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.
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| 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 |
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| Before our desert walk. Items on the table were found in the desert, left behind by migrants. |
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| Elias (teacher at El Hogar de Esperanza y Paz) plays some guitar for us. |
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| Josue from Honduras, who shared his story with us at El Comedor in Nogales. |
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| Mural by Taller Yonke artists Guadalupe Serrano and Alberto Morackis at El Hogar de Esperanza y Paz. |
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| Dries, Beth, and Erika at El Hogar de Esperanza y Paz in Nogales. |
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| Along the wall, US side. |
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| Our FANTASTIC trip leaders MaryCruz and Scott. |
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| MaryCruz and Elias. |
