Report from the Border: Crisis Grows As More Caravans Set Out

A report from the border as the conditions harden and more caravans prepare to make the journey to the United States.

The lack of services and continuous harassment amplifies a downward spiraling situation where infections risk becoming systemic, dangerous highway crossings are attempted to find food or places to rest, medical conditions such as diabetes remain unaddressed.

“The reality of some deportees facing upwards of 20 years before being able to apply for reentry to the U.S., and the Mexican government is either unwilling or unable to address this…”

The reality of some deportees facing upwards of 20 years before being able to apply for reentry to the U.S., and the Mexican government is either unwilling or unable to address this (other than with violence and extortion) forces people into an increasingly dangerous yet low profile situation. A couple individuals told me that when they’ve been able to find work and earn a little bit of money la policia immediately come and take most or eventually all of it.”

With caravan camps being broken up, a lack of shelters, the second caravan on the way, an already beleaguered homeless/deportee population here and belligerent officials; I remain curious about what can be done to utilize the intersecting and international support networks. Division, perhaps in part generated, between Caravaneres and deportees or longer term homeless (the line is blurred) seems to mirror divisions among activists, organizations and autonomous support groups.

I do not pretend to fully understand all the facets involved here; I feel no need to condemn current strategies, nor can I offer ready-made solutions. All I know is that I believe in solidarity not charity; that there are resources that are not being used, that cooperation is still the most radical strategy I’ve ever witnessed, and that this is not an isolated issue. I find myself thinking of the encampments in Oakland, of the people sleeping in the tunnels of downtown Chicago, of the streams of waste and resolve of hope.