People On the Move: Faith-Based Responses to Immigrants’ Needs at the U.S.–Mexico Border

This in-depth fieldwork project aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the humanitarian crisis experienced by displaced populations (many of them asylum seekers) at the U.S.–Mexico border, through the voices of leaders of faith-based organizations. The study is currently taking place at the contiguous cities of El Paso, U.S. and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, which, together, represent the last stop in the South–North migrant corridor. Faith-based organizations in this region offer shelter and much-needed services to a variety of immigrant populations, including single male and female migrants, families with children, unaccompanied youth, and transgender populations suffering from persecution and violence in their countries of origin as well as in Mexico.

This project was made possible thanks to two 2023-24 Research Enhancement Awards (Queens College, CUNY).

This photo was taken at an immigrant shelter, hosted by Sacred Heart Church in El Paso, where Viladrich volunteered in 2023.