Returning Home

Hello friends,

Yesterday was rough. In fact, rough is a bit of an understatement. First things first though, we woke up bright and early (6 AM... maybe earlier due to the cacophony from the menagerie outdoors - roosters, stray dogs, etc.) After breakfast at HEPAC, we crossed back into the US on foot.

A sign at the border crossing points the way to the United States.

This is where things become interesting.

Crossing back into the United States as obviously middle class, Caucasian, American students may have gotten us preferential treatment by customs and border protection, but after everything we have learned and experienced so far, we felt slimy about our privilege. We crossed in two groups, one of which was Simon, McKinley, Nathan, Maggie, Jenny, Autumn, and Professor Johnson. The other group consisted of myself (Michelle) and Rachel. The first group encountered a customs official who became animated and congratulated them for being among the few (crossers) to have US passports. After which, customs officials waved the group through without searching/scanning their large bags. My crossing was uneventful - my officer confirmed I was from Tennessee and waved me through. During that time I tried to get a sense of the average person who typically crosses the border on foot. Everyone around me was Hispanic and middle aged. For those of you who have traveled abroad, what were your experiences crossing the border back into the US?

People wait patiently in line to cross the border.

Once we had crossed back into the US and made a pit stop at McDonalds (I think we were extremely happy to see flushing toilets and drinkable water), we made our to US Border Patrol Tucson sector. I was excited to see what happens at Border Patrol, but also nervous about just what exactly I would see and hear. Throughout our visit to Border Patrol, we faced ideas that contradicted what we encountered in Mexico.

A Border Patrol agent explains the checkpoint system to the group.

Many of us felt uncomfortable because of the dehumanizing language used about migrants by Border Patrol agents as well as the way they casually invited us to hold and pose with their weapons. At the start of our visit we met five agents who showed us short films of smugglers and migrants crossing the border through underground tunnel systems.

Emma and Autumn look on as Border Patrol agents answer our questions.

These videos made us aware of some of the dangers Border Patrol faces; despite this, the agents were clearly passionate about their jobs. The agents were friendly and helpful in answering our questions, but pointed out that while in uniform they were representatives of the state; therefore, there were some questions they could not answer. Much like the people we encountered in Mexico, the agents wanted to share with us the "reality" of the border.

After a quick lunch, we met up with Norma Price and Leesa Richardson, both of whom volunteer with Samaritans, a group that places water and food in the desert for migrants. Besides being two of the feistiest older women we've ever met, Norma and Leesa's work was incredibly inspiring after our unsettling visit to Border Patrol.

Norma and Leesa speak to the group.

After discussing their humanitarian aide work and exchanging stories of the border, we hiked one of the many migrant trails in the area. Both women talked about how they have recently seen an upswing in migrant crossings through more dangerous areas of the desert due to the buildup of infrastructure and manpower at the border. While hiking the trails we saw several empty water bottles, food tins, and even an abandoned backpack. In addition, Leesa also found a 2 liter soda bottle filled with cattle tank water - water contaminated with cow feces that migrants drink out of desperation.

Water left out by the Samaritans. Each gallon is dated and tagged with a number that corresponds to a GPS-mapped trail.

Hiking the extremely rocky trail and getting pricked by thorny bushes and trees, we tried to keep in mind that most migrants cross the desert at night, unaware of their surroundings and location.

While the scenery in Arizona is beautiful, we were often reminded that it can also be deadly.

 Though this day challenged the group, we have to bear in mind that no one at the border has the full picture. Today we saw two parts of that picture, but we were left wondering about how to get the whole image.

*post by Michelle and McKinley; photos by McKinley