immigrationIt’s a well-known fact that Goshen, IN, draws in a number of undocumented immigrants. The Record does its best to cover the events and issues surrounding immigration in the GC community.
It’s a well-known fact that Goshen, IN, draws in a number of undocumented immigrants. The Record does its best to cover the events and issues surrounding immigration in the GC community.
November 20, 2025
Choosing community and connection
The theme of this week’s Goshen College convocation was “US Immigration.” The convo was hosted by Gilberto Pérez, vice president of Student Life, Philipp Gollner, professor of U.S. history, and Saulo Padilla, a Mennonite Central Committee migration education coordinator. They shared their stories of immigration to the United States. Gollner, who grew up in Austria, took the stand first. He started by talking about his experiences with immigration while going through Chicago O’Hare airport this year. Gollner explained that he has been through immigration twice this year and how in April, he was called into secondary questioning with his family...
February 13, 2025
GC faces reality of new presidential administration
In light of President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders and policies on immigration, Goshen College has begun establishing protocols for the possibility of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers appearing on campus. Amidst feelings of fear and anxiety from students who may be affected by these changes to national policy, GC leaders are doing their best to provide reassurance. ICE is a branch of law enforcement that focuses on “criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws,” according to the organization’s mission statement. Peter Claassen, a supervising attorney at the Goshen branch of the National Immigrant Justice Center, described the specific section of...
March 17, 2022
Baltimore SST focuses on immigration
Next fall, Goshen College will send off its first split-semester Study-Service Term (SST) unit, with participants spending half of the semester on GC’s campus and the other half in Baltimore, Maryland. The unit will focus on the themes of immigration, asylum and refugees. During the first half of the semester, the students will take two classes: one on literature written by refugees and other displaced people, and the second on the causes and consequences of global migration. Then, after the midterm break, they will travel to Baltimore for service placements. The split-semester arrangement reflects a shift in the SST department...
January 24, 2020
Indiana bill would grant driver’s licenses to undocumented Hoosiers
A bill in the Indiana House of Representatives would grant driver’s licenses to the 100,000 Indiana residents who lack legal documentation, easing the constant fear that accompanies undocumented drivers. The bill, House Bill 1083, is sponsored by Representatives Chris Campbell and J.D. Ford, and has been introduced for years but has never been scheduled for a vote. The bill was assigned to the roads and transportation committee on Jan. 7, but has yet to be scheduled for public hearing. If it does not receive a hearing, it will be shelved until next year. Goshen College doesn’t know the exact number...
November 13, 2019
Dreamers and allies gather in solidarity
The legal status of approximately 700,000 Dreamers in the United States lies in limbo. On Nov. 12, the U.S. Supreme Court held a hearing to hear the case brought against Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) by the Trump administration. The challenge against DACA is based on the claim that President Obama did not have the authority to create such a program. Halfway across the country, students at Goshen College gathered to show solidarity for “Dreamers.” Latino Student Union (LSU) and the Elkhart County Hope Network sponsored the event in the Union Commons, where over 70 people, young and old,...
January 31, 2019
Tom Gjelten presents the 2019 Yoder Public Affairs Lecture
Tom Gjelten, NPR religion and belief correspondent, traveled from Arlington, Virginia to Goshen, Indiana on Monday to present the 2019 Yoder Public Affairs Lecture. The Yoder Public Affairs Lecture Series is an endowed lecture series, started in 1978 by Frank and Betty Jo Yoder, with the goal of bringing well-known speakers to talk about current events for Goshen College students, faculty, as well as community members. Gjelten arrived around 4 p.m. to meet with the Globe Media leadership. Gjelten talked about how he became a correspondent at NPR, his involvement in reporting on 9/11 from the Pentagon the day of...
March 22, 2018
Community responds to DACA update
Dreamers located in Elkhart County let out a sigh of relief on March 14 when the Indiana Legislature passed a proposal allowing DACA recipients to continue obtaining professional licenses. The Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, was put into place in 2012 during the Obama Administration in hopes of protecting undocumented persons who came to the United States as children. With DACA status, Dreamers, or DACA recipients, are protected from deportation and receive a work permit. Every two years, Dreamers must renew their DACA status. During Trump’s first year of presidency, he announced that DACA was to be...
February 1, 2018
Community celebrates CoreCivic withdrawl
Chants of “Si, se puede!” (“Yes, we can!”) changed to “Si, se pudo!” (“Yes, we could!”) on January 27, when over 300 members of the Elkhart County community gathered at College Mennonite Church. The occasion was in celebration of CoreCivic’s Monday decision to withdraw its proposal to build immigration detention center in Elkhart. The evening’s program included an audience sing-along of the original song “Queremos Paz” (We Want Peace) and speeches from community members involved in the events leading up to the CoreCivic decision. Translator headsets were provided for Spanish speaking attendees. Lisa Koop, Associate Director of Legal Services for...
January 25, 2018
Dreamers recap trip to D.C.
Jose Chiquito, along with 18 other DACA recipients and allies, traveled to Capitol Hill to demand a “#CleanDreamActNow.” Chiquito, a Goshen College sophomore, left with Indiana Dreamers in Action (DIA) on Wednesday, Jan. 17 and traveled 10 hours to Washington D.C. with the intent of conducting sit-ins and meeting with senators. DIA was one of the many pro-DREAMers movements from all over the country that journeyed to D.C. for a “Day of Action” where they demanded that a clean Dream Act be included in the government budget. DIA’s first stop on their brief time in D.C. was to Saint Marks,...
January 25, 2018
CoreCivic withdraws zoning requests for ICE facility
On Monday morning, Elkhart County Commissioner Mike Yoder informed the public that CoreCivic, a private prison company, had chosen to withdraw their zoning request to build a 250,000-square-foot ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention facility in Elkhart County. This announcement followed a groundbreaking letter last week from local business leaders, demonstrating a lack of economic support for the facility and issuing a call for CoreCivic to withdraw their proposal. Signees of the letter include Goshen mayor Jeremy Stutsman, local chambers of commerce and prominent business leaders of local communities. Announced in fall of 2017, CoreCivic’s plans to create an ICE...
January 18, 2018
Q&A with Sandra Cortez
Sandra Cortez, a first-year Nursing Major student at Goshen College, who shared her thoughts about being a DACA student: When did you receive DACA? “I received DACA about three years ago after I finally got approved for it.” How has having DACA impacted your life? “It has opened many doors and possibilities such as continuing my education, allowing me to drive and to work. Also, DACA has helped me to stop relying so heavily on parents and become independent.” What motivates you to be where you are today? “I do it for myself. I like seeing myself do new and...
January 18, 2018
Dreamers Travel to Washington D.C.
Members of Indiana Dreamers in Action (DIA) shrugged on their nicest suit jackets and pulled on their dancing shoes on Friday night as they hosted Black Out, a fundraiser of dancing and drinks. Last night, they used the donated money to pay for gas as they drove to the east coast. Today, they will wrap scarves tight around their necks and grasp signs of protest as they lobby in Washington D.C. DIA, composed of 19 DREAMers, including Goshen College’s Jose Galvan Chiquito, a sophomore, headed to the U.S. capitol yesterday. When the group arrives in D.C., they will be visiting...
January 18, 2018
Immigration Detention Center Press Conference
Local leaders representing major constituencies in Elkhart County linked arms with the Coalition Against the Elkhart County Immigration Detention Center on Tuesday at a press conference to show their support against the proposed detention center for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. Representatives from the local government, businesses, faith communities, the Latino community, the African-American community, DACA recipients, the legal community, retirees, and the medical community came together to share their own reasons as to why CoreCivic, one of the nation’s largest for-profit prison owners, should not build a ICE detention center in Goshen. News broke on Nov. 17...
November 30, 2017
Goshen community reacts to proposed ICE detention center
On C.R. 7, just outside Goshen, lies a property which has existed as farmland owned by Fir Properties LLC of Elkhart, up until now. However, this property could potentially become the location of a detention center for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. The company interested in buying the property is CoreCivic of Nashville, Tennessee, one of the largest for-profit prison owners in the United States. CoreCivic owns over 70 facilities, located in 20 states throughout the U.S. They currently house over 70,000 inmates. The proposed facility in Elkhart would house 800-1,200 inmates. The detention center would be used...
November 16, 2017
Goshen Resident Identification cards become available in Dec.
Starting in December, Goshen Resident Identification Cards (GRID) will become available to all residents of Goshen. Monday’s launch of GRID marked a culmination of significant effort by the Center for Healing & Hope and the Elkhart County HOPE network. The GRID card is available to everyone who lives in the city of Goshen, but will be of particular help to those who are unable to attain other forms of identification or documentation. It is not a valid form of identification for voting or a driver’s license. Bryan Mierau, the executive director of the Center for Healing & Hope, said the...