On the US-Mexico Border, a Meeting Place for Two Nations Divided Mark Fazlollah - Inquirer | |
go to original July 22, 2014 |
An American flag mural, upside down and with crosses instead of stars, was painted by Mexican citizens who served in the U.S. military, but were deported. (Mark Fazlollah)
TIJUANA, Mexico - In the mid-1980s, the border between Tijuana and Southern California was a showcase of America's failed immigration enforcement. On a busy night, thousands of people slipped into the United States illegally.
It was so easy to cross that gangs of Mexican thieves waited each night on Southern California hillsides, ready to prey on the migrants and occasionally to battle Border Patrol agents.
Now, the flow of migrants has become a trickle. Crime has plummeted. And the Border Patrol regularly conducts tours of its high-tech fence system for journalists, college researchers, congressional delegations, and foreign military officials.
Even people who question U.S. immigration policies acknowledge that the 18-foot-high border barrier, topped with razor wire, has disrupted the flow of immigrants though Tijuana. Yet for all its effectiveness, Southern California's border can also help in understanding some of the less-than-perfect results.
"It's very effective," said the Rev. Pat Murphy, who runs Tijuana's largest shelter for deported men. "But so many people are deported. It divides families."
While the surge of Central American children crossing into Texas has rekindled the immigration debate, the Border Patrol in San Diego says it has seen no onslaught of children. On the Tijuana side, shelters that house children say they have seen no significant numbers of the Central American youths.
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