Hello to all who read this blog. As you know the first few blog posts have been educational in nature, as I have tried to do a mini-on-line, basic immigration 101 course. I want to continue that for a few more sessions, but in this post, I want to look at a related but different topic. Last Tuesday was Election Day in the United States. The election for president was once again very closely contested, pointing out the continued divisions in our country.  President Obama won somewhat easily … [Read more...]

Hello. In the last blog post I wrote about the undocumented immigrant. He or she is the person who is in the United States without proper immigration status. He or she could be a person who was here originally with a legal visa, but when that visa expired they decided to stay. Or it could be someone who “Entered Without Inspection” through the desert or across the river. In this post I want to consider the reasons that a person would come to the United States illegally.  “Why don’t they … [Read more...]

Hello to all.  I asked that the Blog be interactive and so it is!  David Hill, who also lives in Nogales, Arizona, and works with No More Deaths (www.nomoredeaths.org) responded to my second blog post and pointed out that “Entry Without Inspection” is in fact a criminal, not a civil, offense.  Here is what he wrote, “Though I often hear people say the opposite, illegal entry IS a criminal offense (a misdemeanor), punishable under Title 18 of the US Code as per Section 1325 of Title 8. What's a … [Read more...]

Many people in Arizona and around the country have strong opinions on the topic of “illegal immigrants”.  Yet, when pushed, few people have much information on immigration law, what it takes to get a visa, or even what is the root cause, the reason, that millions of people would choose to leave their home and family, risk their lives in the desert, all to live in difficult conditions and work for what is often very low wages. To understand what the Kino Border Initiative does and why we do … [Read more...]

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 Saludos de Ambos Nogales, home of the Kino Border Initiative (KBI), where I now live and work.  My name is West Cosgrove and I am the new Director of Education.  Thanks for visiting our website. This is the initial entry, our first attempt at blogging.  If you know of the work of the Kino Border Initiative, you know that we work directly with migrants, providing humanitarian aid at our soup kitchen, shelter for women children and our clinic in Nogales, Sonora, … [Read more...]