Education

Fostering greater awareness of the consequences of policies and laws that connect the people of the United States and Latin America

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IFCLA hosts quarterly educational opportunities to learn about the basics of immigration history, focusing specifically on migration from Latin America to the United States. Workshops include portions of education, small and large group discussion, and personal reflection. Participants are invited to share personal connections and perspectives on the themes discussed, as well as challenged to remain open to new insights and understanding surrounding the issue of immigration. 

Through our workshops, we engage students, allies, and impacted community members in the practice of speaking about our shared history, root causes of migration, and the policies that continue to shape the way immigration happens even today. We build a base of change agents, all in their own personal journey of transformation and justice.

Contact us for more information about our workshops. On a case-by-case basis, IFCLA staff offers individual workshops for groups and congregations.

Immigration 101

Every country has some system for immigration. In the US, our immigration system has been under continuous challenge and change throughout history. After all these changes, what is the current system for immigration to the US, what created the system, who does it fail, and how are we called to respond? IFCLA's Immigration 101 class seeks to guide participants in exploring these questions through short workshops. Varying in length and depth, the workshops cover:

  1. The history of US intervention in Mexico and Central and South American countries and the resulting economic situations of these countries;

  2. The history of immigration policy in the US, specifically with regards to Mexico and Central and South America;

  3. The reality of a migrant's journey, the dangers they face along the way, and the values that may compel them to undertake such a trip;

  4. The status of our borders with regards to security and often-inhumane implementation of current border security policies;

  5. The moral imperative for people of faith and good will to act with compassion and in solidarity with migrants.

Conociendo la migra

In 2021, IFCLA launched its first educational series entirely in Spanish tailored toward self-identified immigrant audiences, an important step in the right direction toward more inclusive programming. The Conociendo La Migra (or Understanding the US Immigration System) series sources content focuses from IFCLA’s Spanish-speaking base.

Topics covered so far have included the impact of US intervention on Latin America, the criminalization of migrants, and the asylum process. This workshop is offered quarterly during the year.

BOOK CLUB

This is a group study space for IFCLA’s base and personnel to read and analyze texts that align with the organizational mission. Through this interactive, guided study, we intend to cultivate a community responsibility for social change and collectively develop an antiracist and intersectional understanding of the oppression of people and the land we occupy. We honor and uplift authors whose work focuses on immigration and human rights defense, especially BIPOC authors.

Join us late August for the next Book Club!