S1: Graduations. We've all been there. Ribbons , caps , gowns , tassels , sashes , flowers , and many , many hugs and tears.
S2: The ceremony for the building bridges the Puente de la Universidad de San Diego by Imperial.
S3: Students get to revel in their hard work , and parents see their sacrifice rewarded as their children walk proudly across the stage to receive that piece of paper , saying that they have made it.
S4: But not. Yet.
S1: Yet. Recently in the US , some families with members who lack legal immigration status.
S3: Or more commonly known as mixed status families.
S1: Have reported feeling anxious about attending public celebrations due to swirling rumors of possible immigration raids.
S3: Even without precedent , that fear has left many families unwilling to attend public events.
S1:
S2: Efrain Lopez de San Diego State by media.
S3: As you may have noticed , the celebration is in Spanish.
S1: And that's because this particular U.S. ceremony you're hearing is taking place in Mexico.
S3: We are at a graduation ceremony for San Diego State University's Class of 2025 , the four year California university closest to the border.
S2: Adrian Guzman Herrera.
S3: Since 2022 , CSU has held the graduation ceremony south of the border every year.
S1: Families who are part of mixed status households get to celebrate together and cherish this moment at a distance and out of reach from the current political climate north of the border.
S3: This ceremony is specifically known as the Building Bridges Graduation and is taking place in Mexicali , a small city south of the border of Calexico.
S1: It's organized by the satellite campus leaders in Imperial Valley , where the idea of first sparked.
S3: And has ignited a trend that has spread to other institutions.
S5: 64 students from Southwestern College with deep roots in Mexico came to this Tijuana schoolyard to share their growth and heritage with family who , for political or personal reasons , could not cross the border to see them graduate.
S6: For the Mexican mothers , fathers of Buenos , who sacrificed so much to give their children anything. This is everything.
S3: If this is the first time you're tuning in , we are showcasing stories of visionaries and shapers of the borderlands.
S1: Today's episode is all about tearing down walls and building bridges. From KPBS , this is Port of Entry.
S3: Where we tell cross-border stories that connect us.
S1: I'm Alan Lilienthal.
S3: And I'm Natalia Gonzalez. You are listening to. Port of entry.
S1: A few days before the graduation ceremony. We made it to Mexicali , Baja California's capital , two hours east of Tijuana. The day was sweltering , at least by San Diego standards. Catalina.
S2: Catalina.
S3: We were there to meet Catalina Flores and CSU students at Imperial Valley Satellite campus. She , like much of the Imperial Valley student population , crosses the border from Mexicali to Calexico for school.
S1: At the front gate of her house , two menacing looking dogs stood beside a four year old boy with light brown eyes and a smudged face. His eyes lit up at the side of our producer , Julio's equipment.
S3: An older gentleman ushered Julio past the dogs. The child called for his grandma Catalina's mother , telling her all about Julio's camera.
S7: All I want is. Peace. KPBS.
S3: Once inside , the overly excited little boy grabbed Julio's back while the older man offered him some ice water.
S7: But no. Gracias.
S1: Catalina's mother introduced herself. Karina.
S7: Karina.
S1: She had to remind Carolina's son , her grandson , to behave. He thought Julio gifted him the camera when he handed him the bag.
S2: Suzanne , muchacho.
S1: Out from the back of the house came Catalina. Catalina.
S7: Catalina.
S3: Catalina was set to graduate with a major in education focus on high school level math. She was excited to take part in the Building Bridges graduation ceremony in Mexico.
S1: To her , this experience was going to be profoundly meaningful.
S8: Desde la preparatoria yo ya estaba otra gradation con Ella mi lado yo.
S1: Carolina's mother does not have authorization to enter the US. The last time she did was when Catalina graduated high school. She did not renew her visa out of fear she would be barred from entering permanently due to a difficult decision she had to make when Catalina was only a child. Papa.
S8: Papa. Casino. Nunca present. Esta in Artesia. La presencia in todos Los sentido.
S3: Catalina grew up with an absent father. She shared that he had been caught in a cycle of addiction for as long as she could remember , which meant there wasn't enough money on the table.
S1: Her mom had to work twice as hard to make up the difference.
S8: Gracias a Dios. Mi mama estuvo incluso llegado.
S1: Even if it meant working and living in California's Imperial Valley without the proper authorization.
S3: This went on for most of Catalina's younger years.
S1: Her mother would come and go , splitting her time between Imperial Valley and Mexicali , working in local swap meets and selling candied fruit confections.
S3: Any job that could help support the family. She kept a low profile to avoid authorities.
S1: But that luck ran out once her visa expired in 2017.
S8: Entonces este esta consent de eso consent de la nueva poder trabajar en Estados Unidos por ejemplo.
S1: Out of fear of being permanently barred once her visa expired , she did not seek to renew it and stopped crossing altogether.
S3: Without entry into the US. It meant Catalina's mother would no longer be able to provide for the family.
S1: That reality stung.
S9: Me perdido de muchas situations muy importante. No Como digamos la la ceremony anterior Como otras situations Como uma mayo Como mayo. Obviamente Ella.
S1: Not being able to cross the border hurt , but not as much as missing important life events like Carolina's graduation from Imperial Valley College.
S9: In Nacimiento de. Completamente mi Vida y Yo creo.
S3: And missing that event pales in comparison to missing the birth of Catalina's first son , little Elian. The child who greeted Julio at the gate.
S9: He knows is algun dia. Yo yo yo yo no puede estar en el nation. Mi primer nieto.
S1: On the verge of tears , she admitted it's something she still hasn't been able to get over. It weighs on her to this day.
S3: Regretful about missing those momentous occasions , the chance to witness her firstborn graduate from college and celebrate the milestone together as a family lifted her spirits extremely. Feliz.
S9: Feliz. Con Dios principalmente.
S3: She says she's overwhelmed with happiness. To be able to share this moment with her daughter.
S1: And above all , is grateful to the organizers who made this possible.
S9: Feliz con las personas Han posible.
S3: Last month , Julio went to Calexico to meet with the people behind this idea. It turns out the creator of this event is an old friend of Port of Entry , who we feature some years back , Vanessa Falcon. Now Doctora Vanessa Falcon.
S1: One of the movers and shakers inside this border laboratory is Vanessa Falcon , author.
S10: I am a PhD candidate over here at San Diego State , joint with Claremont Graduate University.
S1: Vanessa is also the founder of a transborder student group at Sdsu. She lives in both San Diego and Tijuana. Sometimes she crosses the border multiple times a day , criss crossing between San Diego , Tijuana , and Los Angeles. Back when we first talked to Vanessa , she was a graduate student at Sdsu researching the transborder student population. During her research , a significant finding prompted her to do something bold.
S11: It was a recurrent finding in the interviews that I was doing at the time. For my thesis , I was focused on transporter students , that students shared the painful experience of commencement , but not being able to celebrate with their loved ones.
S1: In 2019 , she pitched the idea to a university south of the border in Tijuana , where she was taking a course for her doctoral studies.
S11: Alongside my community , we began to organize , um , a venue at Colegio de la North to implement the graduation , and we secured the venue.
S3: The ceremony was originally planned for May 2020.
S11: And it was a vision that was beginning to to take shape and come into fruition. And then the pandemic had been.
S1: Delayed but not defeated. Three years later , she found fertile ground to plant her idea , this time as founding director of the newly formed Cross-Cultural center for Sdsu Imperial Valley Satellite campus in Calexico. As a newcomer to a new town , she met two colleagues who would later become friends and key partners in bringing this idea to life.
S3: One was Mexicali native Gilberto Reyes , a history and Chicano studies professor who supported the idea from the start.
S12: I thought about my students who I know their life stories because again , part of just becoming the be the mentors , also talking to them , getting to know them. And I know some of them lived in Mexicali , uh , and for reasons their parents couldn't cross.
S1: The other was assistant professor of English and comparative literature , Efrain Lopez.
S13: When I heard the idea , I was I was stunned because I remember , even though I grew up in LA , that graduation and commencement was bittersweet for a lot of students because their parents couldn't be there. And when she told me about this idea for a graduation that would be able to , like , have those families experience that together. I was just floored.
S1: So it was on.
S3: Putting together an event isn't really that remarkable. People do it all the time.
S1: But organizing a cross-border graduation ceremony is a whole different beast.
S13: Well that's great. That sounds great. But is it going ? Are we going to.
S3:
S13: It is going to be funding. Are we going to have a venue. Is our , you know , just all the kind of what ifs ? You know.
S3: No one had a clear roadmap.
S1: Graduation was only a few months away. Vanessa met with her supervisor.
S14: I shared it with the the.
S11: Dean of Student affairs. He was supportive. He was very supportive.
S1: And with his blessing came the most decisive element of the entire initiative the venue.
S3: Gilberto , being from Mexicali , had key connections on the Mexican side.
S11: Omar Romero Godoy at the time , in 2022 , he was the director of Secretaria de Cultura de Baja California.
S1: Gilberto Vanessa met with Omar and one Chinese lunch later.
S14: He was the one who.
S11: Connected us to secure the venue with the Casa de la Cultura in Mexicali.
S3: With La Casa de la Cultura as the venue for the ceremony. The event was officially set for May 14th , 2022.
S13: Once the venue was down , once we were all on board , then people were like , okay , this is actually going to happen.
S3: You are listening to Port of Entry with the venue and date set. The finish line came into focus.
S1: The next step was funding.
S11: One seed back to and I secured the venue. Then I reached out to leadership at CSU.
S1: Another meeting was held with Sdsu President Adela.
S15: De la Torre.
S11: She provided the um the the initial funds to support it , like the initial budget to make it happen. Um , no questions asked.
S1: The idea basically sold itself.
S3: But with cross-border events , even simple logistics can quickly become complicated.
S12: And so what happens here is that some cards that we had are not accepted in Mexico. So it was more difficult to do the pavement wire or online because the system is different.
S1: The team often had to withdraw cash to cross the border and pay vendors directly in Mexicali.
S3: And then there were the border lines.
S11: And the line is.
S16: So long , so long , and.
S11: We didn't even like can see the end of it.
S1: Sometimes the cross back to the US became so brutal that they'd leave their cars parked in Mexico and cross on foot. Then they'd return the next day to pick up the car when traffic heading back was lighter.
S3: Which happened to them on Mexican Mother's Day , just four days before the ceremony.
S1: As Commencement Day approached , the pressure only intensified.
S11: I remember working many times 12 hour shifts to make this happen. Up until the day of commencement , I was working up until the last , last minute.
S3: And more fires still needed to be put out.
S13: Whenever a student was going to walk. They're going to have an image with their major and I think a quote. Right. And so I put that together and I just remember , um , how much of a , not how much of a headache it was because students would be emailing me last minute saying , I want a different picture and I want this picture. Oh no , add this person. No , this quotes wrong. And then so after I had everything alphabetized and everything said , I'm like , okay , good. And then boom , here comes in email , oh , I want to change my picture. Oh , I forgot to put my cousin in the picture.
S3: By then everyone was exhausted , especially Vanessa.
S11: So I felt the adrenaline , the anxiety , the cortisol , the all of that. I felt all of that because I could not be in every single , um , space.
S1: Vanessa found herself being pulled in all directions to the point of almost having a meltdown.
S11: Susana Lopez , save me.
S3: Susana Lopez.
S1: Coordinator for student affairs and health Services and a close colleague of the three organizers.
S3: Stepped in and freed Vanessa's hands from other aspects of the ceremony.
S11: She came in and she said , all right , I'm going to take care of this. I'm going to take care of that. You go to the princess and then and then you can go ahead and and manage the the platform party.
S1: With Susanna's help. Vanessa could focus on being the face of the event.
S11: She came in and took on the lead to organize to to support um. With the signing in with the catering , you know , other components that are very important to the graduation as well.
S3: Unfortunately , Susana passed away and isn't here today to see what the ceremony has grown into.
S1: But she did have a significant role in launching that very first historic graduation celebration.
S3: Despite all the hiccups , the ceremony was a resounding success.
S1: The abundant joy and tears during those moments were testament to its significance , and that was also the case the moment Catalina Flores walked the stage. Three years later in the 2025 edition.
S2: Catalina Flores.
S17: My mommy.
S3: Catalina's mother beamed as Catalina came down to hug her.
S1: Catalina broke protocol. She started taking off her cap and gown while sharing some deeply moving words with her mother.
S3: Catalina's mom couldn't hold back her tears.
S2: Obviamente Flores para TI s. O.
S8: O. S.
S9: S. It's. Okay.
S8: Okay.
S3: Mom , this is for you because you are also graduating with me.
S1: She said. It's.
S9: It's.
S8: Possible for obviamente. Nunca.
S3: All of this would not have been possible without you.
S1: Karolina said as she dressed her mother in her cap and gown.
S8: A lograr terminar todo lo q me go to my teacher.
S3: You were my first teacher. The one who taught me that I can accomplish what I set my mind to , to give it my all and never give up.
S8: On me , Amor todo mi Corazon porque también. Gracias a mi nino y yo estamos.
S3: I want to offer you this price.
S1: Catalina said as she handed her diploma to her mother. At the platform party in the front reception , with a mariachi band blasting in the background. Catalina's mother shared her happiness. Hugs , tears and all.
S9: Makes her mom and Feliz contented satisfaction. Con Dios con la vida y con mija. Regalo me a Dado y también pues muy Haga con las personas.
S3:
S9: Estados Unidos y haciendo la ceremony aqui me siento muy bien decia me siento muy contento pues. Oh. That's okay. No , no. No , Monsieur. Muy grande.
S1: After family photos , Catalina approached Vanessa Falcon.
S8: Muchas gracias por hacer me sentir vista por su entender todos apoyo y de verdad con me. Voy a hacer las cosas.
S1: Catalina thanked her for making her feel seen and supported and for believing in her defender.
S8: También gracias.
S3: After a warm embrace between them , Vanessa thanked her and shared some thoughts in her native language.
S8: Yes , it's a theme. This is.
S11: A theme.
S8: Bueno esto hacemos por Los Estudiantes. No , no puedo decir. Mas es lo debe hacer no con su y Los fuentes por medios de la educacion.
S1: Vanessa said that education is the bridge that allows families to celebrate these milestones together , and that supporting Catalina and her peers is investing in the future of the border region.
S8: También tenemos en ustedes but mano a mano. Estamos en el futuro de esta region. Frontera. Gracias a TI. Gracias , gracias.
S1: The impact of the ceremony was visible in every embrace shared between students and their families. And it wasn't only felt by families. The impact rippled across the border region.
S18: Well , San Diego State University and Imperial Valley did something no other university has done for its students with family on the other side of the border.
S6: This time , these students crossed the border in the opposite direction from San Diego , California to Tijuana , Mexico.
S5: This graduation is designed to be similar to the Southwestern College graduation in Chula Vista last month , and crossing the border means crossing into a culture rich in its own pride.
S1: News of the first ceremony spread quickly across airwaves and communities.
S3: What is especially remarkable is that the event inspired other institutions in the border region to create similar ceremonies.
S1: By 2023. Southwestern College , Imperial Valley Community College , and Sdsu main campus all commemorated their own versions.
S3: Even high schools are now adopting the motto.
S1: The Sweetwater Union High School District will hold its own ceremony this year , bringing together all 14 high schools in South San Diego County for a celebration in Tijuana.
S3: Each program is branded differently.
S1: Transborder graduation. Graduation without borders. Binational graduation.
S3: But the impact remains just as deeply meaningful at each school.
S1: Since the first building bridges graduation in 2022 , more than a thousand students from mixed status families have been able to celebrate together.
S3: We got to speak to a couple of students at one of the Tijuana ceremonies this year.
S19: My , uh , my father. So he he got deported in 2008. So this is a great opportunity for him to , uh , see his boys graduate.
S15: Marcos Martin del Campo.
S1: A business major , shared. This was the second time his father got to celebrate together with his family.
S3: The same is true for Daniella marquez , an international business major whose mother lost the authorization to cross into the US six years ago.
S20: La verdad estamos muy Agra , decides my mama es de las personas mas importante. Mi vida no puede cruiser la frontera nosotros ya no sabemos hecho la idea de Ella nueva poder. A sister.
S1: Daniela , didn't know who the event was happening until a month ago. Her mother cried when they found out it was happening this year , because she wasn't sure if she was going to miss it.
S3: She's grateful that this took place.
S20: Felicidad porque claro the important para me.
S1: These sorts of testimonies mean everything for Vanessa.
S15: Gilberto and a friend.
S11: I wanted to help these students celebrate with their families. I want them to live this special moment together. This is why I became an educator. To do things like this. To improve the lives of these the students and my community.
S3: Today , Vanessa and her team have handed over the coordination of the event to new organizers.
S1: Their current objective is to ensure ongoing funding and maintain the program's momentum at the same time. They're developing a playbook that others interested in implementing the initiative can follow.
S3: They have established a long term partnership with Barca's Universidad Autonoma de Baja California to continue hosting ceremonies.
S1: Their work has left a lasting legacy in the region.
S3: They have changed the lives of families who had long missed milestone moments and now can celebrate together.
S1: This episode of Port of Entry was written and produced by Julio Cesar Ortiz Franco.
S3: Adrian Villalobos is technical producer and sound designer.
S1: This episode was edited by Christy Winn and Elizabeth Hames.
S3: Lisa morissette is director of audio programming and operations. Natalie Gonzalez.
S15: Nos vemos pronto.
