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鈥淩adical hospitality鈥� goes beyond politeness. It’s treating strangers with revolutionary generosity, working to make them feel welcome and supporting them in their journeys.

That is the immigration policy now proposed by three Portland State University architecture students, who in 2016 traveled along the U.S.-Mexico border to perform research for a thesis project.

鈥淲e flew from here to San Diego, rented a car and then drove the length of the border to Brownsville (Texas),鈥� third-year graduate student Genevieve Wasser said.

Wasser joined second-year graduate students Alejandra Ruiz and Janna Ferguson on the trip. The trio spent two weeks driving nearly 2,000 miles and speaking to people on both sides of the border about ways to reduce deaths and mitigate environmental impacts tied to immigration.

Ironically, the students connected after learning of a competition called 鈥淏uilding the Wall.鈥� Despite its name, the purpose was to elicit serious discussion about the idea of a border wall. But the students ended up taking their thesis in an entirely different direction and became convinced that their research should stay out of the competition.

鈥淭hat got us together to submit for the (L. Rudolph Barton) travel fellowship,鈥� Ruiz said. 鈥�(The competition) was a provocation.鈥�

The students ended up learning about multiple issues facing the border region. One of the biggest complaints they heard from people is immigrants’ environmental impact.

鈥淟ocals have complaints about the militarization of the border, but they also have complaints about migrant movement 鈥� particularly due to the items left behind by migrants during their journey,鈥� Wasser said.

The students propose creating an autonomous transient landscape instrument (ALTI). The ALTI would be a robot approximately 30 feet tall that walks on six legs. The purpose of the robot would be to collect trash and also provide water for people making long treks through the desert.

鈥淭he robot walks about 2 mph and stops for 15 minutes every hour, which would allow migrants to catch up and get water,鈥� Ferguson said. 鈥淚t’s just a concept; it’s the first part of our design narrative.鈥�

The second part would be to find partners near the border able to assist migrants with issues such as injuries. The concept often is found among churches in larger cities and would be expanded.

鈥淚t’s an exploration of sanctuary churches as a response to political problems,鈥� Ferguson said. 鈥淲e are looking at taking that church and expanding it with this idea of a house of many rooms.鈥�

The sanctuaries would operate like an underground railroad, helping immigrants reach their destinations, according to the students. Their thesis focused on issues created by immigrant crossings, and not where or how they take place.

The students learned on their trip that fences and walls aren’t working even where they exist currently.

鈥淭he question of where migrants should cross is very political,鈥� Ferguson said. 鈥淚t’s not a design question at all. The reality is that the wall isn’t stopping the immigrants.鈥�

Forcing immigrants into dangerous crossings in the desert has had both moral and financial impacts on surrounding communities, according to the students. When migrants die in the desert, they said, people lose loved ones and municipalities must absorb the costs of identifying bodies and returning them to relatives.

The students hope their work will spark more tangible proposals that are less divisive than building a wall.

鈥淲e have a certain responsibility to not decrease the value of somebody’s life just because they are from a different country,鈥� Ferguson said. 鈥淚 don’t think we have any business designing anything divisive. That is why our intervention doesn’t have anything to do with the wall.鈥�