Seven impressions of the U.S.-Mexico border
By Stephen Reeves
It has been a little over a year since I made my first trip to the border for Fellowship Southwest. I’ve been back several times since and I’ve stayed in consistent contact with the pastors in our border network. Thanks to your generosity we’ve been able to maintain our support of their ministries and respond to unexpected critical needs.
In preparing for a recent presentation at South Main Baptist Church in Houston, I gathered seven of my strongest impressions of the border. I’ve written about some of these points and observations in the past, as has Elket, Cameron and Marv. But because these impressions stuck with me, because some of them are so unexpected, they are worth repeating.
1. The pervasiveness of the violence perpetrated against migrants. So many of those we’ve met in shelters in Northern Mexico are fleeing violence in their home country or community. Again and again, we hear stories of family members murdered by the cartel, of women raped and brutalized, of business owners fleeing imminent threats when they refuse to continue paying a bribe. Unfortunately, the violence rarely ends once they make the decision to leave their home. Many are kidnapped at some point along their journey, including by the cartels who control the border towns where our policies have forced them to stay awaiting a chance to plead for asylum.
Despite sensationalist media stoking fear, this violence rarely crosses the border to the US side. For example, while Ciudad Juarez has a history of cartel violence, El Paso is often ranked as one of the safest large cities in America. While migrants are preyed upon by cartels, the border I’ve seen is not a war zone. The golf course along the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass across the river from Piedras Negras does not resemble a front line.
2. The religious persecution of Christian migrants. Elket has interviewed countless migrants. Some while helping them with asylum claims or immigration cases, some for cameras like ours or for our partners at Good Faith Media. What he has discovered, time and again, is that many of those who make the journey north are Christians who refuse to participate in the evil perpetrated by cartels. Many young men in Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, or certain states in Mexico are given a simple choice - join the cartel or be killed. Men of faith who don’t want to commit murder, sell drugs, or participate in prostitution or human smuggling often flee. Most of those in caravans, stuck in shelters in Mexico, or waiting in lines on a bridge are not cartel members, but are victims of cartels. Rather than cracking down on cartels, our policies often punish Christian cartel victims while providing the cartels a captive group of migrants to exploit.
3. The counter-intuitiveness of border enforcement. There is no doubt we need secure borders. We need to know who is coming in and out of our country. We need to prevent drugs, guns, and gang members from crossing. The irony is that the more we “crack down” and make it harder for folks to cross, the more likely people will utilize more dangerous methods and work with cartel “coyotes” to help them to cross. If there was an orderly process which presented folks with reasonable routes to claim asylum or apply for visas, work permits, or legal pathways to citizenship, deaths like those in the back of a trailer in San Antonio over the summer will be less likely. We need system-wide reform efforts which include border security, but the conditions many are facing in their home countries are far more dangerous than climbing a wall, swimming a river, hopping a train, or climbing into the back of a semi-truck. If these dangers are not a deterrent, telling folks “Do not come” as our Vice President has, will not stop folks. Without addressing needed changes to legal immigration, the illegal and dangerous routes will continue.
4. Pushing our responsibility onto others. I’ve been involved with immigration advocacy for many years. Throughout most of that time I’ve focused on the injustice and hardship suffered by immigrants themselves. Visiting the border recently I’ve realized just how unfair our policies are to Mexican border communities. MPP and Title 42 effectively outsourced the care of impoverished and vulnerable migrants to under resourced border towns, pastors, churches, and nonprofits. Migrants attempting to gain entrance to the richest country in the world, are instead being cared for by poor communities. I’m not suggesting that we should accept all people all the time, but we certainly have the resources to handle the situation ourselves without over-burdening our neighbors to the south.
5. Politics and problem solving are not the same thing. If the global migration showing up on our doorstep was viewed as the humanitarian crisis that it is, I think many folks could work together to find a reasonable response that prioritizes safety, order, and humane treatment. Instead, migrants at the southern border are seen as a political opportunity. There is no doubt that many of our most politically conservative leaders employ racist rhetoric, alarming images, and highlight extreme cases to invoke fear and appeal to xenophobia and white Christian nationalism. I’d also argue that this gives our more progressive leaders the opportunity to point to such rhetoric for political gain. The problem thereby animates voters of both parties and turns into a largely political game. This is immensely frustrating to those of us more committed to progress and humanitarian relief than to one side winning.
6. Child separation was evil. This shouldn’t need to be said, but it does. The United States instituted a policy of tearing children away from parents in hopes of deterring others from migrating north. This was intentional infliction of trauma to make a point. The most recent cover story from The Atlantic details how this happened and is well worth the hours it takes to read. Between January 2017 and June 2018 our government separated over 4,000 children from their parents. Not only did we not have a plan on how to reunite them, but the article makes clear that our agencies and officials acted to prevent quick reunification lest the trauma inflicted not be severe enough to deter others. There are approximately 700 kids still not officially reunited with their parents. I pray this experiment in zero tolerance enforcement serves as a reminder and lesson that despite our checks and balances and substantial bureaucracy, immoral policy can be implemented - especially that which impacts the most marginalized and vulnerable.
7. Racism and white supremacy infect the system. There is no denying that we treat today’s brown immigrants from Latin America far different from European immigrants of decades past. Even this year white Ukrainians were eligible for humanitarian parole and work permits not given to young mothers from Guatemala. History is informative here. As immigrants became less white, our policies became more restrictive. This provocative article from Brookings argues persuasively that US immigration policy is a classic, under-appreciated example of structural racism. To fight for racial justice today means fighting for immigration reform.
These are harsh realities with few easy answers, but I’m glad to have learned new truths. The truth can only set us free if we acknowledge it, and we can only make change by confronting the world as it really is.
Stephen Reeves is the executive director of Fellowship Southwest.