On Monday, Nov. 25, Gabriela Gordillo-Banuelos and Jenavi Hernandez led a group of 10 Cubs to Ambos Nogales for the annual Kino Border Initiative Immersion Trip. Attendees lived in a Jesuit volunteer house in Nogales, Arizona, and crossed the U.S.-Mexico border by foot to Nogales, Mexico, to get educated about the immigration process, volunteer at the Kino shelter, and learn about the town of Ambos Nogales.
The group’s first stop in Nogales, Arizona, was at a Kino office, where they were introduced to the Kino Border Initiative and its mission. Iñigo, a Kino representative, explained the origins of Kino and gave the group three goals for the trip: to humanize, accompany and complicate.
Most poignant were the conversations held with migrants at the shelter. People from all over North, Central and South America come to the Kino shelter for anything, from a single meal to crucial medical attention, and after serving breakfast, Cubs were lucky enough to have the opportunity to converse with migrants about their lives and what circumstances led them to Kino.
On day three of the immersion, students were given a tour of Nogales, Sonora, and saw the U.S. Southern border wall up close. As Henry Hall ‘26 noted, “It’s hard not to feel intimidated when looking up at the wall. It has giant rusted metal posts that look like prison cell bars. If you choose to jump, you’re going to end up crossing the most dangerous desert in the U.S. with broken bones.”
The group also made a stop at the site where sixteen-year-old Nogales resident José Antonio was fired at sixteen times by a U.S. border patrol agent merely for throwing rocks at the border wall. The agent was later twice acquitted of all charges.
At the Kino Shelter, the Cubs participated in an immigration simulation where they were assigned roles and attempted to secure an appointment for a visa, get the visa itself and finally cross the border. Students with affluent roles, such as that of a business owner or professional athlete, faced no trouble getting into the country, but those with roles escaping poverty or violence had to resort to coyotes or scam lawyers to attempt to cross. The eye-opening experience revealed an unfortunate truth about the U.S. immigration process: those who need visas the most are the least likely to get them.
On Thanksgiving, their final night at Kino, the Cubs met again with Iñigo to discuss three new goals to build on their original objectives and lead their post-immersion activism: to share, accompany and defend. The attendees keep these in mind as they join forces with Loyola’s own Center for Service and Justice, Kino Club and Arrupe Leadership on campus to raise awareness and support for those at the border and make change in the migrant hub that is Los Angeles.
