ISN Undocu Network Leader Spearheads Boston College’s First Undocuweek

BY ANDREW HANSON-QUINTANA | April 26, 2024

Jonathan Mora is not a new face in the circle of the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN). In fact, he embodies the mission of ISN, which is to engage and form social advocates to go out into the world to live a faith that does justice. Mora attended the second ISN Undocu Network Summit in March of 2023 due to his interest in advocating for and raising awareness of the issues affecting individuals who are undocumented, hold temporary immigration status, and/or come from mixed-status families.

Since the Center for Human Rights and International Justice at Boston College helped fund his participation in the Undocu Summit, he returned to campus and shared what he had learned with his fellow students and community at Boston College. This further empowered him to take on a leadership role in the core committee of ISN’s Undocu Network, where he played a major role at the advocacy day of the 2023 Ignatian Family Teach In for Justice and the third Undocu Network Summit in January 2024. Since then, not only has he recruited and facilitated more Boston College students’ involvement with the Undocu Network, he helped organize Boston College’s first Undocuweek in April 2024.

Once again with the support of the Center for Human Rights and International Justice, Mora met with the center’s assistant director, Tim Karcz, and multiple interns on a regular basis in the lead up to the first Undocuweek. “Working with Jonathan on our Undocuweek programming was invaluable as, in addition to bringing his own lived experiences around the issue of undocumented-ness to his own public presentations, he also was able to help network with other students in similar situations through his role with the ISN Undocu Network to bring their hopes and challenges into the week’s programming as well,” remarked Karcz. With three different events and an art exhibit open throughout the week, Mora and his fellow organizers gave the BC community diverse opportunities to engage this critical topic.

The first event featured BC Law Professor, Mary Holper, who facilitated an Immigration 101 workshop for attendees to better understand what it means to be undocumented, including the historical and present realities facing immigrants in Boston. Mora took the lead in planning and facilitating the second event, which was a panel discussion featuring Melanie Paredes, a BC student who Mora recruited into ISN’s Undocu Network and who attended the 2024 Undocu Summit. The final event involved panelists from across the Boston community who shared their backgrounds in a conversation that highlighted career paths and opportunities to advocate for migrants and the intersections of immigration in various professional fields.

A U.S. citizen, Mora found it curious that many people assumed he was undocumented because of his support and leadership. While the topic does touch on his personal experience being raised in a mixed-status family, the reality is that many allies taking up different levels of responsibility and leadership to advocate for migrants are necessary to move the work forward. In order to engage and inform a university campus on this topic, Mora shared that “it’s going to take a strong base of knowledge of the organizations and offices that are supporting immigrants. A successful Undocuweek can’t happen without experts from specific realms.” 

If you are interested in learning more about the support and the leadership development that ISN’s Undocu Network provides, please contact migration coordinator for youth engagement, Jorge Palacios Jr.