On March 14, Jesuit High School Sacramento welcomed a group from the Kino Border Initiative (KBI), a program devoted to helping migrants in Nogales, Mexico. KBI provides helpful resources such as food and shelter to those being deported or seeking asylum in the United States. Additionally, they work towards spreading awareness throughout the country of what life at the border is really like.

A presentation by Sister Tracey Horan, S.P., the associate director of education and advocacy, and a live testimony from asylum seeker Mr. Cristhian Torres allowed students to get a clearer glimpse into the experiences of the migration process.

Sister Tracey seeks to give people who are less informed about immigration a more detailed and better understanding of what it’s like to work and live at the border. 

“Our hope is to help people in places further from the border see personal connections with what is happening there and get a perspective, beyond what they might read in the headlines, from those of us who live in a border community and witness these realities on a daily basis,” Sister Tracey said.

A part of this mission is fully understanding how hard it is for people to migrate. Mr. Torres is sorrowful about the struggles of immigration, and the sacrifices that have to be made in order to pursue it. 

“The difficult thing about leaving my country is no longer seeing the people you love, like your mother and father, and knowing that every mile we advance when migrating to the border is a path with a lot of pain that is getting stronger,” Mr. Torres said.

The Director of Service and Justice Ms. Sarah Brabec was happy that the Jesuit community experienced Mr. Torres’ story authentically and were fully engaged in his journey seeking asylum. 

“The classroom visits I sat in on were excellent – dynamic and engaging,” Ms. Brabec said. “I valued that all students had a chance to hear from Cristhian during the assembly. To be able to hear first-hand from someone who has been navigating the immigration system for years and can share out of that lived experience is not something we get to do every day.”

Sister Tracey is grateful for her role in educating people about immigration and being able to share the voices of people like Mr. Torres who have experienced it firsthand. 

“I feel blessed that so many people entrust me with their sacred stories,” Sister Tracey said. “I am energized by students and parishioners across the country who want to bring the vision of migration with dignity to life. It is a blessing to be a part of that.”

The stories KBI shares display the important values of the Jesuit order, and Ms. Brabec hopes that students may better appreciate the importance of charity by witnessing KBI’s compassion. 

“The Jesuits have discerned [a priority of] accompanying youth in the creation of a hope-filled-future and walking with those who are marginalized,” Ms. Brabec said. “Kino’s work helps put all of us in touch with the lived experience of people seeking safety and those who accompany them. It is our desire that in exposing students to the work of Kino, we can work towards both of these Apostolic Priorities.”

Mr. Torres encourages everyone to look deeper into the suffering of migrants and feel sympathy for the sacrifices they make in hopes of a better life. 

“We must have more empathy with all migrants,” Mr. Torres said. “Leaving your home and your country is very difficult to live through, but the situations that are experienced daily are real. It would be necessary to live [in] this type of situation to be able to understand the pain and suffering of each of the migrants, which I would not wish on anyone in the entire world.”