The immersions offered at the Romero Center are opportunities for "turning toward the oppressed." This requires each participant, especially those from wealthy and dominant groups, to search for answers to questions of human suffering and justice.

In order for the participants to have the opportunity to wrestle with the complexity of life on the border, the Romero Center offers the opportunity of experiencing first-hand life in communities like Chilpancingo, Dolores and Colonia Postal, among others in Tijuana. After coming across the border, participants will have the opportunity to meet farm and maquiladora workers; newly arrived migrants from Mexico and Central America; and government immigration enforcement officials on both sides of the border. Participants will also have the opportunity of conversing with business people in the maquiladora sector. Our intentional border experience will challenge participants to re-examine their own assumptions and beliefs.
 

Click Below for more information about our Immersions:
Border Crossing Experience
Theological Reflection
Educational Tracks
Weekend Program Summary: Tijuana, Mexico
Weeklong Program Summary: Tijuana, Mexico
Aspects of Immersions
Applications and Forms

Our border-crossing experiences include: 
Educational-transformational immersion seminars – Includes weekend immersion seminars (Friday through Sunday) and 7 day educational-transformational seminars (from Sunday to Saturday), both seminars are designed to fit the interests of church members, students of all ages, government officials, community organizers, seminarians, universities and colleges, business persons, and community and labor organizers.

Networking Opportunities – Through the seminars participants will have opportunities for relationship building and strategy development in order to be equipped and able to respond to the challenges of a global economy which is affecting community leaders, theologians, business persons, workers, students, activists on U.S. - Mexico  border and from around the world.

“Justice Champions” Leadership Training and Development Opportunities – Seminars, workshops, lectures and educational – theological resources facilitate the development and empowerment of emerging justice leaders. Our efforts are focused on capacity building and follow up in other to help participants to develop a better understanding of the impact of the global economic trends and economic policies on social conditions, health, gender, culture, immigration and labor rights as well as on the environment.

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Theological Reflection
There is a theologically-based need to cross borders if participants would like to grow as individuals and as a human family. At the Romero Center we accept that borders will never disappear, but we also believe that borders don't have to divide or separate. Borders can be privileged meeting places and through our immersion opportunities participants will be invited to look at the border and to reflect theologically about the border communities as places with an important function, as markers that enable us to recognize and respect the differences that make us who we are as individuals and societies.

Through immersion experiences Romero Center’s participants will be in contact with the realities of the Mexican-American experience at the border while reflecting, from a mestizaje theological perspective, over the fact that Latinos/Latinas are people in exile, pilgrims living authentic Christian lives in their mañana hopes and dreams, including the important role of Hispanic women and their real capacity for interpersonal life.

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Our Educational Tracks:
We offer educational-transformative seminars within three different areas of interest or tracks:

1. Spiritual/Theological Track: Through the spiritual-theological track, participants will have the opportunity to engage mind, body, and spirit. The methodology will include education, reflection and action and all of them from a border’s theological perspective, including interaction with the people in praxis. On this track the Center also provides the opportunity for the study and reflection on Border Native American spirituality/theology through our partners at several Native American nations on the US-Mexico border.
   
2. Environmental Racism/Justice Track: Through this track participants will be exposed to the realities of environmental contamination and degradation created by multi-national manufacturing companies in Tijuana; to the migrant “explosion” of the cities along the border; to the population growth along the border and how all these situations are related to the fact that many Mexicans are unable to support themselves in other parts of their country, and decide to move north with the objective of taking advantage of the newly created jobs in the maquiladora sector. Participants will also be able to observe and reflect on the significant health problems, massive poverty, crime, and environmental degradation resulting from the maquiladora camps in Tijuana.
   
3. Globalization\Workers Rights Track: Through this track participants will be exposed to the inner realities of maquiladoras in Tijuana. The track will offer “maquiladora tours” through which participants will be able to observe the working conditions; demands on the maquiladora workers. While facing the complex situation and the always increasing interrelation of communities on the border, participants will have the opportunity to analyze and struggle with questions like:  How should concerned people respond to situations like the one they observed? How can communities work to address the pressures they're experiencing in the midst of the changes caused by globalization?
   
   

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Let us customize the educational/transformational experience that best suits your needs:
If you don't see a category or track that's right for you or your group, we will be happy to assist you in any way possible. If you don't see exactly what you had in mind, please contact us by submitting a no-obligation support request through our email immersions@theromerocenter.com. We will be happy to assist you in discovering the best immersion experience possible.

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Weekend program summary: Tijuana, Mexico - $200 Per Person (minimum of 10 people per group)
The following time schedule offers a summarized look at the possibilities for a weekend immersion seminar in Tijuana.

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Weeklong program summary: Tijuana, Mexico - $365 Per Person (minimum of 10 people per group)

The following time schedule offers a summarized look at the possibilities for a weeklong immersion seminar in Tijuana.

Sunday PM & Evening	Arrival and accommodations Dinner Worship Introductions Overview center’s mission and goals
Monday	Early a.m.: Breakfast Personal and group prayers Orientation: Tijuana and sites Crossing the border Sites visits and conversations, including lunch Crossing the border Clean-up Dinner Worship & Debriefing
Tuesday	Early a.m.: Breakfast Personal and group prayers Orientation: “On this side of the Border: Getting to know ministries and efforts on the San Diego side of the border.” Sites/Ministry Visits/ San Diego Clean up Worship and debriefing
Wednesday	Early a.m.: Breakfast Personal and group prayers Orientation: Tijuana’s sites Crossing the border Sites visits and conversations, including lunch Crossing the border Clean-up
Thursday	Worship UCC San Diego or partner church in Tijuana
Friday	Early a.m.: Breakfast Personal and group prayers Orientation: Tijuana’s sites Crossing the border Sites visits and conversations, including lunch Crossing the border Clean-up Dinner Worship & Debriefing
Saturday	Free Day
Sunday	a.m. Worship UCC San Diego or partner church in Tijuana p.m. Lunch, impressions and departures

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Aspects of our immersion experiences
Border theology focuses upon the notion of praxis. Praxis is action grounded in emancipatory symbols. But praxis also generates thoughts. A purely theoretical approach to our immersion experiences, involving the accumulation of knowledge only would betray the message of our ministry to its core; service is intrinsic to the learning process.
 
The analytical experience of each participant will begin before coming to the Romero Center and will focus on the readings sent to each participant before their arrival to San Ysidro. The reflective experience will start as soon as participants arrive at the Center and will be part of the learning process throughout the program. Each participant will be provided with a series of questions to help guide the analysis of the readings and their reflections before, during and after each immersion experience

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