more. A common goal amongst us all was growing our knowledge on the basics of immigration, the effects that our political state has on it, and getting a better idea of what is truly going on through first hand accounts. 

In the morning we started by really getting to know some Cathedral students and faculty members through ice breakers and goal setting. They then gave us a tour of their school; from this we were able to get a sense of their community and recognize our shared experiences which then led us to gain deeper connections with one another, despite living in such different places. The next place we went to was the Sacred Heart Cathedral where we listened to Father Michael Gallagher talk about international migration. One big takeaway from this talk was the vital need for migrants for our economies. El Paso is one of the largest ports of entry in the U.S., with around 55,000 people entering the U.S. daily, a statistic from 2021. A large number of these people are going in and out of the U.S. daily for their jobs and school. A common misconception is that migrants are taking jobs away from Americans, when in fact they are supporting people by fulfilling important roles that locals are less interested in. They also spend money during their time in the U.S. which further supports the economy. Father Gallagher continued by talking about refugees around the world. We learned that in order to have refugee status you must be persecuted based on one or more of these five topics: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a particular social group, while gaining refugee status does give you more rights to enter other countries and seek asylum, many people choose to stay in their home country. A big reason for this is family ties, having a community is a vital part of life and it can be extremely difficult to leave. Refugee camps are also not a long term solution and bring a whole host of their own problems. Father Gallagher depicted the people living in them as “Under fed, under educated, and unemployed”. These were harsh realities that were difficult to hear, but vital in understanding how migration affects people worldwide and how broken systems continue to keep these people in despair.

After lunch, we got to learn from Deirdre Griffin, an attorney doing work in the El Paso area, who shared with us information about U.S. immigration and the different policies surrounding immigration. She highlighted the fact that this complex reality is not a new problem and is a broken system. The current system instills fear and a lack of security for immigrants. Something from her talk that really stuck with us was her story of a family she is currently helping. She shared the violence that they experienced in Venezuela that forced them to flee and make their way to the U.S. and Mexico border. They are seeking asylum due to the fact that they were threatened by members of the Venezuelan government after speaking up against it. She also shared an image that stuck with us, which was that as she helps people they show her the scars on their backs from being beaten and facing extreme violence. This is when she challenged us to think about what it means to stand up for your neighbor. She said, “now is the time” to help others by showing hospitality, determination and letting go of our privilege in order to help others. We got to hear about how immigration policy has changed recently and the effects that are being seen such as the inability for someone to request asylum in the U.S. and the ability for ICE to go into vulnerable spaces. Currently in the United States, people who have been in the U.S. for less than two years can be deported no matter what state they are in. This is a disturbing reality that we got to see with our own eyes yesterday. Walking on a street in El Paso we saw a deportation bus with two guards standing at either side of the front of it with large automatic rifles. This brought chills and an eerie feeling as it put an image to the news we have heard about mass deportation brought by the Trump administration. Another image that stuck in our minds was when Deirdre used an analogy that impacted our views of immigration by comparing immigration to monarch butterflies. A normal part of a monarch's life is migration which allows for generations of a monarch family to be in a different area. These monarchs also represent hope which immigrants have as they have hope for safety and opportunity in the United States. 

We then used our break time to go explore parts of El Paso just the two of us. We walked through the neighborhood close to the Encuentro Project where we are staying. We got to see the different architecture, influenced by the different cultures that have come together in El Paso. It was also interesting being able to look out and see one big city, split by a wall. It was powerful to see the city from the distance as we were able to see it as it once was, which was a united community. It still remains one big community but divided by a wall. Another highlight from this walk was getting to know the friendly neighborhood cats!

In conclusion, this was a wonderful first full day to further our understanding of immigration and migration as well as build our empathy for the people going through the immigration process. By learning from immigration attorneys we are able to use that knowledge throughout our trip by looking at other peoples experiences through a more knowledgeable and kind lense. We are all called to think about what it means to stand up for your neighbor no matter where you are located. We are called to have empathy for others and provide hospitality for those who need to be welcomed. By welcoming them, we are able to create a community for these people who have had to leave behind their community and all they have known. As Christians, we are especially called to stand up for these people and provide them with hospitality. We must be sensitized and realize our duty to others because all people are humans and deserve to have security and basic human rights. A main takeaway from today is that we must see people’s humanity and not view someone as only one fact, stereotype, or statistic. The people here are humans just like us with shared interests and have the same hopes for their future. We all have so many similarities yet people view immigrants or people affected by these policies as people to pity and only see that they are immigrants. Some may view themselves as better but in reality we all are humans with many things in common. Despite not having the same experiences with the border, we still can build connections and spread awareness of their realities and experiences.