CLEVELAND — St. Ignatius high school students are embarking on a journey to Nogales, Arizona to grow their understanding of immigration and issues surrounding this polarizing topic through a humanitarian trip during their spring break.
"For them to see it first hand, to meet the people and hear the journeys they've taken, it really is more powerful,” said St. Ignatius School Counselor Mike Strauss.
Students will spend their spring break at the Mexican border. To get a better understanding of immigration, students will hear firsthand accounts from immigrants, border patrol agents, missionaries and those who serve the immigration population along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“We hear a lot on the news, you know 'build a wall,' 'tear down a wall' and it gets very political, but it's definitely a humanitarian issue and I think our goal is to really show the students the human story that's going on down at the border."
Eleventh-grader Connor Barachanowicz is heading to the border to sort fact from fiction.
"I heard some stories about how the Border Patrol was treating people and I just want to find out how true it is, or, if they're stretching the truth a little bit or not."
The teens will work at El Comedor in Mexico, where they will serve food to refugees, some of whom made the dangerous journey north from Central America.
"They just came from a really long journey and they're gonna be obviously really tired and I want to give them help that they can really — the help that they deserve, that they're looking for, that they can succeed in America,” said Ben Slater. "It makes me really appreciate what we have here and I want them to be able to experience that as well."
