The Jesuit Border Podcast

In this bonus episode, we welcome two Jesuit scholastics who are in formation for the priesthood, Ian Peoples, SJ, and Justin Kelley, SJ. They are both studying theology at Boston College and visited Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries this summer. Ian and Justin talk about their motivations for coming to see the border reality and their initial reactions upon arriving, especially meeting families like Angie and her son Joxan that have been on the border for as long as two years. They share some of their favorite moments, like little Zoe falling asleep on Justin’s lap during Mass and little Sofi grabbing onto Ian and not letting go (with one notable exception!). They talk about what it was like to witness the resilience of people amid the hardships of their journey and the joy that breaks through in our visits and the celebration of Mass.
Brian begins the episode by providing some updates, including the recent Supreme Court rulings that are impacting migrants, like Haitians and Syrians who are losing their Temporary Protective Status (TPS). He talks about the new dynamic in immigration court of “mega master” hearings, including the story of Tania and her daughter who had to bus across the country when their court hearing was advanced by months with just days of notice. Brian also comments on the increase of ICE enforcement efforts and the fatal impact it is having, like the recent shootings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine.
Enjoy this bonus episode and stay tuned for Season 11 of the podcast to launch in the Fall.

In this bonus episode, we are saying farewell to Joe Nolla, SJ, the co-host of The Jesuit Border Podcast for the last three years. In June, Joe is heading off to theology studies in Paris, France, to continue with his formation as a Jesuit in preparation for his ordination to the priesthood.
In this episode, we bring on Eric Clayton, deputy director for communications at the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States and long-time editor of the podcast. Eric turns the questions on us, first by asking for some updates about what has happened on the border since Season 10 wrapped up in early April. Then he turns to Joe to get his reflections on his experience working on the U.S.-Mexico border for the last three years. 
Joe talks about the graces he has experienced, the way this ministry has shaped his formation, and the surprises he has encountered along the way. Both Brian and Joe share a range of stories, from accompanying people at rock bottom, to diaper leaks, and what it means “to be a gentleman” when you are served tuna salad. Of course, the episode wouldn’t be complete without Joe answering the question he poses to all our guests. So give the episode a listen to finally hear Joe’s own image of heaven.
We send off Joe with all our love and prayers. He has been a gift to our ministry and to our community. As he ends every podcast, we now say to him: “que Dios te bendiga.” May God continue to bless him in his life and vocation.

For our final episode of Season 10, we are excited to welcome Jonathan Blitzer, journalist and staff writer at The New Yorker. Jonathan’s 2024 book, “Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis,” was named a New York Times Top 10 Book of 2024. Jonathan talks about the origins of his interest in journalism and writing about immigration. He reflects on the spellbinding stories that drove his book and the challenges of bringing the historical arc up to the present moment. The vision for the end of the arc was recent policy choices, under both President Trump and former President Biden, that have ushered in the death of asylum for people fleeing violence and seeking safety in the United States.
Joe and Brian share stories that demonstrate the all-out assault on the asylum system. Joe shares the story of Ana and her kids, who fled a terrifying situation of domestic violence and came to seek asylum in the U.S. When Trump took office in 2025, Ana had her appointment for legal entry canceled, so she continues to live in Mexico, hiding in fear. Brian shares the story of Erika, a young mom from Venezuela, who has reached the point of giving up her asylum process in the U.S. because of the campaign of fear from the administration and the horror stories of migrant detention. But as a Venezuelan national without an active passport, she is finding out just how difficult it is to exit the country and avoid the mass detention machine.
Thank you for joining us for the 10th season of the podcast, and blessings as the summer approaches. We will be back with a new season in the Fall of 2026.

We are delighted to welcome Kristin Heyer, who holds the Joseph Chair in Theology and is a Professor of Theological Ethics at Boston College. Kristin reflects on the current campaign of mass deportation in light of a Christian ethic. Framed by Church teaching from Vatican II to Pope Francis and Pope Leo, she critiques the intrinsic evil of mass deportation and offers a vision of a more Christian corrective to the border and immigration policy that is attentive to human dignity. As an educator, Kristin shares ways that her students have been transformed by experiences of encounter that force them to shift away from the dominant narratives of immigration.
Brian and Joe share stories about shifting the narrative as well. Brian shares the story of Samantha, a 7-year-old girl from Honduras whom he first met back in the Reynosa plaza in 2021. After a couple of years in the U.S., Samantha was excelling in school and had picked up perfect English. Everything seemed to be going great until Brian got some voice messages from an unknown phone number in Honduras. Joe shares the story of celebrating a communion service with women at a local detention center. The detained women felt falsely accused by the dominant narrative as being “the worst of the worst,” when the reality is that they have no criminal convictions and have been separated from their families. Accompanying detained individuals in a religious service like this reveals the reality and shifts the narrative.

We are excited to welcome Hung Nguyen, SJ, a Jesuit priest and parochial vicar at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in San Diego. Hung is a migrant himself who came to the U.S. from Vietnam as a child. In San Diego, he has helped to lead the parish’s efforts to serve and accompany the local migrant population. During the last years of the Biden administration, the parish ran a shelter to receive migrants after their legal entry into the country. In this new era of heightened immigration enforcement, Hung has helped to coordinate a court accompaniment project with volunteers from across the diocese. Earlier this year, the parish opened the Pope Francis Center to create a welcoming space for immigrant families and help connect them with the services they need. In all these areas of migrant ministry, Hung looks for the holy sacred moments that reveal God’s grace.
Joe and Brian share stories of holy sacred moments in their own ministry. Joe shares the story of a brief encounter at a detention center with a woman who felt she had distanced herself from God. She desperately needed the assurance of being seen and loved by God. Brian shares the story of a deported Mexican national who joined for Mass, but did not come up to receive communion. He sought out Fr. Flavio after Mass, and they shared a holy sacred moment of reconciliation and communion.