Immigration Immersion Journey 2025

Humane Borders, an organization dedicated to placing jugs of water out in the desert, speaks to our group about their work. 

In a powerful journey of witness and learning, six pilgrims from the Susquehanna and Upper New York Conferences of the United Methodist Church traveled to Tucson, Arizona, for an immigration immersion seminar designed to deepen understanding of the realities faced by migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Over the course of five days, the group engaged with humanitarian organizations, faith leaders, community leaders and individuals directly involved in the immigration system. What they encountered was not just a political issue—it was a profound humanitarian crisis that calls for moral leadership and moral courage, particularly from the Church of Jesus Christ…and even more specifically, United Methodists in Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania as well as Upper New York.  

The immersion seminar, originally coordinated through Michelle Schwartzman, the Susquehanna Conference’s former VIM director, offered participants a firsthand look at the complex layers of migration. From visiting desert aid stations with Humane Borders to touring migrant shelters such as Casa Misericordia in Nogales, Mexico and the Pima County Medical Examiner’s office, the group listened to stories of hardship, hope, and survival. They met with advocacy organizations like Border Community Alliance, Salvavision and Arizona Justice for our Neighbors, whose work on the ground sheds light on the perilous journey migrants face and the legal and systemic obstacles they endure upon arrival.

Casa de la Misericordia in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico is an organization that houses migrants as they await their asylum hearing, something very much under threat as a result of recent US immigration policy.  

One member of the group recounted a sobering visit to a courtroom where migrants—some fleeing violence and persecution—were processed in rapid succession, possibly without adequate legal representation and certainly, under current U.S. policy, without a chance to apply for asylum.   “It felt like a conveyor belt of despair,” they said. “These are human beings, not case numbers. The system treats them as disposable.”

Throughout the immersion journey, the participants were struck by the many injustices migrants face: dangerous border crossings in deadly desert conditions, family separations, prolonged detention, and the criminalization of those seeking a better life. Volunteers shared stories of finding water jugs slashed or shot in the desert—lifesaving supplies intentionally destroyed. Advocates spoke of migrants deported into unfamiliar and unsafe cities, often without resources or contacts.

Rev. Jason Schwartzman, a trip participant, commented “Immigration is not just a matter of national policy— or political preference.  It is a moral issue that demands compassion, justice, and urgent action.” The group emphasized that the Church cannot remain silent in the face of such suffering.

“The Gospel calls us to welcome the stranger, to protect the vulnerable, and to stand with the oppressed,” Schwartzman continued. “If we ignore this, we are ignoring Jesus Himself.”

The group hopes to be a voice of advocacy, education and truth within their own communities, urging churches to move beyond charity to justice—to not only provide aid, but to speak out against the systems that cause suffering. They hope their journey will inspire others in the Church and beyond to recognize immigration not as a political problem to be solved, but as a humanitarian crisis that demands our empathy, our advocacy, and our faith in action.

VIM Immigration Immersion Journey

Painting of a Humane Borders water station by Janet Gyekis, VIM Immigration Immersion Journey participant.

Michelle Schwartzman, SUSUMC VIM Coordinator

The impact of a mission journey is diverse. Impact can be providing a ramp for a new wheelchair user. It can be listening to someone who lost their home in a flood. It can be the feeling we get when we are able to help someone. It can be learning about immigration. It can be providing dental work. It is experiential. 

Missio Dei, “the mission of God”, is at the center of our theology. We are called to be a community, called to be one. It’s not a stagnant, one-time event but it is moving. We continue to relate, continue to learn, and continue to live the message with the community. This community and this desire to give and love one another is where work camps and mission trips often start. It’s where UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers in Mission) was born. 

In UMVIM we now say “Mission Journey” instead of “Mission Trip” because it’s not just about the week-long trip or project, it’s part of the Missio Dei, it’s moving and a continual part of our life, not a one-time event.

Western culture is goal-oriented, stereotypically. That makes it hard for us as individuals, for our churches, for our society to not have a specific task or project to complete. When I began promoting the VIM Immigration Immersion Journey I was asked repeatedly, but “what will you DO while you’re there?” The participants of the journey even expressed that churches asked the same or the participants themselves were asking the same. The answer was that this was an educational journey. We would travel to Arizona and Mexico and meet with different organizations to learn about their experience and work with immigration. We would learn to be advocates for immigrants and put that into practice when we got back.

Six other women joined me for the Journey in September. Since we’ve been back, they each have continued this journey; speaking at their churches, to local civic organizations, to boards and writing articles. They’ve raised funds and signed petitions. I hope that you’ve read our Director of Communications’ article in the November 2023 LINK issue. It gives an account of the different organizations we visited and the dire need for more advocates. Please take a few minutes to read it if you haven’t. 

Consequently, the “DOing”, the task that is in question, comes after the actual trip to Arizona/Mexico and lasts a lifetime. Our “DOing” is what Jesus calls us to do. When Jesus talks about the Good Samaritan, at the end, he says that the neighbor was the one who showed mercy and that we should go and do the same.

The Mexico/USA border wall in Arizona and a child’s sweatshirt by the border wall.
What story does this garment hold?

Dotsy Baiza, VIM Journey participant writes in her church newsletter, “We also assisted 60 women with small children, who had been picked up and immediately sent back over the border. A shelter, La Casa de la Esperanza in Sasabe, Mexico is run by volunteers who give the immigrants food, water, and a shower before they must return to Mexico. This was so heart-wrenching, after all they had been through. The Inn of Southern Arizona, a shelter run by a UMC offers beds, food, water, and clothing. The Inn helps immigrants connect with their sponsor, provides transport to the airport, bus, etc. I met a young mother with a 2-year-old son. For 30 days, she walked to the Mexican border from Guatemala. With a small child. How intolerable her life must have been to even consider the journey.”

This is a complex issue but we must not lose sight of what is at the core: humanity. When we talk about “Issues”, we often label to the point of dehumanizing people. That cannot be what Jesus is asking us to do. Studying the Good Samaritan, we learn that the others that pass him by are following policy or practices that they are holding above the suffering of a human. In our journey, we can listen to the experiences of immigrants and to the experiences of those working with them. We can tell the story, and fight for mercy to be shown. To learn more about the organizations we met with you can see them in the November LINK or contact me. 

What we experienced (saw, smelled, tasted, felt, learned) in Arizona and Mexico was heavy. It was a lot to take in; one, just because we visited so many different organizations and two, for the gravity of it all. Returning home, it took some time to process it all. When we have experiences like this with Mission Journeys, it’s important to take time for this. It might be playing with your children, going on a hike, reading a fun book, laughing with friends, getting sucked into a TV series, or cuddling with your pets or all the above. The seven of us that went on this journey are spread throughout Pennsylvania and we talked about this through email after we got back. We also will meet on Zoom to catch up in February. We will talk about how our journey reflects us doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God (paraphrased Micah 6:8).

I’m looking to lead this journey again for our Conference in the future. If you’re interested, please reach out. Once plans are in place I will advertise.

Michelle Schwartzman
VIM Coordinator

vim@susumc.org
www.susmb.org/vim/
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Communications Ministry: Immigration Immersion Journey

Welcome to the House of Hope Community Center for Immigrant Care

By Liz Lennox, Director of Communications SUSUMC & WPAUMC

In mid September, a group of seven from the Susquehanna and Western PA Conferences traveled to Tuscon, Arizona for an educational mission journey to learn more about immigration and the organizations that provide support at the border. As a communicator, I joined the team to document every step of the way and share our experiences when we returned. Having done this sort of thing before, most notably in 2019 as part of a disaster response team in Puerto Rico, I thought I was prepared - I had a vision of what I would share and how I would share it. The reality was very different from what I initially expected and I was unprepared for what I would learn and see and experience. 

It’s been a full month since our return and I can confidently say that writing about this journey has been the most difficult assignment I’ve ever tackled. I’ve spent more time than I care to admit staring at a blank Word document, watching the cursor blink as I attempted to neatly package into my 750 word allotment everything that needs to be said about this emotionally taxing yet life-changing week. There are countless stories to tell and an endless amount of vital information that MUST be told. 

This project I’ve embarked on cannot be neatly packaged and should not be. The truth of what is happening at our southern border is not tidy or easy to digest. The truth is, the situation is complex and messy and heart-breaking. The narrative perpetuated by the media is full of disinformation and exaggerations, enhanced with dehumanizing language and rhetoric meant to scare and polarize. What we saw and what we experienced shattered all the preconceived notions we arrived with, and it is our duty and responsibility to tell our story and the story of those we encountered.

Immigration Immersion Journey participants (l-r) Sandra Matoushaya, Michelle Schwartzman, Liz Lennox, Dotsy Miles Baiza, Corinner Dyer, Lisa Mitchell, and Janet Gyekis at the Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona. 

This reflection will give you an overview of our week-long journey as an introduction to a more in-depth chronicle of what we experienced and how we felt. This will be done through a multi-part blog series which will include written testimony, photos, and videos. But for the time being, allow me to share a brief synopsis of our week in Tuscon, Arizona.

The first day of our journey began in St. Francis at the Foothills United Methodist Church. This church is well-known for its dedication to social justice and many of the members have dedicated themselves to caring for migrants. One notable member is Scott Morris, the individual who diligently planned our activities and experiences alongside our Volunteers In Mission coordinator, Michelle Schwartzman. Worship was uplifting and inspirational, and the call for justice was prevalent throughout the entire worship experience. We then spent a very hot afternoon at the Sonoran Desert Museum, which introduced us to the beautiful but unforgiving environment that many migrants travel through out of desperation and in search of a better future. 

The following days were spent visiting the various organizations working tirelessly to care for migrants through all stages of their journey. Our first stop was at The Inn, a shelter for migrants that began in the basement of a local United Methodist Church. Now its own 501C3, The Inn works with the county to provide rooms in a re-purposed hotel for migrants who have been processed by immigration and are ready to travel to be with their sponsors all over the United States. Generally they stay at this shelter for 24-48 hours and have a safe place to rest, eat, shower, and prepare for the last stages of their journey. We also visited the United Methodist Church that continues to support the organization with clothing and volunteers. 

A difficult truth that we confronted was the loss of human life because of a broken immigration system and decades of poor policies implemented by the US government. A representative from the Colibrí Center for Human Rights met with us to explain how immigration has been handled and why these policies have contributed to increasing numbers of migrant deaths in the desert. The main mission of this organization is to help identify through DNA testing the migrants who have been found deceased in order to restore their humanity and give their loved ones closure. We also joined a larger group to meet with the Pima County medical examiner who shared a more scientific, yet no less devastating presentation about the high numbers of migrants who are found dead and the circumstances that caused their deaths.

We crossed the border by foot into Nogales, Mexico and spent an entire day with guides from the Community Border Alliance who introduced us to the border town. We visited Casa de la Misericordia, a long-term shelter for asylum seekers that allows families to stay together and provides schooling for the children. The process to obtain asylum is extremely confusing and difficult to navigate, so migrants staying here are given support and guidance through the long and tedious process. 

Another day, we had the opportunity to meet with the director of Arizona Justice for our Neighbors, which is a United Methodist supported immigration ministry that provides free or low-cost legal services to people going through the immigration process. We also met with volunteers who visit detainees in Eloy Detention Center and build connections with those who are detained. We spent one evening with a presenter from the Sierra Club who shared the negative impact the recently built border wall has had on the environment.

Our last full day was the most memorable but also the most heartbreaking. On the way to see the border wall near Sasabe with Tuscon Samaritans, we had stopped to check on a water tank in the desert. Our guide, Gail, received a call asking for immediate assistance at a community center over the border. Casa de la Esperanza was preparing to receive over 100 migrants who had been deported and would be stopping at the center to receive food and water and clothing. When we arrived, our group did what we could to support those who ran the shelter by buying toilet paper, helping record names, and washing dishes.

We quickly realized that the majority of those deported were women and children. I will never forget the scenes from those hours we spent there. A young woman clutching her infant while she cried… another mother repeating, “Estoy tan cansada, estoy tan cansada,” which translates to “I am so tired”... members of the local cartel circling the streets, waiting to pick up and “help” all these vulnerable people. 

The emotional toll of this experience weighs heavy on my mind and my soul and while I can only speak for myself, I suspect my fellow travelers feel the same. Throughout the week, it became abundantly clear that our current immigration policies dehumanize and criminalize migrants while making it nearly impossible for those who are escaping violence and poverty and oppression to immigrate legally to the United States. It is our responsibility as followers of Jesus Christ to do what we can to advocate and care for those suffering at our border, rather than turn a blind eye. 

As I mentioned before, this article only scratches the surface of what we experienced and learned on our educational mission journey to Tuscon. In the coming weeks, I will delve more fully into the organizations we met with and share personal testimonies from the other participants, while examining the contributing factors to this crisis and dispelling some of the pervasive myths about migrants. Stay tuned.