On the dusty outskirts of small-town Dilley, Texas, out of the sight of drivers traversing I-35, lies the South Texas Family Residential Center and the 2,400 beds it maintains for its temporary inhabitants: immigrant mothers and their children escaping desperate situations in their home countries. Many of these families come from Central America’s Northern Triangle— El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala—fleeing widespread gang violence and aggressive domestic situations. They arrive at the U.S. border seeking safety for their children and themselves. In January, a group of Fordham Law students traveled to the center to help the women prepare for their meeting with an asylum officer, an interview that could potentially save their lives.

-Shane Danaher contributed to this report

Emerson Argueta ’18 and Alex Mintz ’18, two of the students with Fordham Law’s Immigration Advocacy Project, speak about their experiences in Dilley.

The government of the UK’s nearest neighbor, Ireland, may prove to be one step ahead of its fellow EU member states in reckoning with the effects of Brexit. During an address given at Fordham Law School on Sept. 19, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Charles Flanagan told an audience of around 100 that his country had been preparing for a possible Brexit vote for a year.

“Expert reports were commissioned. All relevant government departments were asked to examine the possible impacts,” Flanagan said. “State agencies, business representatives, trades unions, and other stakeholders were consulted with and kept informed on the government’s approach.”

“When the UK leaves the EU, Northern Ireland will be the only region in Britain which shares a land border with another EU member state,” Flanagan said. “One of our key concerns raised by Brexit is a return to a hard or fortified border dividing north and south.”

Flanagan went on to say that the reinstating of a hard border would negatively affect cross-border trade and economic activity. However, more serious would be the symbolic effect of resurrecting historical divisions.

Despite the challenges ahead, Flanagan sounded an optimistic note when he told the audience that Fordham values can inspire politicians and government officials during this uncertain time.

“As the European Union and Ireland prepares for a challenging period ahead, there is much to learn from the Fordham ethos,” Flanagan said. “Above all, there will be a need to apply what is emphasized in this University in terms of critical thinking and creative problem-solving.”

Left to right: John Feerick ’61, professor and former dean of Fordham Law School; Charles Flanagan, Ireland’s minister for foreign affairs and trade; Anne Anderson, ambassador of Ireland to the United States; Barbara Jones, counsel general of Ireland; Joseph McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University. Photo by James Higgins.

While the cause of ISIS continues to attract a wide range of individuals, trends can be observed in terms of motivations, personal context, and intent. Among the report’s findings are the following:

• 80% expressed dissatisfaction with the United States in some respect
• 90% were drawn to the caliphate
• 42% were charged with plotting against American targets
• 50% were involved in discussing, procuring, or possessing firearms
• 26% expressed a desire for martyrdom
• 87% of the charged individuals are male
• 77% are U.S. citizens
• 89% use social media
• One-third lived with their parents at the time of arrest

Center on National Security Director Karen Greenberg was quoted in a New York Times article that featured the report.

“These individuals seemed to be looking to attach to something that can help define them as well as give them a cause worth fighting for,” said Karen J. Greenberg, the director of the center.

Read the full article.

Read the report (PDF).

Students also plan several larger events each year. Most recently, they organized two blood drives for Hudson Valley Blood Services, a division of the New York Blood Center, which serves 52 hospitals in the Hudson Valley area. The drives collected a total of 90 pints of blood, enough to help 450 people in need, according to Sandy Cohen, account manager for the organization.
“Without the students participating, without them going out and asking their friends and getting the message out, the blood drive wouldn’t happen,” Cohen said. “On the day of the drive, they’re there helping out as well.”
The floor was created in 1999 at the suggestion of students who believed such a program would build upon the college’s strong emphasis on outreach and service. Themed floors were not new; sections of residence halls were already devoted to international and honors students. But organizers believed this program would be unique in the connections it made between the students and the surrounding neighborhoods.
“Performing community service is a powerful thing for the soul,” said Molina, who has served as resident adviser for two of the three years she has lived on the floor. “Residents get extremely excited about it, which sometimes leads to them taking an active part in a program independently. They also be-come more aware of their surroundings, become better neighbors.”
Since its creation, the program has consistently filled the 35 spaces on the floor and sometimes has had to turn people away because interest has been so high, Molina said. Students who don’t live on the floor are also welcomed to the monthly meetings and service events.

As the school year closes, residents of the floor have been coordinating efforts to work with Safe Haven, a counseling program for children with AIDS. Students are also planning to invite area children to campus for a day of mentoring, and to host an ice cream social to raise funds for Momma’s Kitchen, which provides meals to families with AIDS.