We’ve been travelling and camping close to the USA/Mexico border over the past week or so. The first sign that we weren’t in Kansas anymore came with the sign leading into Coronado Forest campground near Portal. It struck me as rather funny and kinda ridiculous, so we took this humorous picture. But the sense that something is ‘not quite right’ has grown the further east we’ve travelled.
Going from Sunny Flat to our next campsite in Columbus, NM took us along route #9; a secondary highway that paralleled the border. At times we were within 1 km of the great divide. While there was no big, scary wall, there was the overwhelming presence of US Border Patrol vehicles. We drove the 160 km road and saw a total of three other civilian vehicles, but about two dozen green & whites. This included a rather ominous unnamed barbed wired compound that housed many of these vehicles.
Floating high above the area was a stationary (tethered) blimp which I can only assume contained various sensors and cameras … probably infrared. And the whole roadway was lined with a barbed fence that had a dirt road running along it. At one point we watched as a green & white truck dragging huge tractor tires scarified the road. If anyone crossed this path they would leave footprints that, presumably, could be tracked.
Our visit to Palomas Mexico was a fun, interesting experience. But the border crossing was a tale of two countries. Coming up to the border we were faced with a compound on the American side, and virtually nothing on the other. A wall stretched from the crossing out for many kilometres, running east and west.
We walked into Mexico without even a single official asking to see our passports. Coming back to the USA though, we were faced with the friendly, but very serious face of US Homeland Security border agents. And they definitely checked our passports and went through the standard clearing-in procedure.
Palomas is a touristy town catering to the financial needs of rich Americans and Canadians. Cheap dental and eye care was available within a few steps of the border. The Pink Store was fun and culturally fascinating, but the touristy glitz soon petered out to very rough and dilapidated buildings.
While walking down a street we were also passed by a troop transport truck carrying at least a dozen fully camoed military people, all decked out in the firearm tools of their trade. A few smaller military vehicles drove past us over the few hours we were there, including one jeep with a very large mounted machine gun.
While in the Pink Store we talked with a staff person. She held dual US/Mex citizenship, and really seemed to open up once she knew we were Canadians. She got on a bit of rant about the hardships and profiling that she sees and experiences, and noted how things have changed since 9/11. She eventually stopped herself, and apologized for her outburst.
We walked back to the USA, easily clearing through customs using our passports and a smile. But I am left with an unsettled feeling about it all. I keep reminding myself that I know almost nothing about any of this. I am a northern visitor to this strange southern land. I don’t know what the right answers are, but when I hear the bombastic and vitriolic rantings of Republican candidates like Trump, I shudder for the future of this already damaged space.
ADDENDUM: We encountered our first citizenship checkstop on the highway while driving to Marfa, TX. All traffic was detoured through this customs-looking booth. We had to proceed one at a time, and when I got there the young, but serious US Border Guard asked me: “Are you a citizen sir?” I stammered, “Er, no. Canadian.” He gave me and my little bike a cursory glance and waved me on. I look very white … and despite the beard, pretty harmless. I can’t help but wonder what would happen if I was Latino.
I don’t understand how this kind of arbitrary stop is legal in the heart of the “free world.” The shades of Hollywood depictions of totalitarian countries, where you are constantly stopped and have to ‘show me your papers,’ felt all too real. But this is not my country, and I understand there is a real issue with illegal immigration. I don’t know what the answers are, but this feels wrong.