The Border Patrol Hosts Border Studies – AZ Trip Part I

Thursday before last we crammed 26 people and their sleeping bags, backpacks, and breakfast for the next 3 days into 2 vans and 1 car. Then we drove four and a half hours to Nogales, Arizona and set up camp on the floor of a mission house run by the most meticulous caretaker imaginable. We literally scrubbed that place on our hands and knees before leaving the next morning and STILL were almost not allowed to return on Saturday night. Apparently we forgot to vacuum the girls’ bathroom rug. May he never find out that we “borrowed” a bread knife for two days so that we could slice bagels.

From there, though, our group split up for all of Saturday morning, with half of us first going to meet with the Border Patrol and the other half first going to the Mariposa Aid Station run by No More Deaths. My group went the Border Patrol offices first.

There I found out that the Tucson division is responsible for the highest number of apprehensions nationwide in terms of both people and narcotics. The patrolmen work one 8-hour shift per day, as well as any overtime necessary to cover the lapse between shifts (for which they receive 25% extra pay). There are about 65-85 agents per shift. Many of these agents are assigned to “still/line watch” positions. Many others work with ATVs, horses, the K9 unit, the Special Response Team, the Tactical Unit, etc. Whatever they’re doing, it is up to the discretion of each individual agent to sign out whatever gear or weaponry they wish to carry with them in the field. When asked if he enjoyed his job, our guide - a plain-spoken, diplomatic agent with over 9 years in the field – said that he likes that, at the end of the day, he can honestly say, “I have a lot of fun… I did my part”. Service in the BP is, according to our guide, a stressful job, but there is also a “generally good morale”.

Before beginning to work, agents must take a series of grueling exams. Over 60% of applicants fail. After this, they then must complete 19 weeks of training in an Academy, which includes the equivalent of 2 years of college Spanish instruction. Additional or supplemental training sessions are also made available after graduation from the Academy. All agents, once trained, are placed on a two-year probationary period.

…I have about 7 pages of notes from the Border Patrol visit, but I’ll spare you the rest of the details and let it suffice to say what stood out the most during our tour was the language and imagery – the hyper-masculinity - of the place. The best example: The “Con el coyote nada seguro, ni siquiera tu vida. No más cruces en la Frontera” poster in the main hallway upstairs. This one is actually a stroke of genious of sorts.

The English translation would say, “Nothing is certain/secure/safe with the coyote, not even your life.” A coyote, for those wondering, is a paid guide that smuggles people over the border. The going rate right now is 1800+ USD. That’s more than what many members of the lower middle class here make in a year. Thus, immigrants are often forced to enter into a form of indentured servitude once States-side in order to pay off their debt, which is itself compounded per annum by a 15% interest rate. If you don’t pay, the gang your coyote is affiliated with will harass, assault, and potentially kill your family members back home. Of course, all this is only if you make it. Which, since over one person a day dies trying to cross in the US, is by no means guaranteed.

Anyways… This poster in particular stands out because the phrase “No más cruces en la Frontera” could be translated into English as either “No more crosses on the Border” or “Stop crossing the Border”. The image accompanying this message was a photo of four immigrants following a guide, with the immigrants’ shadows doctored to take the form of crosses and the guide’s shadow to that of a coyote.

The visit to the Border Patrol facilities as whole definitely shocked us at moments. Mostly because it 1) Reminded us that Migra workers are, in fact, fellow human beings and 2) Provided us with a basis for comparison with what we saw in the Mariposa Aid Station on the Mexican side of the Nogales, AZ border.

For a detailed and well-rounded, multi-perspective account of illegal crossings, read Luis Urrea’s The Devil’s Highway. It can be a bit overly dramatic or embellished at moments, but on the whole it’s fairly appropriate and definitely the most comprehensive work I’ve seen to date. In any event, I’ll try to share my own fragmented experience with such crossings in my next post.