Border Lessons: Yuma

Dora Rodriguez is one of my favorite people. After spending an entire day together in and near Sásabe, Sonora, Mexico, Dora invited me to join her and a group of friends again, this time on a trip to Yuma. The trip had a few goals: to see the wall and the border in Yuma, to meet with Dora’s friends Fernando and Nathalie there and witness to their work, to deliver supplies to Fernando and Nathalie, and to introduce these friends and places to three other friends of Dora plus myself. Our fearless traveling companions included Sister Judy, a badass feminist nun; a young man named Isaac whom Dora sponsored out of immigrant jail; and his girlfriend, who also volunteers at Casa de la Esperanza.

Isaac immigrated from the aptly named Guerrero (warrior) state in Mexico, which is controlled by numerous cartels. Upon entering the U.S., Isaac, like most single young male asylum seekers, was thrown in immigrant jail. To get some fresh air and exercise while he was there and to relieve himself of intense boredom, Isaac cleaned the facilities for $1/day. Over time, Isaac made friends with other detained migrants who also cleaned in other parts of the facilities, calling to each other from the patios. One day one of them threw a rock to Isaac with a message wrapped around it simply stating: “Dora [and her phone number]. Call her, she will help you.” So Isaac did. After piles of paperwork and financial and security background checks, Dora was able to sponsor Isaac out of immigrant jail. She now refers to him as her adopted son.

Isaac’s mother, brother, and sister were still in Tijuana when I met Isaac. His young sister had been befriended by a much older man, who gave her drugs and jobs. When we learned of those details, markers of human trafficking, Dora immediately contacted friends who run a shelter at the border in Nogales, Sonora. With the financial support of Dora’s organization, Salvavision, they were able to get Isaac’s family into a safe house, off the dangerous streets of Tijuana. Just a few weeks later at the shelter, Isaac’s family has an appointment with the new CBP One app to present themselves at the border on March 3rd!!

As we arrived in Yuma, Border Patrol was loading the last of a group of migrants onto a bus. We were met by Fernando and Nathalie, who both work for AZ-CA Humanitarian Coalition serving and advocating for migrants at the border near Yuma. Until very recently, the border crossing in Yuma had no shade, no toilet facilities, no drinking water, and no garbage dumpsters. Border Patrol systematically confiscates all bags and other belongings from migrants, and simply threw them in piles. Whenever a Republican politician was scheduled for a photo op or press conference in Yuma, they would suspend garbage pickup at the border, deliberately letting the things that Border Patrol had seized from migrants pile up in trashy heaps, only to blame the migrants for the mess.

Thanks to the tireless work of Fern and Nathalie, there are now two large trash dumpsters at the crossing. Border Patrol continues to confiscate and toss migrants’ meager belongings, but at least now they are contained in a more sanitary manner. AZ-CA’s advocacy has also compelled Border Patrol to provide a shade shelter where migrants wait—sometimes for hours—for BP buses to take them away. The dumpsters and shade are joined by portable toilets, and even drinking water. Such basics of human dignity, finally provided due to the advocacy of fearless young people.

Together with Dora’s friends, we witnessed many gaps in the border wall here as well. Huge sections of wall had to be removed at great cost to taxpayers because they were built illegally on sovereign Native American lands. The Colorado River, which forms the border between Arizona and California, flows through Yuma. We saw the canal where Mexico’s share of the water is diverted from the Colorado River. And we all enjoyed a lively lunch together, learning more about the work each of us does serving migrants.

In addition to the two days I spent with Dora, she also recommended my visit to the Migrant Quilt Project, which memorializes the thousands of migrants who have died in the Arizona desert. I recently posted a slideshow of the exhibit on this blog. Dora further recommended Tom Kiefer’s photo exhibit El Sueño Americano (The American Dream), which is showing in Ajo, AZ. Kiefer documents migrants’ personal belongings that were seized and discarded by CBP. I didn’t get to the exhibit, but you can view it here: https://www.tomkiefer.com/el-sueno-americano. I highly recommend it. I also added several books to my reading list thanks to Dora’s and others’ recommendations. Dora is a wealth of stories and wisdom, and a gift to the border community. You can support Dora’s work here: https://salvavision.org.

While in Tucson I had hoped to spend a day with Alvaro Enciso, planting crosses in the desert at the sites of migrant deaths as part of his Donde Mueren los Sueños (Where Dreams Die) project. Alvaro’s team members spent two days scouting the chosen locations for a way in, but the sites were so remote and wild as to be inaccessible, so the trip was cancelled. You may read about my previous trip with Alvaro here: https://wordpress.com/post/stand4welcome.wordpress.com/5070

Border Patrol loading migrants onto a bus.

More gaps in this ridiculous wall.

The US-Mexico border cuts through several areas of Native American land.

The canal that diverts Mexico’s share of the Colorado River.

Dumpsters, shade, toilets, and drinking water! Thank you, Fernando and Nathalie!

Isaac’s brother, mother, and sister .

Border Lessons: Sásabe

“Tell Gail we need to get back in the car and on the road. There’s a group of 18 immigrants at the wall now.”

I was recently traveling with Dora Rodriguez of Salvavision, taking the slow way to Sásabe, Sonora so we could pick up donated supplies when she got the call. I let Tucson Samaritan and Dora’s co-worker Gail Kocourek know that our stop in Arivaca was over. It was time to get on the move.

When we arrived at the border, it became clear that there were two separate groups of immigrants that had recently crossed and were now awaiting Border Patrol. Along 21 miles of new wall (replacing previously-existing wall) there are 23 large gaps or openings. Smugglers/coyotes/guides bring groups of immigrants to those openings to easily walk across the border into the U.S. There the immigrants surrender themselves to Border Patrol.

We encountered one group of 18 immigrants and one group of 13, both groups consisting of families, single adults, and unaccompanied minors. Other volunteers were on the scene before we arrived, and had distributed water and snacks. Everything the migrants carry will be confiscated by Border Patrol (BP), so volunteers only distribute things that will be consumed immediately. Before BP agents arrive, volunteers have a small window in which they can talk with the immigrants and give valuable advice. Border crossers of all varieties typically have no idea what will happen next or what immigration procedures consist of. And Border Patrol generally does not tell them anything about what’s going on, either.

Volunteers greet the migrants kindly, sharing snacks and drinks. We explain in Spanish that everything the migrants are carrying will be taken away, so they must secure all their important documents on their person—not in a backpack or other bag that will be destroyed. We let unaccompanied children know that they will be sent to a place specifically for them, where they will be processed and their relatives will be contacted. We explain that this could take a few days to several months. We let single adults know that they will be expelled immediately, and that they can receive basic services at Casa de la Esperanza in Sásabe. We tell families that they will also be expelled. Volunteers request to Border Patrol agents that they please expel the families to Nogales rather than Sásabe. Sásabe is a tiny town with no services, other than those offered by Casa de la Esperanza: shower, clean clothes, phone calls, basic first aid services, and a hot meal. They do not have overnight accommodations.

We tell families that when they arrive in Nogales, they should ask for Kino. Kino Border Initiative is a non-profit that offers the same services as Casa de la Esperanza but on a larger scale, plus an overnight shelter for women and children. Kino volunteers also help migrants navigate the new Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One app. Asylum seekers are no longer allowed to present themselves at the border to request asylum; they are now required to download the CBP One app in Mexico and apply for an appointment at one of the larger ports of entry to make their request. Volunteers are essential in navigating the online system. Reports are that the app does not recognize dark-skinned faces, so Haitians and Africans are getting numerous error messages and no appointments. We tell immigrants to ask for Kino, where they will receive help.

Once a Border Patrol agent arrives on scene the volunteers have to leave. Though long-time volunteers have built respectful working relationships with long-time agents, agents transfer frequently. I had the experience of encountering a new agent who is riding a massive power trip. When she arrived on scene she barked out something like “I am a border agent. Immigrants line up here. Everyone else, LEAVE NOW!” So much for the friendly welcome and well-wishes of the volunteers. When we volunteers dawdled talking amongst ourselves, the agent barked at us again: “I said LEAVE NOW!” Dora shared with me that this particular agent had recently threatened to have her arrested. Little does this new agent know the national and international connections that Dora enjoys.

After our stop at the wall, we continued on to Sásabe and Casa de la Esperanza in Mexico. Dora put me to work sorting donated clothing, something I have lots of experience with at Mobile Clothes. We packed and labeled storage bins with new socks and underwear, filled boxes with donations for the community in Sásabe, and discarded the torn and inappropriate items.

Soon a group of Americans arrived at Casa Esperanza, including a pastor from the UCC church in Saguarita and members of his congregation. They are faithful supporters of the Casa, and he wanted congregants to witness what they support. Casa staff fed us all a delicious hot lunch. No sooner had we sat down to eat than five recently expelled migrant men entered the Casa. The pastor and one of the migrants looked at each other and laughed in recognition. The church group had just come from the U.S. side of the border wall, where they had interacted with this migrant and told him about the Casa. As Julio enjoyed a hot lunch with us, the church members told him that though he had looked sad and forlorn when they had recently seen him on the other side, he now looked happy and relaxed. If contacted, the man’s smuggler would have simply brought him to another gap in the wall near Sásabe and told him to cross there, causing his recent experience to be repeated. Because there are no services in Sásabe, and immigrants must now use the CBP One app to make an appointment at larger ports of entry, enterprising residents of Sásabe offer to drive expelled migrants to Nogales for a fee, earning money themselves while helping the migrants on their next step.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might remember my posts about Dora and Casa de la Esperanza from April 2021: https://wordpress.com/post/stand4welcome.wordpress.com/5150 or December 2021: https://wordpress.com/post/stand4welcome.wordpress.com/6022. So what’s changed at Casa de la Esperanza since my last visit? Ofelia is a Casa de la Esperanza success story. Ofelia and Vicki, a volunteer from Sásabe, were granted a scholarship by the Executive Director of Southeast Arizona Health Education Center (SEAHEC) in Nogales, Arizona to study nursing. Now a graduate, Ofelia is employed as a nurse at Casa de la Esperanza. The collaboration between Salvavision and SEAHEC made possible this amazing life-changing opportunity for Ofelia and Vicki.

There have been improvements to the grounds of Casa as well. A member of Vets for Peace raised donations and built a playground structure in the backyard. There’s a new shade cover over the picnic tables, paid for with donations from registrations for the online Migrant Trail Border Encuentro. Having participated in the Encuentro myself, I was pleased to see where some of my donations went. Dora is looking forward to a new playground and a library for the community of Sásabe that will be built across the street from Casa Esperanza.

I’m grateful to Dora for everything she does, and for welcoming me along on her rounds. I always learn more than I can possibly convey on this blog, including stories of corruption in Sásabe and the antics of Screwy Louie and QAnon vigilantes. You may contribute to Dora’s work here: https://salvavision.org.

Approaching a group of immigrants surrendering to Border Patrol agents.

In 21 miles of new wall, there are 23 of these large gaps.

One of the 23 openings in the 21 miles of new wall near Sásabe.

On the left you see the new wall, which simply replaced existing wall, as seen in the center extending to the right.

The new playground structure at Casa de la Esperanza, provided and built by a Veteran for Peace.

The new shade cover outside Casa de la Esperanza.

Los Desconocidos: The Migrant Quilt Project

The Migrant Quilt Project memorializes the migrants who have died in the southern Arizona desert since 2000, when the medical examiner’s office began recording the names. Fabrics used in the quilts were collected from migrant layup sites and trails in the desert. Each quilt lists the names of the deceased from a specific fiscal year; desconocido (unknown) is used for those migrants whose remains have not been identified. Please click through the slides to view this powerful art exhibit.

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