When people in the United States think about immigration, many immediately think about the U.S.-Mexico border, cruel border policies, and desperate families fleeing violence. But as Jesús de la Torre of Hope Border Institute shares in this episode, immigration is about so much more—including freedom, good food, global solidarity, and especially dreams. What if our immigration system wasn’t just built around human rights and human dignity, but also human dreams?

“All of us, we have desires. We aspire to be. We want to study. We want to work. We want to learn. We want to discover,” de la Torre says. “We need to design a system that is focused on people's dreams and aspirations ... that then that will benefit everyone.”

De la Torre draws on Catholic social teaching—and the words of Pope Francis—to help us understand that making our country more welcoming for immigrants makes the country more welcoming for everyone. “If we encounter people [at the border] with mercy and we allow each other to share that vulnerability, those fears, those hopes, I think will become much more humane and much more human,” he says.

Join us as we learn more about de la Torre’s experiences at the border, his policy ideas, and how Catholics can help build vibrant, culturally-rich communities of welcome.

NETWORK Advocates is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to advancing the principles of Catholic social justice and does not endorse or oppose any candidate or party in the upcoming election.

Additional resources

UPDATE: After recording his interview with Just Politics, Jesús was named assistant director for global migration at Hope Border Institute:
https://twitter.com/JesussdelaTorre/status/1808139940183552488

Hope Border Institute
https://www.hopeborder.org/

An article by Jesús de la Torre
https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/moment-renewal-churchs-accompaniment-migrants

From a recent issue of NETWORK’s Connection magazine, on the DACA program:
https://networklobby.org/connection-dreams-of-inclusion-061124/

The U.S. bishops’ 2003 pastoral letter on immigration, “Strangers No Longer”:
https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/immigration/strangers-no-longer-together-on-the-journey-of-hope