I now find myself sitting in an airplane on my way to the United States. With my Danish passport, it’s so easy for me. It feels too easy when I think about what migrants go through to get to the same place.
I’m going to Arizona to experience the border between the United States and Mexico. I hope that I’ll be lucky enough to share in the company of people like those I met on the other border. This has been an important time for me, and I hope with this 102nd voice that I can pass on some of theknowledge that I gained.
Mia
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Border 102: Casa de Migrantes, Ixtepec
Four days later we arrived at the Casa de Migrantes, situated outside the city along the railway. The albergue had just been created and was little more than a dirt field, the skeleton of a chapel, a shed full of food and blankets, and a place to sit in the shade. Father Alejandro greeted us. He was dressed in white from head to toe and carried a cross around his neck. Even though he didn’t look like it, he was seventy-two.
He invited us into the shade where a few other people were sitting. Two were a couple from Honduras. In the conversation between them, Father Alejandro, Father John, and some of the volunteers, I learned three important things about migration:
--Father John: It’s extremely difficult to get a work permit and only migrants with work permits, he said, pay taxes. Migrants will come through anyway, so if migrants came through on a work permit the state would get something out of it as well.
--Father Alejandro: Migrants stay longer and longer in the U.S. because it’s so hard to get there. When they finally arrive, they stay for longer and longer periods.
--The Honduran couple: “The United States is a good place to work, but we (migrants) don’t want to live there.”After two days in Ixtepec, a train arrived with hundreds of migrants. Some of them recognized us.
Ryan and I helped direct people to the Casa del Migrante, where they picked up food, water and medical supplies, and after three hours they jumped onto another train to continue on their travels.
This time Ryan and I heard the whistle in time to see the train take off with the migrants. As the train took off, we saw migrants running and jumping on the train, and people waiving from the top of the freight cars. It was a very special moment. Even though there is so much difficulty in the migrants’ journey, there was so much joy in their faces as they left.
When we came back to the Casa, I learned my last lesson along the Guatemala-Mexico border. There was a conversation between the volunteers and the migrants. One volunteer tried to explain how important it was for the immigrants to maintain their hygiene, take showers, wash their clothes and look proper. Then a tall gentleman from Nicaragua stood up and said that, for him, it was important to look like a migrant. When people see migrants dressed well, he said, they think to themselves that it’s not hard to be a migrant. It doesn’t look hard to be a migrant but it is hard, he said. “It’s not the hunger, the thirst, or the sickness. It’s that we have to leave our country and our families behind.”
He invited us into the shade where a few other people were sitting. Two were a couple from Honduras. In the conversation between them, Father Alejandro, Father John, and some of the volunteers, I learned three important things about migration:
--Father John: It’s extremely difficult to get a work permit and only migrants with work permits, he said, pay taxes. Migrants will come through anyway, so if migrants came through on a work permit the state would get something out of it as well.
--Father Alejandro: Migrants stay longer and longer in the U.S. because it’s so hard to get there. When they finally arrive, they stay for longer and longer periods.
--The Honduran couple: “The United States is a good place to work, but we (migrants) don’t want to live there.”After two days in Ixtepec, a train arrived with hundreds of migrants. Some of them recognized us.
Ryan and I helped direct people to the Casa del Migrante, where they picked up food, water and medical supplies, and after three hours they jumped onto another train to continue on their travels.
This time Ryan and I heard the whistle in time to see the train take off with the migrants. As the train took off, we saw migrants running and jumping on the train, and people waiving from the top of the freight cars. It was a very special moment. Even though there is so much difficulty in the migrants’ journey, there was so much joy in their faces as they left.
When we came back to the Casa, I learned my last lesson along the Guatemala-Mexico border. There was a conversation between the volunteers and the migrants. One volunteer tried to explain how important it was for the immigrants to maintain their hygiene, take showers, wash their clothes and look proper. Then a tall gentleman from Nicaragua stood up and said that, for him, it was important to look like a migrant. When people see migrants dressed well, he said, they think to themselves that it’s not hard to be a migrant. It doesn’t look hard to be a migrant but it is hard, he said. “It’s not the hunger, the thirst, or the sickness. It’s that we have to leave our country and our families behind.”
Border 102: Casa de la Misericordia, Arriaga
After a five-hour bus ride from Tapachula, Lois, Ryan and I arrived in Arriaga. Juan, a young volunteer from Casa de la Misericordia, greeted us. Right away he took us to the railway in the center of the city, where we got the opportunity to meet with the migrants and talk with them about their journeys. The migrants had been waiting for a train that leaves every three days. For some it was their second or third attempt at reaching the States without luck. Others had been deported and separated from their families in the United States.
After some heavy conversation we turned to a light game of soccer. Players from Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador all came together, with a spice of Danish and North American. For those two hours, I forgot what these people were going through. I heard that migrants are categorized as terrorists and criminals, but in these moments I realized that they were just people chasing a dream for a better life as they were chasing soccer balls. Now we were all just playing this game, fighting together to win.
I was the only woman there, but Juan told us that ten percent of the migrants passing through Arriaga are women—women who experience a lot of discrimination, women who are robbed, women who are raped. They go through such an inhuman travel to reach a human life, I thought to myself. The three of us left at the whistle of the train, a whistle that rang loudly to us because we knew what it meant to the migrants.
Later we were invited to speak with Father Heyman Vásquez. He started the albergue two and a half years ago. When the migrants come to the albergue, they often are very tired, hungry and sick because of the long walk from the border. They often spend two to three days at the albergue to recover before they seek the railway at the center of the city and wait for the next train to leave.
The Father has seen a lot of migrants and how they are treated. “Where are human rights?” he asked us. Migrants, he said, can’t really do anything about the corruption and violence of the police. “La situación de los inmigrantes es terrible.” He wishes that the government would spend more money on something to solve this problem, for example, by giving more money to the under-funded Grupo Beta.
From inside the office, we could hear the train give another long, loud whistle. We ran outside to say goodbye, but when we reached the railway the train had already passed and the migrants were on their way to their next stop: Ixtepec, Oaxaca.
After some heavy conversation we turned to a light game of soccer. Players from Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador all came together, with a spice of Danish and North American. For those two hours, I forgot what these people were going through. I heard that migrants are categorized as terrorists and criminals, but in these moments I realized that they were just people chasing a dream for a better life as they were chasing soccer balls. Now we were all just playing this game, fighting together to win.
I was the only woman there, but Juan told us that ten percent of the migrants passing through Arriaga are women—women who experience a lot of discrimination, women who are robbed, women who are raped. They go through such an inhuman travel to reach a human life, I thought to myself. The three of us left at the whistle of the train, a whistle that rang loudly to us because we knew what it meant to the migrants.
Later we were invited to speak with Father Heyman Vásquez. He started the albergue two and a half years ago. When the migrants come to the albergue, they often are very tired, hungry and sick because of the long walk from the border. They often spend two to three days at the albergue to recover before they seek the railway at the center of the city and wait for the next train to leave.
The Father has seen a lot of migrants and how they are treated. “Where are human rights?” he asked us. Migrants, he said, can’t really do anything about the corruption and violence of the police. “La situación de los inmigrantes es terrible.” He wishes that the government would spend more money on something to solve this problem, for example, by giving more money to the under-funded Grupo Beta.
From inside the office, we could hear the train give another long, loud whistle. We ran outside to say goodbye, but when we reached the railway the train had already passed and the migrants were on their way to their next stop: Ixtepec, Oaxaca.
Border 102: Casa del Buen Pastor, Tapachula
Later in the afternoon we went to Casa del Buen Pastor, more commonly referred to as Casa de Doña Olga, a place for migrants who fought for a future that the trains took away.
The migrants who come to Doña Olga’s have lost limbs or suffered severe injury while attempting the northward journey by train. There are approximately twenty checkpoints on the highway between Tapachula and Mexico City, so the railways have become a popular—although more dangerous—means for Central American migrants to avoid contact with authorities that might extort or deport them. Because of the exhausts of basic human needs—dehydration, hunger and a lack of sleep—and the malvados along the way—gangs, thieves and police—migrants often fall off or are thrown off the trains. Many become amputees, and there are no official services available to take care of them.
Casa del Buen Pastor began almost twenty years ago when Doña Olga recognized the need to take care of the amputees. Beautiful and graying, she started Casa del Buen Pastor after she herself survived a life-threatening sickness. It has never been easy and to this day she still has to fight for the survival of the albergue. Although some non-government organizations have helped considerably, in Doña Olga ’s words, both the government and local church has closed its eyes to the amputees. The International Red Cross doesn’t provide them with anything either. If the albergue wants to buy blood, it’s more expensive to buy from The International Red Cross than it is from the hospital.
The albergue, however, takes care of more than just their guests’ medical needs. Most of the migrants are farmers and are used to using their bodies as tools, tools that the train has taken away from them. Volunteers teach them technical and language skills so that they can develop new tools to make a living in the future.
“Mi elemento de vivir!”, Doña Olga told us. “Mis hermanos, mis gentes, mis familias….los migrantes!” ("My essense of life! My brothers and sisters, my people, my families... the migrants!"
The migrants who come to Doña Olga’s have lost limbs or suffered severe injury while attempting the northward journey by train. There are approximately twenty checkpoints on the highway between Tapachula and Mexico City, so the railways have become a popular—although more dangerous—means for Central American migrants to avoid contact with authorities that might extort or deport them. Because of the exhausts of basic human needs—dehydration, hunger and a lack of sleep—and the malvados along the way—gangs, thieves and police—migrants often fall off or are thrown off the trains. Many become amputees, and there are no official services available to take care of them.
Casa del Buen Pastor began almost twenty years ago when Doña Olga recognized the need to take care of the amputees. Beautiful and graying, she started Casa del Buen Pastor after she herself survived a life-threatening sickness. It has never been easy and to this day she still has to fight for the survival of the albergue. Although some non-government organizations have helped considerably, in Doña Olga ’s words, both the government and local church has closed its eyes to the amputees. The International Red Cross doesn’t provide them with anything either. If the albergue wants to buy blood, it’s more expensive to buy from The International Red Cross than it is from the hospital.
The albergue, however, takes care of more than just their guests’ medical needs. Most of the migrants are farmers and are used to using their bodies as tools, tools that the train has taken away from them. Volunteers teach them technical and language skills so that they can develop new tools to make a living in the future.
“Mi elemento de vivir!”, Doña Olga told us. “Mis hermanos, mis gentes, mis familias….los migrantes!” ("My essense of life! My brothers and sisters, my people, my families... the migrants!"
Border 102: Militares and Balseros, Ciudad Hidalgo and Tecún Uman
The next morning we grabbed a colectivo and went to Ciudad Hidalgo and Tecún Uman, two of the most visited cities on the Mexico-Guatemala border. There we saw the cat and mouse game in action. As people crossed the Suchiate River “illegally” on inflatable rafts, the Mexican military watched but didn’t do anything to stop them.
It’s a forbidden but obvious traffic. Well-dressed people board the balsas to get to work; others start their journey through Mexico; and behind it all there are armed militares there supervise the crossings, but at no point do they interfere. A few hundred meters from the official border checkpoint, it’s everyday life at the river.
For those making their way toward the United States, the next move is a three-hundred-kilometer walk across Chiapas to catch the trains in Arriaga. It hasn’t always been this way. In 2005, Hurricane Stan hit the coast of Chiapas and destroyed the railway from Tecún Uman to Arriaga. Some Central American migrants decide to take the trains in the north of the state, but for others the journey has become even more difficult.
It’s a forbidden but obvious traffic. Well-dressed people board the balsas to get to work; others start their journey through Mexico; and behind it all there are armed militares there supervise the crossings, but at no point do they interfere. A few hundred meters from the official border checkpoint, it’s everyday life at the river.
For those making their way toward the United States, the next move is a three-hundred-kilometer walk across Chiapas to catch the trains in Arriaga. It hasn’t always been this way. In 2005, Hurricane Stan hit the coast of Chiapas and destroyed the railway from Tecún Uman to Arriaga. Some Central American migrants decide to take the trains in the north of the state, but for others the journey has become even more difficult.
Border 102: Albergue Belén, Tapachula
If there’s a lack of information about people trying to come from Central America to the United States, there are teachers in this world trying to inform us. Father Flor María is one of them. He is a Scalabrini Brother with a long flowing robe and an even longer flowing beard. With his hands up in the air and a cross around his neck, he is the eccentric director of Albergue Belén in Tapachula.
Fr. Flor María said that the Albergue was a springboard for the migrants to continue their travel and an umbrella to protect them. They provide migrants with food and a roof over their heads for three days as they go into Mexico, the hardest country for Central Americans to pass before going into the United States.
The father had a lot of stories to tell us about migrants, some who reached the United States and others who had to try over and over again. He’s seen it all. He talked about the corruption in Mexico—a corruption so bad that he considered Mexico a “cemetery without crosses”. He said that it was a cat-and-mouse game for the police and migrants: the cats get fat and the mice keep on running.
Even though this world of migrants had so much bad in it, Fr. Flor María still believed in the Zapatistas. He thought of the group of indigenous rebels as the “revolution of tomorrow”.
Fr. Flor María said that the Albergue was a springboard for the migrants to continue their travel and an umbrella to protect them. They provide migrants with food and a roof over their heads for three days as they go into Mexico, the hardest country for Central Americans to pass before going into the United States.
The father had a lot of stories to tell us about migrants, some who reached the United States and others who had to try over and over again. He’s seen it all. He talked about the corruption in Mexico—a corruption so bad that he considered Mexico a “cemetery without crosses”. He said that it was a cat-and-mouse game for the police and migrants: the cats get fat and the mice keep on running.
Even though this world of migrants had so much bad in it, Fr. Flor María still believed in the Zapatistas. He thought of the group of indigenous rebels as the “revolution of tomorrow”.
Border 102: Grupo Beta, Tapachula
We met with Francisco Aceves Verdugo, the director of Grupo Beta in Tapachula. With a thin mustache and his hair slicked back, he told us that Grupo Beta is a branch of the Mexican immigration services. The government started a pilot program in 1990 in Tijuana and moved southward to Tapachula in 1996. They did it to provide migrants with basic human rights protections at both the American and Guatemalan borders —first aid, legal representation, etc.
In the beginning Grupo Beta agents carried weapons and were authorized to arrest traffickers. But there was an inherent conflict between guns and the job of working with migrants. If a criminal comes to a doctor with a wound, it’s not the doctor’s job to judge the crime. It’s her or his job to treat the wound. Grupo Beta is a doctor disposed to a national illness of migration. For the coyotes and drug runners there is always the military, but for migrants there is now Grupo Beta. It can be corrupt, but it is one of the few resources available to migrants.
In the beginning Grupo Beta agents carried weapons and were authorized to arrest traffickers. But there was an inherent conflict between guns and the job of working with migrants. If a criminal comes to a doctor with a wound, it’s not the doctor’s job to judge the crime. It’s her or his job to treat the wound. Grupo Beta is a doctor disposed to a national illness of migration. For the coyotes and drug runners there is always the military, but for migrants there is now Grupo Beta. It can be corrupt, but it is one of the few resources available to migrants.
Border 102: an introduction
Border 102
I’m sitting in a cab. I don’t know exactly where I’m going. I’m with Lois, Jody and, of course, Ryan, and we are on our way to Grupo Beta. Lois is with the Samaritans; Jody is with No More Deaths; Ryan does what Ryan does; and I have no clue what Grupo Beta actually is. All I know is that I am with these three people from Arizona and they all have a vision of creating a more human border. I am here to learn from them and with them.
I started my travel three months ago, and I was going to this faraway place of Central America. The bible of my trip was a Lonely Planet. I had nothing planned. I wanted to see the culture and know the reality of this subcontinent, but with the Lonely Planet in my backpack it became a tour of ruins, beaches and hostels.
After five weeks of backpacking in Mexico, I arrived in Guatemala and left my Lonely Planet behind. That was when I met Ryan. He introduced me to another world of migrants, Zapatistas and NAFTA, and his bicycling “Border 101” project that somehow connected them all together.
What is the border?, I thought to myself. What is migration? I am Danish. Migration is not an issue for Danish people like it is for those in this side of the world, especially in Arizona. People migrate to Europe from Africa, but Denmark is too far and too small for many to notice. Migrants often go to Spain and France.
But here I am sitting in this cab, heading off to my first lesson on the Mexico- Guatemala border.
I’m sitting in a cab. I don’t know exactly where I’m going. I’m with Lois, Jody and, of course, Ryan, and we are on our way to Grupo Beta. Lois is with the Samaritans; Jody is with No More Deaths; Ryan does what Ryan does; and I have no clue what Grupo Beta actually is. All I know is that I am with these three people from Arizona and they all have a vision of creating a more human border. I am here to learn from them and with them.
I started my travel three months ago, and I was going to this faraway place of Central America. The bible of my trip was a Lonely Planet. I had nothing planned. I wanted to see the culture and know the reality of this subcontinent, but with the Lonely Planet in my backpack it became a tour of ruins, beaches and hostels.
After five weeks of backpacking in Mexico, I arrived in Guatemala and left my Lonely Planet behind. That was when I met Ryan. He introduced me to another world of migrants, Zapatistas and NAFTA, and his bicycling “Border 101” project that somehow connected them all together.
What is the border?, I thought to myself. What is migration? I am Danish. Migration is not an issue for Danish people like it is for those in this side of the world, especially in Arizona. People migrate to Europe from Africa, but Denmark is too far and too small for many to notice. Migrants often go to Spain and France.
But here I am sitting in this cab, heading off to my first lesson on the Mexico- Guatemala border.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Border 102: Experiential Midwifery
While it's true that absence makes the heart grow fonder, we may also assume that, to all things, there is a statute of limitations. An absence too long felt is but a memory, and memories too often fade away. So I write in the hopes that we arrive at either a fondness or an exception--that you, dear reader, will rejoice in the rebirth of the Border 101 site or at least be willing to shake the dust off these brilliant blogs.
Did you miss me?
Truth be told, much of the work has been done for me with the following posts. Consider me a widwife with these words. I offered an experience and Mia Pallisgaard Hansen, Border 101 intern (also known as Border 102), put down the stories. Mia and I traveled together along the Mexico-Guatemala border in March '07. Grupo Beta, revolutionary priests, the "visualy selective" Mexican military, raft-riding migrants, the amputees at Dona Olga's, the train hoppers: you'll find them all here. Enjoy.
Did you miss me?
Truth be told, much of the work has been done for me with the following posts. Consider me a widwife with these words. I offered an experience and Mia Pallisgaard Hansen, Border 101 intern (also known as Border 102), put down the stories. Mia and I traveled together along the Mexico-Guatemala border in March '07. Grupo Beta, revolutionary priests, the "visualy selective" Mexican military, raft-riding migrants, the amputees at Dona Olga's, the train hoppers: you'll find them all here. Enjoy.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Chiapas, Mexico: on the hiatus
Compañeros y compañeras, everybody,
To the few and bold followers of this blog, I hope that you all are well. Perhaps this post will answer some questions for you, particularly on why I haven't been publishing anything recently.
I'm currently in Chiapas, Mexico. At the turn of the year I will attend the Intergalactico, an international encounter put on by the Zapatistas. I'm hoping to learn from and with global contingent of adherents to the Zapatista cause--against the grinding machinery of neoliberalism and for a "world in which fit many worlds". This is propagandistic at best, in my words, by the idea is to learn about a model of resistence that has worked and continues to work with an oppressed population.
I stopped blogging, more or less, in August. Since then I've spent a few weeks with No More Deaths in Tucson and Arivaca. I returned to the desert to talk with Minutemen and ranch owners. I made my way to El Paso and Juarez not once but twice for the Border Social Forum (Foro fronterizo social) and a stop with the Other Campaign, a listening tour by Zapatista spokesman Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos a.k.a. Delegado Zero. From there, I followed the Subcomandante through northern Mexico, made my way to Mexico City, visited friends in a Nahuatl-speaking community in Guerrero and found myself here. For the next few months I will be writing, revisiting and slowing making my way up north. From there, as always, we'll see what happens.
I've started writing the book. The working title is "Border 101", to no surprise. It will include 100 "voices"--transcribed and translated conversations--from the border and below. The 101st will be my own. I also write as a "zero voice" to accompany the different "chapters" or groups of voices in my life on the border.
Right now I have what we call in Spanish a "rompecabezas"--a "head burster". Photos, video, audio, you name it. In the future, I'll be able to sit down and put it all on this site. For now, however, I've convinced myself to become content with learning and living, rather than being overtly and excessively productive. The way I figure it, I have to develop a voice before I use it. For me, this means relative separation from internet cafes, web publishing software and, unfortunately for some, blogging. Know that I am putting my mind and soul to good use, however. You'll just have to be patient to see what comes out of this.
I appreciate all your support and guidance over these last few months, now years. I plan to be done with everything by the end of this upcoming summer. I love you all more than space here allows for me to say. Take care of yourselves and eachother. I'll write more in the future. I will need help. Know that I will do whatever I can for you.
Peace and rebeldía,
Ryan
To the few and bold followers of this blog, I hope that you all are well. Perhaps this post will answer some questions for you, particularly on why I haven't been publishing anything recently.
I'm currently in Chiapas, Mexico. At the turn of the year I will attend the Intergalactico, an international encounter put on by the Zapatistas. I'm hoping to learn from and with global contingent of adherents to the Zapatista cause--against the grinding machinery of neoliberalism and for a "world in which fit many worlds". This is propagandistic at best, in my words, by the idea is to learn about a model of resistence that has worked and continues to work with an oppressed population.
I stopped blogging, more or less, in August. Since then I've spent a few weeks with No More Deaths in Tucson and Arivaca. I returned to the desert to talk with Minutemen and ranch owners. I made my way to El Paso and Juarez not once but twice for the Border Social Forum (Foro fronterizo social) and a stop with the Other Campaign, a listening tour by Zapatista spokesman Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos a.k.a. Delegado Zero. From there, I followed the Subcomandante through northern Mexico, made my way to Mexico City, visited friends in a Nahuatl-speaking community in Guerrero and found myself here. For the next few months I will be writing, revisiting and slowing making my way up north. From there, as always, we'll see what happens.
I've started writing the book. The working title is "Border 101", to no surprise. It will include 100 "voices"--transcribed and translated conversations--from the border and below. The 101st will be my own. I also write as a "zero voice" to accompany the different "chapters" or groups of voices in my life on the border.
Right now I have what we call in Spanish a "rompecabezas"--a "head burster". Photos, video, audio, you name it. In the future, I'll be able to sit down and put it all on this site. For now, however, I've convinced myself to become content with learning and living, rather than being overtly and excessively productive. The way I figure it, I have to develop a voice before I use it. For me, this means relative separation from internet cafes, web publishing software and, unfortunately for some, blogging. Know that I am putting my mind and soul to good use, however. You'll just have to be patient to see what comes out of this.
I appreciate all your support and guidance over these last few months, now years. I plan to be done with everything by the end of this upcoming summer. I love you all more than space here allows for me to say. Take care of yourselves and eachother. I'll write more in the future. I will need help. Know that I will do whatever I can for you.
Peace and rebeldía,
Ryan
Monday, October 23, 2006
for Teri's class...
Speech given by Joseph Nevins to the Coalicion de derechos humanos (Human Rights Coalition) in Tucson. Boundary Enforcement and National Security
in an Age of Global Apartheid.
Douglas Massey, The Walls that Keep Illegal Immigrants In. If you don't want to pay, try googling it.
From here on down, these sites are great resources. You can also subscribe to their listserves.
International Relations Center Americas Program: http://americas.irc-online.org/ Solid reporting on Latin America.
Southern Poverty Law Center: http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/intrep.jsp. Check out the Roy Warden article. He's nuts.
Narconews: http://www.narconews.com. Lot's of Zapatista, Oaxaca and Atenco coverage. "Below and to the left".
Frontera Norte Sur News (FNS News): http://www.nmsu.edu/~frontera/. The listserve is on hiatus, but they provide fantastic news reviews.
I'll get back to you on Peter Shay's site.
The Minuteman crowd:
Minuteman Civil Homeland Defense: http://www.minutemanhq.com/. Check out the blog/forum for key insight.
Minuteman of One: http://www.minutemanofone.blogspot.com/. Headed by Fred "shoot a couple of 'em bastards and they'll learn" Pucket.
Mothers Against Illegal Aliens: http://www.mothersagainstillegalaliens.org/. Head by Michelle "they're bringing leprosy into the United States" Dallacroce.
The Border Guardians: http://www.borderguardians.org/index.php. Headed by Roy "Rott Weiler" or "I will blow your freaking head off" Warden.
in an Age of Global Apartheid.
Douglas Massey, The Walls that Keep Illegal Immigrants In. If you don't want to pay, try googling it.
From here on down, these sites are great resources. You can also subscribe to their listserves.
International Relations Center Americas Program: http://americas.irc-online.org/ Solid reporting on Latin America.
Southern Poverty Law Center: http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/intrep.jsp. Check out the Roy Warden article. He's nuts.
Narconews: http://www.narconews.com. Lot's of Zapatista, Oaxaca and Atenco coverage. "Below and to the left".
Frontera Norte Sur News (FNS News): http://www.nmsu.edu/~frontera/. The listserve is on hiatus, but they provide fantastic news reviews.
I'll get back to you on Peter Shay's site.
The Minuteman crowd:
Minuteman Civil Homeland Defense: http://www.minutemanhq.com/. Check out the blog/forum for key insight.
Minuteman of One: http://www.minutemanofone.blogspot.com/. Headed by Fred "shoot a couple of 'em bastards and they'll learn" Pucket.
Mothers Against Illegal Aliens: http://www.mothersagainstillegalaliens.org/. Head by Michelle "they're bringing leprosy into the United States" Dallacroce.
The Border Guardians: http://www.borderguardians.org/index.php. Headed by Roy "Rott Weiler" or "I will blow your freaking head off" Warden.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
words from subcomandante marcos in tijuas, Spanish
Buenas noches Tijuana.
No, el honor es mío de haber estado en estas tierras. Voy a contarles una mentira, que es la que estamos viviendo en todo el país. Porque muchos de ustedes, si no es que todos, están trabajando y cada día que pasa ven que nada mejora. Y resulta que hay negocios y empresas aquí en Tijuana y en todo el país. Y hay un negocio y una empresa que no paga impuestos y que está llena de corruptos, que son los partidos políticos.
Lo que hemos escuchado en estos días que hemos estado en Baja California, nos lleva a pensar que el gobierno de Baja California es una vergüenza para nuestro país. Estuvimos en el Valle de San Quintín, donde el gobierno de Baja California dice que hay migrantes, y descubrimos otra Oaxaca: indígenas organizados y explotados, como si estuviéramos en la época del porfiriato.
Estuvimos también en el Cañón de Buenavista. Unos indígenas también de varios lugares de Oaxaca y de Chiapas, que ni siquiera habían reconocido su derecho a la tierra que llevan desde hace 16 años habitando. Peleando porque haya luz, porque haya agua, porque haya drenaje, y nada.
Y estuvimos también en La Zorra con el pueblo Kumiai, y escuchamos cómo les están despojando de la tierra, mientras que el gobierno de Baja California dice que en este estado no hay indígenas.
Estuvimos también donde está la regasificadora, que si hay una desgracia la gente que va a morir no es la gente que está arriba, sino la que está abajo.
Estuvimos en Ensenada y escuchamos mucho dolor. Y estuvimos aquí en Tijuana y escuchamos historias que dan rabia y vergüenza, como da rabia y vergüenza lo que hemos escuchado en todo el país.
Todos sabemos lo que nos está ocurriendo en nuestro trabajo, en nuestra casa, en la escuela. Nos cuentan que el salario anda por 100, 105 pesos al día en maquiladoras, ocho horas de trabajo. La cuenta que traemos nosotros: que para vivir decentemente se necesitan 485 pesos al día.
Y lo sabemos que sube la cuenta de la luz, del gas, del transporte. Todas las cosas que vamos consumiendo, que necesitamos para mal vivir.
Y nos platica un compañero aquí de Tijuana, de edad, ya mayor de edad, y nos dice que trabajó 45 años y ahora la pensión que recibe es de mil 600 pesos. Que va al Seguro Social y lo humillan, lo tratan mal, le recetan una medicina que además no tiene el Seguro Social y que tiene que ir a comprar a una farmacia y le cuesta 400 pesos y le dura 10 días. En el mes se tiene que gastar mil 200 pesos en medicina, y le quedan 400 pesos.
Y el señor Vicente Fox, que estuvo seis años haciéndose tarugo en la presidencia de la República, va a recibir una pensión de 3 millones 350 mil pesos. Y son tres las cosas que hizo Vicente Fox en su gobierno: comprarle las toallas a Martha Sahagún, uno. Proteger a los hijos criminales de Martha Sahagun, los hermanos Bribiesca. Y tres: imponer a Felipe Calderón como presidente de la República.
Entonces, resulta que en este país, un criminal recibe 3 millones 350 mil pesos de pensión por seis años de crímenes. Y un trabajador con 45 años de trabajo recibe la humillación y el desprecio del país al que sirvió tanto tiempo.
Y nosotros sabemos que quienes nos están escuchando no son criminales, son trabajadores. Si fueran criminales estarían en la presidencia municipal de Tijuana o en el palacio de gobierno de Baja California.
Nosotros estamos recorriendo el país, compañeros, todo el país. Venimos desde la otra esquina, desde Chiapas, desde las montañas del sureste mexicano. No estamos pasando a los centros turísticos, ni hablando con los políticos, porque nosotros hablamos sólo con gente decente.
Y estamos descubriendo, y el país que estamos descubriendo no tiene nada que ver con el que Vicente Fox está anunciando en la televisión. Ni con aquel que dice que va a gobernar Felipe Calderón, que no va a llegar al 2012.
Lo que estamos viendo es otro país: lleno de dolor, que quiere rebelarse y que está harto por todas partes. Lo que estamos viendo es que el gobierno de Vicente Fox lo único que hizo en los seis años es cargar sobre las espaldas de los mexicanos y chicanos que están trabajando al otro lado de la frontera no sólo el peso de sostener la economía norteamericana, sino que además ahora sostienen la economía mexicana.
Cómo es posible que además a esa gente se le persiga con la migra de aquel lado y con la migra de este lado. No es posible que la gente que está trabajando en estos comercios todo el día, honestamente, con empeño, no pueda vivir decentemente mientras los políticos están viviendo de no hacer nada y cada vez se enriquecen más.
Lo que nosotros queremos es conocer a México, al México de abajo, escucharlo. Nosotros no estamos proponiendo nada, no les estamos diciendo que hay que poner de candidato a Marcos, o a otro, al que sea. No estamos promoviendo un partido político. Nosotros no queremos tener el gobierno, queremos tumbarlo y lo vamos a hacer.
Queremos derrocar al gobierno municipal de Tijuana, al gobierno del estado de Baja California, y al gobierno de la República, y al gobierno de todos los estados, así como los oaxaqueños están por derribar a Ulises Ruiz en Oaxaca.
Y en su lugar ¿qué? ¿En su lugar otro que venga a engañarnos? Otro que venga a decirnos… Porque nosotros estamos diciendo aquí en la Otra Campaña que no queremos líderes, no queremos nadie que nos mande, ni queremos mandar a nadie.
Queremos que la misma comunidad en cada lugar decida cómo se va a gobernar, y decida qué es lo que se va a hacer. Porque descubrimos que en Tijuana hay mucha riqueza, y no la tienen los tijuanenses. Entonces, alguien se está quedando con esa riqueza. A lo mejor el banco HSBC que está ahí enfrente. Los banqueros, los grandes políticos, y los grandes empresarios.
Y ayer en la mañana que fuimos a orinarnos en la barda de la frontera —que eso fue lo que fuimos a hacer— nosotros nos dimos cuenta que la barda está para que nosotros los que estamos de este lado no nos crucemos de aquel lado, porque los gabachos cruzan como quieren con todo su capital. Y vimos en toda la península muchas empresas con capital norteamericano.
Y nosotros decimos: ¿dónde está la soberanía de esto que llamamos patria? ¿quién la está defendiendo y quién la va a defeder?
Y nosotros decimos que para que podamos vivir felices, para que no tengamos que vivir con la angustia. Si somos jóvenes vamos con la angustia de a ver cuándo nos va a levantar la tira, y cuánto nos va a bajar. Si a ver no nos va a despedir el patrón en la maquiladora o en la empresa donde estamos trabajando.
Si somos mujeres, con la angustia de ver si no nos van a agredir, a secuestrar, a violar o a asesinar. Si somos ancianos con la angustia a ver si vamos a poder encontrar algo para el día siguiente, para vivir con dignidad. Como niños, como estudiantes, con la angustia de ver si va a haber educación. Y como cualquier trabajador, con la angustia de si vamos a poder vivir. Y como ama de casa con la angustia de si va a alcanzar el gasto para el otro día.
Y no podemos seguir viviendo con esa angustia por tanto tiempo. Ni podemos, ni debemos pensar que alguien va a venir a resolver lo que tenemos que resolver por nosotros mismos.
Lo que se propone la Otra Campaña es eso: que cada pueblo, cada comunidad, cada barrio, tome en sus manos su propio destino y tome sus decisiones.
Se trata en breves palabras de acabar de destruir con el México que ahora es una vergüenza, el México de Fox y de Calderón, y construyamos otro México, sin esos políticos, sino con la gente de abajo. Con ustedes y con nosotros.
Gracias compañeros, gracias compañeras.
Fuente de informacion:
www.ezln.org
No, el honor es mío de haber estado en estas tierras. Voy a contarles una mentira, que es la que estamos viviendo en todo el país. Porque muchos de ustedes, si no es que todos, están trabajando y cada día que pasa ven que nada mejora. Y resulta que hay negocios y empresas aquí en Tijuana y en todo el país. Y hay un negocio y una empresa que no paga impuestos y que está llena de corruptos, que son los partidos políticos.
Lo que hemos escuchado en estos días que hemos estado en Baja California, nos lleva a pensar que el gobierno de Baja California es una vergüenza para nuestro país. Estuvimos en el Valle de San Quintín, donde el gobierno de Baja California dice que hay migrantes, y descubrimos otra Oaxaca: indígenas organizados y explotados, como si estuviéramos en la época del porfiriato.
Estuvimos también en el Cañón de Buenavista. Unos indígenas también de varios lugares de Oaxaca y de Chiapas, que ni siquiera habían reconocido su derecho a la tierra que llevan desde hace 16 años habitando. Peleando porque haya luz, porque haya agua, porque haya drenaje, y nada.
Y estuvimos también en La Zorra con el pueblo Kumiai, y escuchamos cómo les están despojando de la tierra, mientras que el gobierno de Baja California dice que en este estado no hay indígenas.
Estuvimos también donde está la regasificadora, que si hay una desgracia la gente que va a morir no es la gente que está arriba, sino la que está abajo.
Estuvimos en Ensenada y escuchamos mucho dolor. Y estuvimos aquí en Tijuana y escuchamos historias que dan rabia y vergüenza, como da rabia y vergüenza lo que hemos escuchado en todo el país.
Todos sabemos lo que nos está ocurriendo en nuestro trabajo, en nuestra casa, en la escuela. Nos cuentan que el salario anda por 100, 105 pesos al día en maquiladoras, ocho horas de trabajo. La cuenta que traemos nosotros: que para vivir decentemente se necesitan 485 pesos al día.
Y lo sabemos que sube la cuenta de la luz, del gas, del transporte. Todas las cosas que vamos consumiendo, que necesitamos para mal vivir.
Y nos platica un compañero aquí de Tijuana, de edad, ya mayor de edad, y nos dice que trabajó 45 años y ahora la pensión que recibe es de mil 600 pesos. Que va al Seguro Social y lo humillan, lo tratan mal, le recetan una medicina que además no tiene el Seguro Social y que tiene que ir a comprar a una farmacia y le cuesta 400 pesos y le dura 10 días. En el mes se tiene que gastar mil 200 pesos en medicina, y le quedan 400 pesos.
Y el señor Vicente Fox, que estuvo seis años haciéndose tarugo en la presidencia de la República, va a recibir una pensión de 3 millones 350 mil pesos. Y son tres las cosas que hizo Vicente Fox en su gobierno: comprarle las toallas a Martha Sahagún, uno. Proteger a los hijos criminales de Martha Sahagun, los hermanos Bribiesca. Y tres: imponer a Felipe Calderón como presidente de la República.
Entonces, resulta que en este país, un criminal recibe 3 millones 350 mil pesos de pensión por seis años de crímenes. Y un trabajador con 45 años de trabajo recibe la humillación y el desprecio del país al que sirvió tanto tiempo.
Y nosotros sabemos que quienes nos están escuchando no son criminales, son trabajadores. Si fueran criminales estarían en la presidencia municipal de Tijuana o en el palacio de gobierno de Baja California.
Nosotros estamos recorriendo el país, compañeros, todo el país. Venimos desde la otra esquina, desde Chiapas, desde las montañas del sureste mexicano. No estamos pasando a los centros turísticos, ni hablando con los políticos, porque nosotros hablamos sólo con gente decente.
Y estamos descubriendo, y el país que estamos descubriendo no tiene nada que ver con el que Vicente Fox está anunciando en la televisión. Ni con aquel que dice que va a gobernar Felipe Calderón, que no va a llegar al 2012.
Lo que estamos viendo es otro país: lleno de dolor, que quiere rebelarse y que está harto por todas partes. Lo que estamos viendo es que el gobierno de Vicente Fox lo único que hizo en los seis años es cargar sobre las espaldas de los mexicanos y chicanos que están trabajando al otro lado de la frontera no sólo el peso de sostener la economía norteamericana, sino que además ahora sostienen la economía mexicana.
Cómo es posible que además a esa gente se le persiga con la migra de aquel lado y con la migra de este lado. No es posible que la gente que está trabajando en estos comercios todo el día, honestamente, con empeño, no pueda vivir decentemente mientras los políticos están viviendo de no hacer nada y cada vez se enriquecen más.
Lo que nosotros queremos es conocer a México, al México de abajo, escucharlo. Nosotros no estamos proponiendo nada, no les estamos diciendo que hay que poner de candidato a Marcos, o a otro, al que sea. No estamos promoviendo un partido político. Nosotros no queremos tener el gobierno, queremos tumbarlo y lo vamos a hacer.
Queremos derrocar al gobierno municipal de Tijuana, al gobierno del estado de Baja California, y al gobierno de la República, y al gobierno de todos los estados, así como los oaxaqueños están por derribar a Ulises Ruiz en Oaxaca.
Y en su lugar ¿qué? ¿En su lugar otro que venga a engañarnos? Otro que venga a decirnos… Porque nosotros estamos diciendo aquí en la Otra Campaña que no queremos líderes, no queremos nadie que nos mande, ni queremos mandar a nadie.
Queremos que la misma comunidad en cada lugar decida cómo se va a gobernar, y decida qué es lo que se va a hacer. Porque descubrimos que en Tijuana hay mucha riqueza, y no la tienen los tijuanenses. Entonces, alguien se está quedando con esa riqueza. A lo mejor el banco HSBC que está ahí enfrente. Los banqueros, los grandes políticos, y los grandes empresarios.
Y ayer en la mañana que fuimos a orinarnos en la barda de la frontera —que eso fue lo que fuimos a hacer— nosotros nos dimos cuenta que la barda está para que nosotros los que estamos de este lado no nos crucemos de aquel lado, porque los gabachos cruzan como quieren con todo su capital. Y vimos en toda la península muchas empresas con capital norteamericano.
Y nosotros decimos: ¿dónde está la soberanía de esto que llamamos patria? ¿quién la está defendiendo y quién la va a defeder?
Y nosotros decimos que para que podamos vivir felices, para que no tengamos que vivir con la angustia. Si somos jóvenes vamos con la angustia de a ver cuándo nos va a levantar la tira, y cuánto nos va a bajar. Si a ver no nos va a despedir el patrón en la maquiladora o en la empresa donde estamos trabajando.
Si somos mujeres, con la angustia de ver si no nos van a agredir, a secuestrar, a violar o a asesinar. Si somos ancianos con la angustia a ver si vamos a poder encontrar algo para el día siguiente, para vivir con dignidad. Como niños, como estudiantes, con la angustia de ver si va a haber educación. Y como cualquier trabajador, con la angustia de si vamos a poder vivir. Y como ama de casa con la angustia de si va a alcanzar el gasto para el otro día.
Y no podemos seguir viviendo con esa angustia por tanto tiempo. Ni podemos, ni debemos pensar que alguien va a venir a resolver lo que tenemos que resolver por nosotros mismos.
Lo que se propone la Otra Campaña es eso: que cada pueblo, cada comunidad, cada barrio, tome en sus manos su propio destino y tome sus decisiones.
Se trata en breves palabras de acabar de destruir con el México que ahora es una vergüenza, el México de Fox y de Calderón, y construyamos otro México, sin esos políticos, sino con la gente de abajo. Con ustedes y con nosotros.
Gracias compañeros, gracias compañeras.
Fuente de informacion:
www.ezln.org
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Tucson, AZ: National Guard troops and "entry identification teams"
I spent half of last week with the Tucson-based No More Deaths in Nogales, Sonora, and I was suprised to see National Guard humvees and tents nestled into the hills next to border fencing and ports of entry. From everything that I had heard from and read in the media, the National Guard troops were deployed to the border in a strictly supportive role. They would build and maintain roads, map what poorly-charted terrain, and take part in behind-the-scenes operational activities--filing paperwork, monitoring border sensors, etc. This was all well and good from a public relations standpoint, but it didn't explain the presence of heavy-duty war-time vehicles and camouflaged troops just yards away from the border itself. "A crock of bullshit," I thought to myself.
I called up the Tucson-sector Border Patrol, and they connected me with Major Fay Ludens, a public information officer with the Army National Guard. She told me that a number of deployments have come to the border as "rotational staff". Troops from Arizona and New York left after three-week stints, while others from Virgina and Kentucky will be in the Tucson sector for weeks still.
The Virginia deployment, I wasn't suprised to find, is operating in "entry identification teams"--four person units that are the "eyes and ears for the Border Patrol," said Ludens. They sit on the border in strategic areas and call up B.P. agents when they see people crossing. "They are strictly in a support role," Ludens reiterated.
Unfortunately, that's not what I heard from migrants as they were returned to the Mexican side of the line. One group was quite adamant that they were detained by National Guard troops. The would-be migrants said that the troops came across their group in the early morning, corraled them, and had them in their custody for fifteen minutes before Border Patrol agents arrived. When asked if the detainers might have been BORSTAR operatives--a search and rescue contingent of the Border Patrol that, in their camouflaged uniforms, might be mistaken for soldiers--one individual said that they clearly identified themselves as National Guard troops.
Although the group didn't report any particular instances of abuse while in the soldiers' detention, one major abuse remains clear: if the story checks out, National Guard troops violated the law.
The Posse Comitamus Act of 18-- makes it unlawful for military personnel to actively police within the domestic United States. If the National Guard the migrants into custody within our borders, they would have acted in direct conflict with that law. Such an act would demonstrate complete disregard for the Constitutional rights extended to all people within the United States--citizens, undocumented migrants or otherwise.
Whether or not the National Guard detained the migrants without legal authorization, the character behind police-state enforcement tactics is pervasive. I relayed this story to a No More Deaths volunteer. "So, the National Guard troops are just like the Minutemen," he said. "They watch and wait for people to come across, and they call Border Patrol whenever they spot someone." "Yeah," I replied, and then I cringed. In my
personal experience, I've observed Minutemen detain not only migrants but also journalists and hikers. I've watched them assume and abuse rights that are not theirs. I've seen how the media reports them, I know their rhetoric, and I can testify that what they say and what is said about them only infrequently matches up with the reality of their behavior.
For this reason, I am wholly concerned about the National Guard troops on the border. If the troops received an executive order to carry out similar functions for another three years, as I was told by a reporter who spoke with the head of the Kentucky National Guard, the possibility that abuses will occur is greatly enhanced. In any case, their presence is now status quo.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Chandler, AZ: update
Home sweet home.
To say that Arizona is wrought with political and social tension is an understatement. Arizonans feel the stress of immigration and border issues in their classrooms, their restaurants and their places of work. For many, the stress is pervasive, difusing from their local environment into their daily actions. For some, the Spanish-speaker down the street, monolingual or otherwise, is a stranger, an alien--nothing short of an incarnation of what shouldn't be in the United States. For others, that same person is part of a freshly charged and united community, regardless of his or her ethnicity or status within this nation's borders.
Ethnicity, status. Race, documentation. There's more to the border and immigration debate than just issues of economy and national security. Communities are split. Tensions are high. Comprehensive immigration reform might patch together broken policy, but it's not going to heal my state.
I'm not sure where you start. The last two weeks have been busy.
To say that Arizona is wrought with political and social tension is an understatement. Arizonans feel the stress of immigration and border issues in their classrooms, their restaurants and their places of work. For many, the stress is pervasive, difusing from their local environment into their daily actions. For some, the Spanish-speaker down the street, monolingual or otherwise, is a stranger, an alien--nothing short of an incarnation of what shouldn't be in the United States. For others, that same person is part of a freshly charged and united community, regardless of his or her ethnicity or status within this nation's borders.
Ethnicity, status. Race, documentation. There's more to the border and immigration debate than just issues of economy and national security. Communities are split. Tensions are high. Comprehensive immigration reform might patch together broken policy, but it's not going to heal my state.
I'm not sure where you start. The last two weeks have been busy.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio organized his posse to arrest undocumented migrants, President Bush declared a controversial plan to place up to 6,000 National Guard troops on the border, and the rhetoric continued from the Minuteman camp and their splinter groups. Chris Simcox and the Minutemen claimed that they still have plans to construct border fences, while Roy Warden and his Border Guardians have threatened to "blow the heads off" any "Mexican" or pro-immigrant activist that interferes with their operations.
At Tucson-area high school, Dolores Huerta, a longtime Latino civil rights activist, proclaimed that "Republicans hate Latinos." The school countered by bringing in a Republican Latina to speak about the merits of the Republican party--how proud she was to be a Republican, etc. MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan) students wore shirts emblazoned with messages of support for Huerta, duct-taped their mouths, and walked out.
Tonight (Wednesday), the Sheriff's posse is meeting to wrangle up some new volunteers. Tomorrow, G Dub is venturing down to Yuma, Arizona, much to the delight of the local community.
Where to start? I'll be at both events.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Tucson, AZ: "accident" or foul play?
This is scary. Check out the A.P. article below on a immigrant who, contrary to the evidence given by his family, shot and killed himself.
Someone needs to do some serious investigation of what happened. If he was a migrant and if he was shot, my guess is that a ranchowner or vigilante could have pulled the trigger.
This just doesn't sound right. Not at all. I'd be interested to hear what the official word is from the Border Patrol as well.
Someone needs to do some serious investigation of what happened. If he was a migrant and if he was shot, my guess is that a ranchowner or vigilante could have pulled the trigger.
This just doesn't sound right. Not at all. I'd be interested to hear what the official word is from the Border Patrol as well.
Illegal Immigrant Found Dead in Desert Apparently Shot Himself
May 9th, 2006 @ 6:18am
by Associated Press
An illegal immigrant found dead in the desert south of Tucson apparently died from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The Pima County Sheriff's Office says Reymundo Beltran-Aispuro died in a remote area after he entered the country Friday with his cousin and a group of other illegal entrants.
The cousin, Israel Beltran-Aispuro, told deputies they were crossing a fence when someone shouted ``stop,'' and then there was a gunshot.
The cousin says Reymundo Beltran-Aispuro then yelled that he'd been hit.
One member of the group used a cell phone to call relatives in California, who informed the Border Patrol.
Homicide detectives were still awaiting final autopsy results yesterday from the Office of the Medical Examiner
Friday, April 28, 2006
Three Points, AZ: scandalous
What is happening to all the Minutemen's money? An ABC 15 News clip out of Phoenix.
Connie Foust, a Minuteman information officer, denies the claims made in the report.
Connie Foust, a Minuteman information officer, denies the claims made in the report.
Three Points, AZ: adios media
Good ol' Patrick Lundy gets the big heave-ho from the Minutemen for spending a few moments with A.C.L.U. legal observers. Connie goes to town. I'm pretty sure that she hates us.
So that you know, Lundy is riding his motorcycle along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, compiling data and experience for what he calls a "personal narrative" on border life. Sounds vaguely familiar.
So that you know, Lundy is riding his motorcycle along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, compiling data and experience for what he calls a "personal narrative" on border life. Sounds vaguely familiar.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Three Points, AZ: the bust
This was my official welcome to Minuteman Campaign '06. Dated to April 1st and requires Quicktime.
The Minuteman of One arrive upon a migrant pick-up. Watch 'em wave those guns. The supposed "coyotes" were actually two Sheriff's Department vehicles, and the Border Patrol agent really did say what you thought she said.
The Minuteman of One arrive upon a migrant pick-up. Watch 'em wave those guns. The supposed "coyotes" were actually two Sheriff's Department vehicles, and the Border Patrol agent really did say what you thought she said.
Three Points, AZ: news clip on vigilante groups
Here's a must-see news clip from CBS 5 of Phoenix. A glimpse into the Minutemen, Border Guardians and the Minuteman of One. Not far from what we've been seeing in Three Points day in and day out.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
from the border: AZ Daily Star article on apprehension numbers
I wonder what the Minutemen would say about this...
Migrant tally called misleading
Experts: Apprehension numbers aside, most entrants make it in
By Brady McCombs
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.22.2006
In late February, Border Patrol agents apprehended and deported Roberto Robledo Sandoval after finding him with others inside a drop house in Mesa.
Robledo Sandoval, 45, called the experience — armed men kept them in the house waiting for family members in Mexico to wire more money — the worst nightmare of his life.
Nonetheless, after Border Patrol agents dropped him off the border in Nogales, he found another coyote — a people smuggler — and tried again the next day. A couple of days later, while walking in the Altar Valley southwest of Tucson, Border Patrol agents caught him again.
His story is a common one among the estimated 500,000 illegal entrants who make their way into the country each year, said Princeton professor Douglas Massey. He said research suggests that apprehensions don't stop migrants but rather force them to try repeatedly until they make it.
Yet, apprehension numbers kept by the Border Patrol don't reflect this reality.
Under the agency's guidelines, Robledo Sandoval would count as two apprehensions because the agency counts the event of each apprehension, not the number of people apprehended.
Internally, the Border Patrol tracks how many times each illegal entrant is caught, said Shannon Stevens, a spokeswoman with the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector. However, the agency doesn't release that number and didn't have an estimate on how many detainees have been caught previously.
The agency views the 11 percent decrease in apprehensions from fiscal year 2004 to fiscal 2005 and the 8 percent decrease so far in fiscal year 2006 in the Tucson Sector as an indicator of declining traffic in the sector and validation of the increased agents and technology devoted to the sector.
"I don't think it's due to the fact that we aren't catching as many," Stevens said. "I just don't think as many are crossing here."
But professors who study migration patterns such as Massey, Trinity University's David Spener and the Migration Policy Institute's Demetrios Papademtriou doubt that Border Patrol actions change the actual number of illegal entrants who make it into the United States.
Massey said the probability that a man or woman would leave Mexico to migrate illegally into the United States has fluctuated at around 1 percent for the past two decades despite the increase in Border
Patrol agents and budget. Nearly all make it, Massey said.
"Almost everybody gets in," Massey said. "It's just a matter of how many times it takes."
The number of Border Patrol agents and agency budget has been on the rise since 1992. The number of agents has more than doubled nationally from 4,139 in 1992 to 11,384 in 2006. When adjusted for inflation, the agency's budget has increased 220 percent since 1992 to $1.413 billion in 2005.
"There is virtually nothing one can infer about the volume of illegal migration from the number of apprehensions," said Massey, the author of "Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in the Age of Economic Integration."
Spener, a sociologist at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, who studies U.S.-Mexican border relations, said that when border-wide apprehension numbers bulge in one sector they usually drop in nearby sectors or vice versa. But, like a balloon, the overall numbers remain nearly the same, Spener said.
Current numbers support his theory.
As Tucson Sector apprehensions declined by 10 percent in fiscal year 2005, apprehensions increased by 41 percent in the Yuma Sector to the west and by 18 percent in the El Paso Sector to the East. That trend continues so far this year as well.
Borderwide apprehensions for 2005 were only 5 percent higher than they were in 1984. In between, though, apprehensions peaked as high as 1.6 million in 1986 and in 2000 and below 1 million in 1988-1989 and again in 2002-2003.
Border Patrol officials recognize the funneling or bulging theory.
"If it makes it harder for them to cross, we are going to see a decrease because they are going to cross somewhere else," said Stevens, about increased resources in the Tucson Sector.
Massey and Spener said the Border Patrol deterrent programs, which started in El Paso in 1993 with Operation Hold the Line, Operation Gatekeeper in San Diego in 1994, and Operation Safeguard in Arizona in 1995, have done a better job at keeping illegal entrants in the country than out.
As it became more difficult to travel back and forth, married men brought their families and single men got married and had kids, Spener said.
"The longer they are away from their town or village in Mexico, there is less to go back to in many ways," Spener said. "So, it really encourages settlement."
Papademtriou said it would be incorrect to call this locking-in effect an "unintended consequence" because it's been happening for a decade, enough time for legislators to see the results. He said legislators in Washington "throw money" at the border as an easy way out of a problem they can't control.
"Clearly, we know this is happening, and we keep doing more of the same so clearly we must be comfortable with the consequences," said Papademtriou, president of the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank that studies international migration
As he sat in the Nogales office of Grupo Beta, Mexico's special force for protecting migrants, Robledo Sandoval was already contemplating another attempt.
The reason: Back home in Mexico he can only make $80 a week as a painter, a fraction of what he can make in the United States.
If he tries and gets caught again, he'll add another digit to the ambiguous apprehension numbers.
Migrant tally called misleading
Experts: Apprehension numbers aside, most entrants make it in
By Brady McCombs
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.22.2006
In late February, Border Patrol agents apprehended and deported Roberto Robledo Sandoval after finding him with others inside a drop house in Mesa.
Robledo Sandoval, 45, called the experience — armed men kept them in the house waiting for family members in Mexico to wire more money — the worst nightmare of his life.
Nonetheless, after Border Patrol agents dropped him off the border in Nogales, he found another coyote — a people smuggler — and tried again the next day. A couple of days later, while walking in the Altar Valley southwest of Tucson, Border Patrol agents caught him again.
His story is a common one among the estimated 500,000 illegal entrants who make their way into the country each year, said Princeton professor Douglas Massey. He said research suggests that apprehensions don't stop migrants but rather force them to try repeatedly until they make it.
Yet, apprehension numbers kept by the Border Patrol don't reflect this reality.
Under the agency's guidelines, Robledo Sandoval would count as two apprehensions because the agency counts the event of each apprehension, not the number of people apprehended.
Internally, the Border Patrol tracks how many times each illegal entrant is caught, said Shannon Stevens, a spokeswoman with the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector. However, the agency doesn't release that number and didn't have an estimate on how many detainees have been caught previously.
The agency views the 11 percent decrease in apprehensions from fiscal year 2004 to fiscal 2005 and the 8 percent decrease so far in fiscal year 2006 in the Tucson Sector as an indicator of declining traffic in the sector and validation of the increased agents and technology devoted to the sector.
"I don't think it's due to the fact that we aren't catching as many," Stevens said. "I just don't think as many are crossing here."
But professors who study migration patterns such as Massey, Trinity University's David Spener and the Migration Policy Institute's Demetrios Papademtriou doubt that Border Patrol actions change the actual number of illegal entrants who make it into the United States.
Massey said the probability that a man or woman would leave Mexico to migrate illegally into the United States has fluctuated at around 1 percent for the past two decades despite the increase in Border
Patrol agents and budget. Nearly all make it, Massey said.
"Almost everybody gets in," Massey said. "It's just a matter of how many times it takes."
The number of Border Patrol agents and agency budget has been on the rise since 1992. The number of agents has more than doubled nationally from 4,139 in 1992 to 11,384 in 2006. When adjusted for inflation, the agency's budget has increased 220 percent since 1992 to $1.413 billion in 2005.
"There is virtually nothing one can infer about the volume of illegal migration from the number of apprehensions," said Massey, the author of "Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in the Age of Economic Integration."
Spener, a sociologist at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, who studies U.S.-Mexican border relations, said that when border-wide apprehension numbers bulge in one sector they usually drop in nearby sectors or vice versa. But, like a balloon, the overall numbers remain nearly the same, Spener said.
Current numbers support his theory.
As Tucson Sector apprehensions declined by 10 percent in fiscal year 2005, apprehensions increased by 41 percent in the Yuma Sector to the west and by 18 percent in the El Paso Sector to the East. That trend continues so far this year as well.
Borderwide apprehensions for 2005 were only 5 percent higher than they were in 1984. In between, though, apprehensions peaked as high as 1.6 million in 1986 and in 2000 and below 1 million in 1988-1989 and again in 2002-2003.
Border Patrol officials recognize the funneling or bulging theory.
"If it makes it harder for them to cross, we are going to see a decrease because they are going to cross somewhere else," said Stevens, about increased resources in the Tucson Sector.
Massey and Spener said the Border Patrol deterrent programs, which started in El Paso in 1993 with Operation Hold the Line, Operation Gatekeeper in San Diego in 1994, and Operation Safeguard in Arizona in 1995, have done a better job at keeping illegal entrants in the country than out.
As it became more difficult to travel back and forth, married men brought their families and single men got married and had kids, Spener said.
"The longer they are away from their town or village in Mexico, there is less to go back to in many ways," Spener said. "So, it really encourages settlement."
Papademtriou said it would be incorrect to call this locking-in effect an "unintended consequence" because it's been happening for a decade, enough time for legislators to see the results. He said legislators in Washington "throw money" at the border as an easy way out of a problem they can't control.
"Clearly, we know this is happening, and we keep doing more of the same so clearly we must be comfortable with the consequences," said Papademtriou, president of the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank that studies international migration
As he sat in the Nogales office of Grupo Beta, Mexico's special force for protecting migrants, Robledo Sandoval was already contemplating another attempt.
The reason: Back home in Mexico he can only make $80 a week as a painter, a fraction of what he can make in the United States.
If he tries and gets caught again, he'll add another digit to the ambiguous apprehension numbers.
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