More about the delegation

The delegates stayed with families in Cieneguilla, an indigenous village in Oaxaca that has sent many of its members to Durham and other North Carolina cities and towns. Delegates also met migrants from Guatemala, whose journey through Mexico subjects them to the risks of kidnapping, rape and extortion on route to vaguely conceived destinations in the United States.

Rounding out these encounters, delegates also met with priests working with indigenous communities and migrants, with labor leaders and a human rights lawyer.

Those who took part in the delegation came away considering themselves a “beloved community” in the mold of the US civil rights movement for freedom. Many expressed an acute sense of shame at the way undocumented Latino immigrants are treated in the United States and concluded that trade policies work to the disadvantage of both the Mexican poor and American workers. On the final day of the trip, delegates pledged that upon their return to the United States, they would use public presentations, the media and political lobbying to bring about more humane immigration policies and fairer trade pacts.

Jordan Green is the news editor at YES! Weekly in Greensboro, NC.