life in the borderlands: Off to Guatemala!

Things have been pretty crazy here, so I haven't had a chance to write in quite a while. I'm flying to Guatemala City in the morning, so I figured I should write about the last couple of weeks before I head out. This is going to be long...

Back in early February we went on a weekend-long excursion to Sonora again. We left Tucson early in the morning and drove to Nogales, AZ to meet the Border Patrol. Woo!  We started with a powerpoint presentation which outlined the objectives of the BP. These objectives, it should be noted, include deterring the entry of aliens and narcotics, counteracting terrorism, and protecting the nation). Terrorism? Terrorism. Someone in our group asked the BPA for an estimate of how many terrorists they apprehend per year. The officer was unable to provide an exact number, but said that there definitely are terrorists that try to sneak over the fence.

The Nogales station is the largest in the country; they have 719 BPAs, 120 detailers (temporary BPAs from other stations), and a huge support staff.  After the presentation, the officer proudly told us that "things are getting better with more boots on the ground." He also told us that in the last decade, two BPAs lost their lives while on the job in Nogales. There was a space in the office dedicated to the two officers, complete with photos and poems, but there was no space to remember the upwards of 3,000 migrants who have died in the last decade while trying to cross the border and make ends meet.

The powerpoint also introduced us to sophisticated BP technology, including in-ground sensors (which animals set off, by the way), moving cameras, x-ray trucks at the checkpoints, skywatch towers, and radiation detectors. One of the "less lethal" weapons they carry was supposedly "too powerful" to be tested on the agents during training....but they use it to immobilize people trying to cross. The BPAs patrole on foot, horseback, by truck, and in the air. They also have fences that are made out of barbed wire or steel. Mr. officer regretted to inform us that although there are currently thousands of miles of fence separating the two countries, there are a few places up in the mountains where there is no fence at all (!!!!!!).

The officer was also proud to tell us about Operation Streamline (just one day after we had seen it ourselves), and said that it's great because it "gives us the opportunity to have multiple people see a judge at the same time." Excellent!

We then toured the office, and learned about the detention part of the facility. People may stay here for up to a week; they are served chili, crackers, water, and juice at 6am, noon, 6pm, and midnight. The BPA told us that there were so many people detained last week that they had to place people in the "overflow" facility, which is outside on the patio. This was the week when the nights dropped to 30 degrees.

The BP was really proud of their work. The number of apprehensions has been on a steady decline for the last few years (probably because of the extra boots). We also learned that when the BP comes upon a group of migrants, they immediately confiscate all of their belongings--including water, food, and money.

It was really interesting to see this aspect of the "immigration debate", but really hard to process it. Thousands of people are employed by this industry, and that will only increase as time goes on. The system is seemingly unchangeable at this point--we cannot open our borders; we can only seal them tighter. I wanted to hate them, but I couldn't quite do it. To them, this is a job that provides for their families.

After our visit with BP, we headed to Altar, the city that nearly all migrants pass through before crossing the border. The town is littered with vendors trying to sell water jugs, scarves, food, and flashlights--things the travelers will need. We went straight to CCAMYN, El Centro Comunitario de Atencion al Migrante y Necesitado, which is a free shelter for migrants passing through. It offers bathrooms, food, and a place to sleep. At dinner, I spoke with a 46 year old man from Honduras who had been traveling by train for a month and a half. He said he wasn't too scared to cross the border, and that he intended to do so in Nogales. I told him there was a wall there. He had no idea. He seemed so happy and grateful to be there and told us about his 3 daughters, grandchild, and life back in Hondoras. He told us about the different animals he's eaten there, including opossum, iguana, and rabbit. He was also excited to tell us that he saw on foodnetwork.com that people eat frogs!! He planned on going to Miami--he heard it's beautiful there, but there are lots of tiburones (sharks). He asked us how to say that in English, and when we did, he said "oh! like radioshack?" :)

here are some pictures from CCAMYN, including a cross made out death reports:

On the following Monday, we visited one of the Florence detention centers. Although I had been to the building before, that day I got to tour the entire facility. When we walked in the building, there was a huge sign that said "Today's Risk: Elevated. Significant risk of a terrorist attack."

We also watched a powerpoint presentation here, during which we learned that there are 1,100 detainees at the facility, 1 medical doctor, 1 psychologist, and 4 asylum officers. Everyone gets to make a free 3 minute phone call upon arriving, but after that they have to pay to use the phone. "How do they make money?", I asked. The guide told us that the facility offers a variety of work programs, in which detainees work 8 hours in the cafeteria or in the laundry room and receive one dollar for the entire day. Phone calls cost much more than that.

We learned that when a migrant re-enters the U.S. after being deported, they receive "Violent Criminal Alien Status", can can serve 2-20 years in prison and have to pay a fine of up to $250,000.

We toured the facility, saw their glorious soccer field and outdoor gym, which was full of inmates wearing either blue or orange. Blue, we learned, is a "Class 1": people who crossed illegally, but are not otherwise criminals. Orange is "Class 2 or 3", meaning that are higher-level criminals. This ranges from petty theives to murderers.

Before we left, the officers apologized for being boring, and said, "Border Patrol is way more fun--they have all sorts of fun toys [guns], humvees, and special night glasses." Way more fun.

The following weekend we went to the Tohono O'odam nation to spend the night with one of the reservation's most outspoken members. She showed us her land and told us about how the Border Patrol has invaded her life. They frequently barge onto people's property, come into their houses, and drive their trucks around at all hours of the evening. The most troubling part of the experience was seeing the steel post fence that the BP built to divide the nation. Just a few years ago, before the fence existed, families could travel back and forth to visit one another. Now, they are not allowed to cross unless they travel hundreds of miles to a port of entry. The woman we stayed with said she used to walk 15 minutes to visit her father's ranch, but she can no longer visit him because of the fence. It was truly devastating to hear. Here are pictures from her house and the fence: