05/20/2025
2025 VIM Immigration Immersion Journey
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.
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.
