US-Mexico Border
Immigration at the US-Mexico Border
The debate over immigration in the United States has many fronts: economic, political, effects on families. Location has a lot to do with what that debate looks like. The issues, motivations, and questions can be vastly different in Adams County in rural Pennsylvania, which has a sizable migrant population, and in the Southwestern United States, which shares almost 2000 miles of border with Mexico, the most frequently crossed international border in the world.
This trip will focus on immigration and the realities of life on the border. Intending to dismantle the skewed perspectives about immigration presented by the media, participants will meet with border patrol, immigrants living in El Paso, people living in colonias on both sides of the border, human rights workers, and other leaders in immigration reform.
More than 3 million people live in the El Paso-Juarez-Las Cruces area, also called Paso del Norte. The group will be spending time in El Paso, TX, Las Cruces, NM, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
Sample Itinerary
| Day | Sample Activities |
|---|---|
| Day 1: Travel to El Paso; Drive to Las Cruces, NM | Welcome and Orientation from hosts |
| Day 2: El Paso; Chamizal National Memorial | Learn to cook Gorditas Dinner with members of Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey |
| Day 3: Presentation: Homelessness and Poverty | Service project at Jardin de los Ninos (after school program) |
| Day 4: Life at the fence; Presentation by Border Patrol | Conversations with friends at the fence (Life in a Mexican colonia) Dinner with doctor who serves most marginalized in colonias of Ciudad Juarez |
| Day 5: Visit La Casa, Inc | Role Play: In Her Shoes Visit White Sands National Monument |
| Day 6: El Paso; Visit Border Network for Human Rights | Presentation by Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project |
| Day 7: Presentation: Understanding Colonias | La Semilla Food Center Closing reflection |
| Day 8: Las Cruces Farmer's Market | Travel home to Gettysburg |
Contact Us
Email cps@gettysburg.edu or call 717-337-6490.