ISSUES WITH TOP OFFICIALS. ACTION 7 NEWS REPORTER MARISSA ARMAS TELLS US WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US. MARISSA? MARISSA: WELL, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MEMBERS OF OUR STATE TO SHARE STORIES ON WHAT WE’RE SEEING AT OUR BORDER WITH MEXICO, BUT ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO LEARN FROM TWO COUNTRIES WHO HAVE DEALT WITH IMMIGRATION AND BORDER ISSUES FOR DECADES. NEW MEXICO WITH A SEAT AT THE TABLE. >> TO TRAVEL TO ISRAEL AND PALESTINE ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE FOR ONE OF THE LARGEST CONFLICTS IN MODERN HISTORY AND THAT IS THE ISRALI-PALESTANIAN CONFLICT. MARISSA: GIVING TWO NEW MEXICANS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH TOP OFFICIALS ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND BORDER ISSUES. >> I GET TO BRING OUR PESPECTIVE FROM THE BORDERLAND, LA FRONTERA, TO THE BORDER BETWEEN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE AND THE BORDER BETWEEN ISRAEL AND SYRIA. MARISSA: JAMES HALLINAN IS A MEMBER OF A DELEGATION OF HISPANIC LEADERS ON THE BORDER. HE IS ONE OF DOZENS OF BORDERLAND RESIDENTS FROM ACROSS THE REGION SELECTED FOR THE OPPORTUNITY, SAYING NEW MEXICO’S PERSPECTIVE NEEDS TO BE TOLD. >> JUST BECAUSE THERE ARE THINGS THEY SEE ON THE TELEVISION ABOUT RHETORIC, SAYING THE BORDER BETWEEN MEXICO AND THE UNITED STATES IS DANGEROUS, I WANT TO TELL THEM THAT THAT’S NOT TRUE. AND I WANT THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR FAMILIES JUST LIK PALESTINIAN FAMILIES AND ISRAELI FAMILIES COME ACROSS -- FAMILIES, CROSS THE BORDER BACK AND FOURTH. MARISSA: FOR HALLINAN, THIS IS NOT ONLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO CONFRONT OUR CHALLENGES AND EXPERIENCES ON THE SOUTHERN BORDER. >> THEY’RE FACING ROCKETS EVERYDAY BACK AND FORTH OR AIRSTRIKES, EVERY DAY BACK AND FOURTH. -- BACK AND FORTH. MARISA: BUT ALSO A TIME TO LEARN AND SEEK INPUT FROM OUR FRIENDS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD. >> WE NEED TO REALLY PUT INTO PERSPECTIVE ABOUT WHAT OUR BORDER SITUATION IS, AND HOW SAFE IT IS FOR OUR FAMILIES COMPARED TO ONE OF THE LARGEST CONFLICTS IN THE WORLD. MARISSA: NOW, THE DELEGATION WILL LEAVE ON SATURDAY AND BE IN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE FOR EIGHT DAYS. MOST OF THEM FROM TEXAS, AND A FEW OTHERS FROM COLO