You spent your spring break in and around Nogales, Arizona. What did you all do there?
Sarah: The trip was a busy week of learning, reflection, and growing relationships. We met with local artists, learned about the Kino Border Initiative, and spoke with migrants about their journeys. We also engaged with immigration as a systemic reality, observing deportation proceedings in court, visiting the Pima County Medical Examiner's Office, and learning about the intersection of U.S. immigration policy and cartel violence.
What motivated you to spend your spring break on a service immersion trip to the U.S.-Mexico border?
Sarah: I worked with immigrant communities in various capacities before coming to the CSTM, and this work was the primary reason I was interested in going on the trip. I was curious how the context in Nogales would be different or similar to my past experiences. I was eager to learn about both the specificities of the situation in Nogales and its relevance to the broader reality of immigration and the border.
I am drawn to immigration because of my faith, my commitment to the dignity of those who migrate, and because I am fascinated by the nuts and bolts of immigration policy. In order to even begin to understand this story, we need to engage with past and present U.S. policy, foreign and domestic affairs, the economy, climate change, the development of the U.S. asylum system, immigration law, and more. This understanding matters, and the story is complex. At the same time, hearing from people who have experienced the pain and suffering caused by our immigration system makes things simple for me – people have the right to migrate, they have the right to migrate with dignity, and each and every person is made in the image and likeness of God. Immigration policy which ignores and denies this right is immoral. It is my faith and engaging with the stories of individual people which helps me digest this information and make normative claims about immigration.
Isabella: One of the people who influenced my decision to go on the Nogales immersion trip was Kara O'Sullivan, Assistant Director of Continuing Education at the CSTM. I've always looked up to the way she integrates theology and social justice in such a grounded, real, and authentic way. It made me see her as a role model from the moment I started my studies at the CSTM. Kara encouraged me to sign up for the immersion trip when I was on the fence, and though she wasn't physically on the trip, she was incredibly present throughout the experience. From Boston, she checked in and gave me the space to freely share what I was seeing, feeling, and coping with. I never once felt like I had to hold back or filter anything from her. The kind of support she gave me reminded me how sacred it is to have people in the world who accompany others emotionally and spiritually, even if it's from a distance.
What role did the CSTM community play in your ability to learn from, lean into, and be formed by the immersion experience?
Isabella: While in Nogales, I kept thinking back to the ways we talk about theology not just as something we study but as something we live. Kara's continuous support and presence helped me realize that this kind of formation doesn't only happen in the classroom, but that it happens through relationship building, reflection, and simply showing up for one another. I left the trip feeling deeply challenged but also more convicted and sure of my own sense of purpose as a future minister. I remember asking myself on the trip, "If I don't do the work, who will"? I think that question will continue to linger in my life moving forward, and it's reshaping how I approach my studies, my faith, and the kind of change I hope to be part of in the world.
Sarah: Traveling with CSTM students, faculty, and staff who are committed to looking at the realities of immigration with a faith based lens was invaluable. I am especially grateful to have traveled with my mentor, Neto Valiente, who teaches liberation theology at the CSTM. Neto has helped me develop a spirituality of liberation and introduced me to theologians who have helped me make sense of the world and suffering. One night on the trip, we heard the powerful stories of members of Battalion Search and Rescue, who serach for migrant remains in the desert. Neto shared how hearing from Battalion and many others reminded him that we are never alone in the fight for justice and that our "family" spreads far and wide. I was grateful to meet other members of the family along with the people who have become my family in Boston – the CSTM!
Is there a moment from the immersion that has stuck with you?
Isabella: I can't stop thinking about hearing stories from Jim, Abbey, Eric, and James, members of a volunteer search-and-rescue group that spoke with us about their experiences. These volunteers go out into the desert to look for people who are missing, often migrants who never made it to their destination. Listening to them share how they walk for miles under the scorching sun, looking for signs of life or remains, was extremely emotional. These are ordinary people doing sacred work, driven by compassion and the refusal to let anyone's humanity be forgotten. What struck me the most was how quiet and heavy the room felt as they spoke. It was literally impossible to ignore the heartbreak in their stories and the reality that so many lives are lost in silence, without names or recognition.
Since being back in Boston, I’m still thinking about their courage and commitment and how their work is a form of resistance against dehumanization, against indifference, and against systems that don’t seem to care who lives or dies. Their presence reminded me that love can look like walking through the desert with a water bottle and a prayer. It also reminded me that theology doesn’t always wear a collar; it sometimes wears hiking boots and a sunhat. This experience strengthened the responsibility I feel to carry the stories of the people I met and to never let the pain I witnessed become something I grow numb to. I believe that theology lives in the people we meet, the stories we carry, and the questions that we refuse to let go of. With the guidance of people like Kara and the witness of leaders like the Battalion Search and Rescue volunteers, I feel more grounded in the kind of minister I hope to become: one who listens deeply and chooses love and justice, even when it might be uncomfortable.
Do you have any recommendations for people interested in learning more about immigration?
Sarah: If you'd like to learn more, I highly recommend reading Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here, by Johnathan Blitzer, for a comprehensive and readable overview of the U.S. immigration system.