Cross-Border Initiatives

Building Sustainable Peace at the Border

As the closest peace institute to the U.S.-Mexico border, we seek to build peace in the border region through research grounded in a nuanced understanding of the challenges faced by border communities and in partnership with local scholars, practitioners and policymakers.

The Border is Always Changing

In the International Journal of Migration and Border Studies, Kroc IPJ Cross-Border Initiatives Director Rebeca Cazares co-authored a mixed-methods study of resilience among migrant serving organizations (MSOs) in the U.S. and Mexico. This study highlights the crucial role that MSOs play in addressing ongoing humanitarian challenges as well as the importance of bi-national collaboration. It also offers evidence-based insights into organizational resilience and identifies strategies for strengthening MSOs' crisis response and long-term sustainability.

Announcing the 2025 Kroc Border Fellows

The Kroc IPJ is excited to announce the fourth cohort of Kroc Border Fellows. The Kroc Border Fellows program brings together leaders to build a more inclusive and peaceful Mexico-US border region. The program engages in action oriented research and meaningful community partnerships to strengthen peace and justice on both sides of the border. Read on to learn more about the six new Fellows and their projects!

Peacebuilding at the San Diego-Tijuana Border: A Ground Level View

This brief seeks to understand the work of peacebuilders on the ground in Tijuana, a city experiencing systemic, chronic violence. Based on survey research and interviews conducted with those peacebuilders, the brief identifies insights that can help inform a peacebuilding field that includes and integrates work in conflict zones and non-conflict zones experiencing widespread violence.

Border Fellows Report | Reporte Border Fellows

The Kroc Border Fellows Program brings together changemakers working to build a more inclusive and peaceful border region, focusing on Southern California and Baja California. This report provides an overview of each of the 2023 Border Fellows' projects and places those projects within the broader context of the Tijuana-San Diego border region.

English

Español

About the Kroc Border Fellows Program

The Kroc Border Fellows program brings together leaders working in academia, civil society, the public sector, and the private sector to build a more inclusive and peaceful Mexico-U.S. border region. The program engages in action oriented research and meaningful community partnerships to strengthen peace and justice on both sides of the border.

What Cross Border Initiatives at the U.S.- Mexico Border Can Look Like Today

Rebeca Cazares Adame, director of Cross-Border Initatives here at the Kroc IPJ, joined the University of San Diego's At the Edge of It All podcast to discuss the Kroc Border Fellows program.

Listen (English o español)

Myths of Tijuana as a ‘Borderland Sin City’ devalue its rich history and complex reality

For the San Diego Union Tribune, former Kroc IPJ Border Fellow Rebeca Cázares wrote an op-ed about the history of Tijuana for the city’s 133rd anniversary. As a Tijuana resident, Cázares shares how the migrant city’s stigmatized image has influenced its development. She calls for both San Diego and Tijuana to “harness the power of our cross-border symbiotic relationship to move forward with co-responsibility, to build a more peaceful and inclusive region.”

Get involved with Cross-Border Initiatives

To learn more about Cross-Border Initiatives, please contact Program Director Rebeca Cázares at mcazaresadame@sandiego.edu

You are viewing a past initiative