Erika Takeo Abroad: On the US-Mexico Border with BorderLinks

This spring break I had the opportunity to participate in a week-long BorderLinks delegation to Tucson, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora with a group from Westminster Presbyterian Church and The College of Wooster (both from Wooster, Ohio). BorderLinks is an educational organization that facilitates experiential learning on US-Mexico border issues. Attending a high school that was interested in social justice issues and volunteering with local non-profits such as Adelante Mujeres, I was one of a seemingly small group of Americans that had learned at least a little bit about immigration between the US and Latin America. Additionally, my involvement with the movement to shut down the School of the Americas has increased my knowledge of the US’ impact on other nations, often in the form of economic marginalization or militarization, which causes the subsequent need for impoverished or endangered persons to migrate. Even with some prior knowledge, this trip provided me with a mosaic of immigration with greatly deepened my understanding of the bigger picture and also gave more “faces” to the issue. I was able to meet and talk with countless individuals who were migrating, had been deported, or had friends and family in these situations.

The migration from Mexico to the United States is a phenomenon that has existed for a long time; however, when Bill Clinton signed NAFTA in 1994 the situation in Mexico worsened. NAFTA meant that the United States could export products to Mexico with no taxes or tariffs, meaning that many US products (especially its subsidized corn) were cheaper for Mexicans to purchase than what was produced within the country. Unfortunately the situation was not the same for Mexican products entering into the United States- these products still face high taxes and tariffs, so NAFTA wasn’t really created for “free trade” but a means to enhance the US economy at the expense of others. Mexican businesses began to struggle and many families (especially those in the southern agricultural areas) have found it impossible to make a living. Increased numbers of people (especially males) began to migrate to the north in hopes of finding a job that could pay decent wages and send some money back to the family. This migration was to the United States or the newly formed maquiladoras along the US-Mexico border, which are large mass production facilities for US corporations that were created because of the availability of cheap Mexican labor. The economic instability is getting so bad now that women are now joining the men in search of a job in the north.

President Clinton didn’t just sign NAFTA into law in 1994. He also began to militarize the US-Mexico border, putting up a gigantic wall along urban border regions and heightened security, making it significantly more difficult for people to cross. A simple hole in the border fence wouldn’t cut it anymore. Thus, migrants were forced to cross to the United States in the desert, a dangerous area which requires many days of walking with little food or water to reach an urban area that will have transportation to a migrant’s final destination. Deaths in the desert are frequent and multiple bodies are found every week. I had the chance to participate in a desert walk on a popular migrant trail area just south of Tucson. I was struggling to navigate the terrain in daylight while being well-fed, clothed, and hydrated. I could barely imagine walking through the area at night (when it is much harder to be spotted) and fearing danger. Thorny cactus, bad blisters, cold nights, and border patrol aren’t the only worries. There has been increased violence against migrants in both the desert and urban areas, including kidnapping until families send bail money, forcing migrants to carry bales of marijuana on their backs, and raping of women.

Violence from other problems (like drugs, fueled by demand in US) is also causing migration. This need for migration is closely linked to the SOA, as seen for example by the recent SOA Watch border delegation which discovered the high numbers of SOA graduates on both sides of the drug conflict. The US’ militarization of Latin America is causing increased violence in areas where countless innocent individuals are living; this political unrest (especially currently from Mexico and Honduras) means that many people are also leaving their homes not just to make money but to live somewhere that is safer. Unfortunately it is currently very difficult for Latin Americans to be granted asylum in the United States, except in the form of sanctuary by many organizations involved in the sanctuary movement.

US militarization doesn’t just affect people of Latin American descent outside of the US borders. It is alive and well within the US too, criminalizing individuals who are trying feed their children instead of addressing underlying structures that are causing this poverty (caused mainly by the US itself- it’s a lose-lose for migrants!). In Arizona, SB 1070 allows for officers to ask persons for their documentation of legal status in the United States as they please. It also prevents day laborers from setting up hiring locations in public spaces, does not allow undocumented persons to ask for jobs, and makes it illegal for citizens to live with or drive undocumented individuals. SB 1070 is essentially legal racial profiling. A newer policy step, the ethnic studies suspension in public schools, means that people can no longer learn the history of Mexican Americans and understand their distinct roots. (Of course, the idea is that immigrants will not become empowered to end injustices because they won’t learn about histories of colonization and continuing imperialism.)

Arizona also has new intensive deportation programs that include increased sentencing of migrants with specific charges placed on their criminal record (rather than simply tossing them back over the border) in the Operation Streamline program. I witnessed 70 migrants sentenced to deportation in court and some received prison sentences in our nation’s growing privatized prisons which costs the government about $120 per person per day. Operation Streamline is not evenknown to be effective at decreasing deportations. One of the most evil policies I learned about was the splitting up of family members upon deportation to ensure that migrants are as disoriented as possible when they are thrown back across the border. The court, imprisonment, and deportation policies, as well as the patrolling by Homeland Security’s various divisions, are extremely expensive. Those of us that pay taxes are paying for these practices. What if we used all of those funds to create programs that could help people in poverty?

Part of a BorderLinks delegation is seeing the variety of NGOs, faith groups, community organizations, youth, and artists that are all very involved in the struggles with immigration & the border on both the US and Mexico side. Southside PresbyterianChurch has been involved in the sanctuary movement since its inception during the violence in Latin America in the 1980s, providing a safe place for those seeking asylum from violence in their home countries. The church property also has a migrant shrine and a day laborer center. Green Valley Samaritans and Tucson Samaritans organize desert walks to provide aid to migrants and search for bodies of those who have deceased in the desert. HumaneBorders sets up emergency water stations in the desert. No More Deaths researches violence against migrants and works to end deaths along the border. Border Action Network and Coalición de Derechos Humanos make sure that immigrants know their rights and are able to defend themselves according the law and constitution when they are stopped by police. El Libro-Traficante is working to bring back books that were banned in part of the ethnic studies suspension injustices.

On the Sonora, Mexico side, El Hogar de Esperanza y Paz operates as a community center that provides food for neighborhood children, workshops on the Culture of Peace, a women’s cooperative, and education programs for both children and adults. Transportes Fronterizos, El Comedor, the government center for deportedminors, and the Kino Border Initiative provide support to recently deported migrants in the form of discounted bus fare, food, clothing, phones to call home, counseling, and simple housing. Nogales, Sonora is blooming with new artists who are tackling border issues via theater and visual art such as Yonke.

Over and over again, I heard hopeful individuals tell their stories of migration and suffering that I do not believe any human being should have to endure. Over and over again, these individuals said that all they wanted was a job. A simple job. They did not want to get in anyone’s way, they just wanted to make a little money to send home and feed their families. Those that had lived in the United States found Americans to be very friendly and helpful and couldn’t understand why Latin Americans were being discriminated against. I feel the same way. Just because a human being lives on a different side of an arbitrarily constructed line does not mean that they should not be able to attain a decent livelihood. Oppressive policies of the United States benefit a very select group of people while disenfranchising the rest, and our government refuses to help those who have lost out in this process. I do not know how to get rid of policies such as NAFTA and border militarization but I know that they need to be abolished if we want to prevent the continued impoverishment of millions of people in Mexico and beyond.

I would encourage all those who work for peace and justice to organize a BorderLinks delegation in their home communities to see these issues first hand. I can guarantee that even if it only takes up a few days of your time it will change your life as you realize the responsibility you have to work for a more humane immigration system. Together as groups of grassroots communities we can work to end the various unjust US policies that promote militarization, neocolonialism, racism, and injustice.

Update: Thank you to Dick Beery for the great photos.

Our delegation (left to right): Justin (BorderLinks intern from Columbus, OH), Amanda, Scott (US trip leader), Giang, Nileema, Dries (Westminster pastor), Beth (Westminster student ministry coordinator), Wyatt, MaryCruz (Mexico trip leader), Alex, Erika, Dick