Traversing the Borderlands: A Qualitative Exploration of Student Experiences

Immigration has been an integral part of the United States since its founding; yet, considerable debate surrounds immigration. A deeper, more empathetic understanding of immigration experiences is crucial for social work practitioners. As such, creating opportunities for students to witness the journey immigrants take to come to the US is paramount. This paper was based on an experiential project with social work students traveling to California’s southern border. The students dropped off water in a desert area well known for border crossings and they helped fundraise, talked to day-laborers, and visited the border wall. Students were interviewed about their experiences during this trip. Three themes emerged: Things left behind, Walking in their shoes, and Emotional responses. Implications include the importance of experiential learning and the incorporation of human rights perspective into the classroom. Implications for social work education are discussed. Keywords: Immigration, border crossing, experiential learning, water dropping, undocumented immigrants Immigration is woven into the fabric of the United States. Over the past 200 years, immigration has been at times controversial and at times unnoticed. Today, we live in an era with considerable debate surrounding