Posts
5/16/23
At the border, which I just left yesterday, it is quieter than usual. The thousands of people waiting for a chance to cross are being held back from presenting themselves at the ports of entry by, of all people, Mexican authorities. Uniformed functionaries stand at the foot of the bridge in Mexico to make sure that only people who have appointments through CBPOne can reach the CBP officers that stand in the middle of the arc that spans the river. The others are being prevented from even asking for a chance.
5/12/23
Standing on the Mexican side of the border, I hear a recorded voice. It comes from the American side, across the river that separates the two countries. Again and again, it says the same thing over a loudspeaker, in Spanish. My companion translates for me. The voice is saying, “Stay in Mexico. Do not cross the river.” It is the same message that Vice President Kamala Harris voiced two years ago. “Do not come,” she said, speaking from a podium during a visit to Guatemala, standing next to the President of that country. Vice President Mike Pence delivered the same message three years before that, also in Guatemala. This time, the message is being broadcast directly to the people who want to be here. Reinforcing the message are three rows of razor wire, and at the top of the riverbank, behind the wire, are Texas National Guard troops carrying rifles.
