Immigration Internship

Katie D.

October 13, 2011 - 8:39 PM

Ever since my first experience working on the US/Mexico border with No More Deaths, I've been looking for a way to become more engaged with immigration issues. My border work has been so fulfilling, and then I've returned to my "normal life" and I haven't found a way to make immigration work a cornerstone of my time.

I've finally found a way.

The CRES program requires eight credits of internship work related to conflict resolution. This means either direct application of our mediation and facilitation skills, or involvement in some organization working in the field. The folks who lead CRES know that conflict exists in all organizations, and that our internships involve not only the direct work we will do, but also the "meta-lesson" of conflict resolution between coworkers.

I've been searching for the perfect home for these internship hours. And finally, in a stroke of brilliance, I cobbled together the perfect internship through a midnight epiphany.

I am working with an ecumenical organization working on immigrants' rights in Oregon. This organization includes the progressive religious organizations in Eugene, as well as campus, community, and regional organizations. They work on lobbying and consciousness-raising, volunteer projects, and in forming links between the Latino population and other groups in Oregon.

My interests fit perfectly within this structure. I'm going to speak with various church groups, and reach out to campus organizations. I'm going to form more direct links between Eugene and No More Deaths, the group I work with on the Mexico border. I'm going to complete writing projects for traditional media outlets, as well as working on the organization's website and blog. I'm even working on a plan for a bi-weekly email newsletter to link the activist community to upcoming events and ongoing dialogue.

I've already encountered some really interesting conflict and conflict resolution techniques. Most prominently, I am addressing issues of social justice and the conflict between the needs and rights of different communities. Policy relates to conflict on the largest scale: the interactions between the State and the population, and the way Law relates to individual citizens and non-citizens in our community.

Second, I am encountering a fascinating aspect of intercultural communication and organizational techniques. We in the CRES program have been trained in certain facilitation techniques, and my own history has led to certain expectations of methodology and a goal-focused organizational structure. Suddenly I'm working with several different communities. My training and expectations line up beautifully with the needs and comfort of the white religious community members I work with, and in that context I am highly effective. But when I attend meetings or events with members of the Latino community, we spend an enormous amount of time in building relationships and in sharing our personal stories. This has led me to two realizations:

1) There are vast resources within my individual story and in the connections possible between members of an organization;

2) I have very little patience for this.

I love the community that is growing in this activist group. I find myself balanced constantly between incredible fulfillment and enthusiasm for our dialogue, and a deep frustration that we haven't even created lists yet.

What I'm describing, of course, is the conflict between different cultural expectations, and the differing skills and abilities emphasized by different groups. So I'm learning. I am taking it all in, and balancing my Type A individual, goal-oriented projects with these beautiful encounters with a new culture of organizing. And I'm learning to be enormously more effective for this balance.

As I work through coalition-building and educational efforts, I know that new conflicts and new insights will arise. I can't wait to share them with you. I can't wait to put my experiences in Honduras and my border work to use here in Eugene and in Oregon. The rights of immigrants are such an enormous social justice issue in our country these days.

I look forward to putting my CRES training to use this way.