Trip to border leaves lasting impact

NICOLE OSUCH MANAGING EDITOR NAO722@CABRINI EDU

Nine Cabrini faculty, staff and graduates returned from a trip to the Texas-Mexico border with a clearer picture of the human face of immigration.

Dr. Kathy McKinley, a sociology professor, said she knew 13 million people are here in the United States illegally and, before the trip, that was just a statistic that she taught her students in a theoretical way but now she has witnessed the human face and emotional dimension of the issue.

The nine Cabrini representatives traveled to El Paso, Texas and its sister city across the Rio Grande River, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico to study all sides of the immigration issue from June 19 to June 23.

The experience destroyed misconceptions that many Americans have about immigrants. The faculty and staff did not find terrorists and criminals but rather that 90 percent of the people struggling to cross the border illegally are decent human beings running from a corrupt economic system. They are willing to work hard to support their families. They are not coming here for a handout but rather a better life.

Through the experience the faculty and staff met with people who had many different ties to the issue including a man who had just crossed over the border to seek work.

“We met someone from Guatemala who has tried seven times

Fence between Mexico and Texas. About 80 miles of the border is fenced. Current proposals are for 700 more miles. Rep. Duncan Hunter wants to go all out and build 2,100 miles of fencing

This article will explain the different types of immigration, outline some of the causes of the controversy and present the Catholic Church’s standpoint on the issue because it is one of the leading proponents of reform.

When a U.S. citizen sponsors his or her foreignborn spouse, parent, child or sibling, it is called family-sponsored immigration. Distant family members such as aunts, uncles and cousins are not permitted to enter the United States under this type of immigration.

For jobs for which there is a lack of U.S. workers, an employer can hire an individual to fill the empty positions. This situation is often referred to as employment-based immigration.

When diversity visa lotteries in other countries occur, a person may be able to win one of the possible numbers of immigrant visas, granting them a ticket to the United States.

Certain titles are given to different classes of people who come to this country. Each title allows us to understand their place in the spectrum of people from abroad who come here.