Berkley Center

Noel Castellanos, CEO of the Christian Community Development Association, brought a personal and professional story of immigration reform to the class. He grew up, as a US citizen and a child of US citizens, in Texas along the Mexico border. After his college education at a Christian liberal arts school, Noel’s Christian conversion drove him to do community development work in the Latino community. CCDA is headquartered in Chicago, an incredibly diverse city, and the challenges of immigration documentation stretch beyond the Latino community, including Eastern Europeans, Asians, and Africans. This grassroots work led Noel to pursue policy advocacy. Today, 12-15 million undocumented individuals reside in the United States. Reform nearly happened early in the George W. Bush administration. Unfortunately, the security concerns of 9/11 and the ensuing economic crisis have killed momentum for comprehensive reform. The way forward isn’t clear right now, but the need is undeniable, and the religious community must be mobilized to the cause.