Our Southern Border

I recently traveled to Tucson to see for myself what goes on along the border or the United States and Mexico.  I spoke with people from both sides of the border: Mexican citizens, American citizens, migrants, deportees, dreamers.  Some spoke English, some spoke Spanish, but everyone wanted a chance to make a better life for themselves and their families.

I spoke with migrants who were about to make the trip from Mexico to the United States in search of a better life.  They understood that they were risking their life in the journey across the harsh desert, that they were at the mercy of the “coyote” guide who was escorting them, and that they probably would be caught by the US Border Patrol and deported.  Still they are going, and will go again, and again, because they are desperately seeking a better life.  As one migrant succinctly said:  “It's very simple.  You need workers, and we need work.”

I also spoke to three dreamers (Dario, Anna, and Jessica) who came to the United States on tourist visas before they were old enough to attend elementary school.  They worked hard at school and earned very good grades.  Their dream was and is to attend college, get a good job, and make a life for themselves here.  But, because their tourist visa has expired, in Arizona they are not allowed to receive public scholarships because they are undocumented.  They have to find other funding, and have established an organization called Scholarships A-Z to help dreamers find scholarships.  After hearing their stories, I want to help dreamers find the means to attend college.  It's very simple.  We need educated people for our future, and Anna, Dario and Jessica need citizenship and a good job for their future.

Larry Nagel
April 2013

Far From the Border

Far from the border
I weep
I saw my sisters and brothers – hermanas y hermanos
In shackles before the judge
Their crimes?
Looking for work, being poor, having brown skin

Far from the border
I cry out
With the mother of Jose Antonio
Only 16, and 6 bullets from the Border Patrol – La Migra
Took his life, across the street from the wall
No one has been brought to justice

Far from the border
I remember
The young mothers who work the factories - Maquilas
U.S.-owned, they assemble our cell phones
The women work for more than an hour
To pay for a bag of rice

Far from the border
I still see his face
He is a husband and a father
For 10 years he had a steady job in the U.S., supporting his family
One morning on his front porch, ICE took him into custody
Now, deported, he has no work, no family in Mexico
Through tears he says he will cross again
"Nothing, nothing will keep me from my family"

Far from the border
I still don't understand
On one side of the wall – built at $4 million per mile
You may find no clean drinking water
On the other side, McDonald's

Far from the border
I give thanks
To the angels who place water, food, and prayers in the desert
The Samaritans follow the migrants' trail
To save lives
So many have died crossing – as many as 10,000
Remains sometimes identified, some unknown – "Desconocido"
Some bodies never recovered – their families will never know

Far from the border
I hold a fragile hope
At the Home of Hope and Peace – El Hogar de Esperanza y Paz
Friends – companeras y companeros – give help
The single mothers study
The children are well fed, and stay safe
Maybe, they won't have to cross

Far from the border
I call out for justice, for compassion
With my sisters and brothers
I stand, march, bear witness
And tell my government
No more suffering
No more injustice
No more deaths
No mas

Natalie DaSilva
Spring 2013

Nathan's Testimonial

While in Nogales, Sonora, our group went to a government run aid center right on the border called Grupos Beta to speak with recently deported migrants.  While we were there, we met a man named Panfilo who had recently been deported after living in the US as undocumented with his wife, daughter, and son for 10 years.  He had had steady work and never did anything wrong; he said he had never been arrested.  His daughter is attending college. 

At one point in our conversation, Panfilo told us that when he was taken away by the ICE agents his wife tried to give him a suitcase with some of his possessions and photos of his family in it but they wouldn’t let him take it so he had nothing when he reached Mexico.  This really hit me that the ICE agents didn’t even have the decency or humanity to let someone who was being torn from their family and everything they knew take a few keepsakes of their former life.  Though he hasn’t crossed in 10 years Panfilo says he will try to cross again.  He said, as he cried, that he would try to find work in Mexico for awhile, but all he really wanted was to be with his family.

There is no way I could ever imagine the pain that Panfilo and his family are enduring but perhaps some good will come from sharing his story.

Nathan DaSilva
March 2013