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When walls go up, it鈥檚 not always possible to take them down. However, there鈥檚 always something to be done to make life easier for聽the聽people now facing a barrier.聽In June 2019, students from the Department of History joined Professors Michelle聽Kuo聽and Albert Wu in Texas to volunteer in a migrant detention center near the US鈥揗exico border.聽Participants worked long聽hours聽鈥� sometimes late into the night 鈥� to聽guide聽asylum seekers through the often-complicated process of applying for asylum.聽

Ten students 鈥� all of whom were majoring in history or history, law and society 鈥� participated in the project, in which they worked closely with RAICES, the largest organization offering legal aid to immigrants in Texas.聽鈥淗earing the individual stories about torturous journeys to the United States was heart-wrenching,鈥澛爏ays Professor聽Kuo, who, along with Professor Wu,聽volunteered聽for聽the organization in 2018. 鈥淢any had lived through unspeakable, harrowing experiences 鈥� threats of violence, kidnapping, torture and separation from their children. Their resilience made a deep impression on us.鈥澛�

Students got a firsthand glimpse at the extent of the hardship that migrants endure when traveling to the United States.聽鈥淢y time volunteering with RAICES required incredible stamina,鈥澛爏ays聽Indigo Golub 鈥�20, a double major in history, law and society and Middle Eastern pluralities.聽Her daily tasks聽included conducting research, drafting legal declarations and giving guidance to people being released from the center.聽鈥淕iven聽the importance of the work, I felt that every job deserved my full attention and effort.鈥澛�

For many, the聽most difficult聽part聽of the聽experience聽was聽informing聽people their asylum applications had been rejected.聽In these cases,聽students聽often went on to聽write聽legal declarations聽鈥� a supporting document submitted to an immigration judge 鈥撀爁or appeals cases. In聽Indigo鈥檚聽case, the students鈥� appeal was successful.聽She聽worked with another student, Alessandra聽Campell聽鈥�20, on聽the case of聽a young woman from El Salvador.聽After several rounds of drafting, editing and proofreading聽the declaration, they聽received word that the asylum application had been successful. 鈥淚 felt genuine pride for the asylum seeker, for Alessandra and for myself,鈥澛爏ays聽Indigo. 鈥淚t was truly a team effort and I absolutely relished the empowerment we shared.鈥澛�

On聽AUP鈥檚聽campus, migrant justice is a topic that聽continually聽inspires聽global explorers to make a positive change in the world.