THE BUFFETT PROJECT: CHILDREN OF THE BORDERLANDS |
2008 Media Fellowship Program Tuesday, Feb. 5 8:00 a.m. Gather in the Tempe Marriott Courtyard Lobby for escort to Arizona State University. Study sessions will be held in Coor 5526. 8:30 a.m. Welcome breakfast and introductions 9-10 a.m. The History of U.S. Immigration: 10:15-11:15 a.m. Immigration Law in the United States: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. – Immigration Politics 12:30-1:30 p.m. Lunch 1:45 to 2:45 p.m. "Illegal," "Undocumented" and Non-Citizens in the Military 3:15 – 4:45 p.m. Panel -- Balancing Law and Safety: Federal and Local Law Enforcement and Illegal Immigration 7 p.m. Dinner Wednesday, Feb. 6 8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. – What Future for North America? 10:15 – 11:15 a.m. Understanding the Economics of Immigration 11:30 – 12:30 p.m. Issues in Mexico Influencing Migration 12:30-1:30 p.m. – Lunch 1:45 – 3 p.m. Panel -- Citizenship and Lawful Residency 3:15 – 4:15 p.m. Mexican Views on the U.S. Immigration Debate 4:30 – 5:45 p.m. Community Panel -- Featuring several citizen activists on various sides of the immigration debate. 7 p.m. Dinner Thursday, Feb. 7 8:00 a.m. Depart Tempe for BorderLinks in Tucson, Ariz. 10:30 a.m. - noon Introductions & Travel Preparation at BorderLinks Noon - 1 p.m. Lunch 1 -4 p.m. Travel to Douglas, Ariz., and Cross Border 4:30 – 5:45 p.m. Community Panel -- Featuring several citizen activists on various sides of the immigration debate. Afternoon meeting with either Mark Adams or Ray Ybarra. Mark Adams works for Frontera de Cristo in Douglas, AZ and Agua Prieta, Sonora. Frontera is one of the border ministries of the Presbyterian Church incorporating ministers and volunteers from both sides of the border. They have several programs to help and empower the people, especially in service to migrants. With the drug rehab program, CRREDA, in Agua Prieta, and with the group Agua Para La Vida, they facilitate a desert experience that is considered very worthwhile Ray Ybarra is a local activist who worked with the ACLU as a legal observer to watch the Minutemen. He is currently working on projects with No More Deaths. Overnight stay at CAME. CAME is a ministry of a Catholic Parish in Agua Prieta. They have developed a program with volunteers to provide a meal and sleeping facilities for migrants. If there are migrants there, we will have direct contact with them. Friday, Feb. 8 A desert walk on the Mexico side of the border with Tommy Bassett. Tommy Bassett works with fair trade and was involved in the formation of Just Coffee. The walk will go along various migrant trails and end up at the border wall (or lack thereof) between Agua Prieta and Naco. A visit with Just Coffee, a cooperative formed with the help of the Frontera de Cristo church group. It is made up of more than 40 families in Chiapas, Mexico, where coffee farmers are suffering from the drastic reduction of demand for their coffee due to NAFTA and cheaper coffees on the world market. It is a hopeful experience to visit their small operation in Agua Prieta and to meet the couple who manages the processing and distribution of the coffee. They are working for three years now and want to expand to include other families in Chiapas. Saturday, Feb. 9 Various activities are planned in Mata Ortiz, a small community involved in pottery production that was started by Juan Quezada. We plan to visit the Hacienda de San Diego, an old hacienda that is currently being renovated by the last remaining family to live there. We will also meet with a women's cooperative of pottery makers and possibly see a short pottery demonstration of how the coil-pots are made. We can also drive down to a nearby Mormon settlement called Colonia Juarez. The Mormons have been established there for over a century and run orchards and ranches in the area. Sunday, Feb. 10: In Juarez, we will meet with Peter Hinde and Betty, a Catholic priest and nun who have been involved in ministry and activism in Latin America for over 30 years. We will also visit with: The Cooperativa Esperanza is a women's cooperative in Juarez that has gotten involved in supporting a squatting community in its legal battle with one of the wealthiest businessmen in the area. Biblioteca Infantil is run by a woman who understands the hardships Mexican families face trying to put their kids through school (fees for materials, books, etc. where education is supposed to be free) and thus offers a tutoring program for children. Monday, Feb. 11: We will meet with/visit: Pastoral Obrera, an organization that has helped maquila workers organize in Cd. Juarez. Encomun is a micro-credit program adapted for urban areas. It started in Nogales, AZ with the help of Catholic Relief Services and Borderlinks, and has now expanded further east. Casa Amiga, a non-profit that helps empower women and work against domestic violence and the femicides that plagued Cd. Juarez for years. The Amex Maquila, a factory currently reclaimed by its workers. The owners owe the workers years of back pay and recently tried to liquidate the assets and skip town. The workers took over the factory and are guarding it 24-7. The possibility of visiting there is of contingent on whether they have reached an agreement by the time we get there. Tuesday, Feb. 12: We will meet with/visit: Border Patrol in El Paso. This will involve a tour along the border road and of facilities along it. Farm Workers Center (Sin Fronteras). This is an organization that grew out of the bracero program, and continues to work on behalf of agricultural workers in the United States. Annunciation House. An El Paso-based non-profit that provides shelter to the poor, primarily migrant community. They initially worked a lot with political refugees fleeing civil wars from Central America in the 1980s. Today their focus is still on migrants, who happen to be driven more by economic need than political. Wednesday, Feb. 14: Return to Tempe, Ariz.
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