5/23/22

By Lee Goodman

Who noticed that we were at the border today?

A Spanish-speaking couple who had just walked in from Mexico. They were taking photos of each other at the sign that says “Welcome to the United States of America.” I used their phone to take a photo of them together. They saw my sign. I don't know if they understood it.

A handful of Customs and Border Protection agents and a couple of Homeland Security guys, all armed. They were keeping a close eye on us from across the street and from a vehicle.

A young graduate from the nearby university who now runs a chemistry lab there. She came over to read our signs and talk with us. We gave her a button and encouraged her to organize on the campus.

A few hundred passing motorists, craning to see what our signs said. A few of them honked and gave us thumbs up.

A lot of students who walked past us, having just come across the bridge from Mexico to take classes, and a number of people who walked over the bridge to work here.

A guy from New York who retired in Brownsville.

A bicyclist who stopped to chat.

The taxi drivers who wait for fares at the park.

People who volunteer to help asylum seekers get to their destinations after they are given permission by our government to join their relatives in the U.S.

Whoever watched the local English or Spanish language television news this evening in the Brownsville area or in Matamoros, Mexico, just across the border.

Will our presence at the border make a difference to these people or to the people they tell about us? Maybe a little. Will our being here bring about a change in our country's border policies and practices? Not by itself. But maybe, along with the actions that so many people around our country are taking, our efforts will have some impact.

Today was just one day in a struggle that has been going on for many years. What we did today will not make it into any history books. There were just a few of us. We did what we could. That will have to be enough for today. Tomorrow we'll try again. #WitnessAtTheBorder #OpenEveryDoor