OCCUPYING BORDER COMMUNITIES

The U.S-Mexican border es una herida abierta where the Third World grates against the First and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages again, the lifeblood of two worlds merging to form a third country - a border culture.

- Gloria Anzaldua    

The militarization of the U.S. border with Mexico in the name of national security has fundamentally reshaped the area's physical landscape, creating communities unlike any in this world. Unique cultures blossom in the Borderlands, created by people subject to laws found only in this 1,989 mile stretch of desert. As the U.S. escalates its resources poured into this militarization, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency tasked with enforcing these policies, runs a rogue police force that promotes racial profiling, accrues casualties without consequence, and keeps undocumented immigrants stranded within a 100-mile radius of the border without access to basic human rights.

37 Known Border Patrol Checkpoints Up To 100 Miles From The Border.

Border Patrol claims incredible authority to stop, question and search motorists going about their daily lives.

FAMILIES SUBJECTED TO RACIAL PROFILING

Marianne, a white U.S. citizen, and her mixed-race sons travel through border patrol checkpoints often, and she has noticed the stark difference in treatment from when she travels alone. When traveling alone, she is waved through, but when they're traveling together, border patrol stops them every time.

"When he's sitting with me, they ask me questions, but only look at him. [In the border states] we're treated differently from other U.S. citizens and that doesn't seem fair." -Marianne

TRAPPED IN A MILITARIZED ZONE

Elizabeth, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who has been living in Texas for 19 years, is unable to travel through checkpoints to seek medical care for her son, Angel, who was born with Down Syndrome and colon and heart problems. She can't travel north for fear of deportation, and she can't travel south for the same reasons she left Mexico in the first place.

"If [the checkpoints] weren't there, he would be better already." -Elizabeth Lopez

KILLED WITH IMPUNITY

On October 10, 2012, a U.S. Border Patrol agent on the U.S. side of the U.S.-Mexican border shot 16-year old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez 10 times - 8 times in the back - even though Rodriguez was on the Mexican side of the border. Although the agent alleges Rodriguez was throwing rocks at him, witnesses say Rodriguez was just walking along the sidewalk.

That morning, Elena was distraught. I need your help, she cried in Spanish. They killed Jose Antonio!

It took three years after the shooting for the agent to get charged with murder, the first time an agent for the U.S. Border Patrol was charged in these circumstances.

In 2015, 17,522 border agents apprehended 331,333 immigrants. That's roughly 19 apprehensions a year per agent at the southwest border.

In 2006, CBP had a budget of over $6.7 billion. In 2015, CBP had a budget of over $13 billion. This means that there has been a dramatic increase of CBP's budget. Taxpayer money going to CBP has more than doubled over the past 10 years.

In 2015, $13 billion of taxpayers' money went to CBP. Companies have seen significant profits and are profiting off the suffering of undocumented people who are seeking a better future. For example, Israeli arms manufacturing giant, Elbit Systems, made $24 million because of its contracts with CBP in 2015 alone.

TAKE BACK THE POWER

It is clear that for far too long U.S. Customs and Border Protection has used its powers to abuse, intimidate, and in some cases, kill people who are only seeking a better future. While people are suffering, border patrol and corporations are reaping benefits and huge profits. It is unacceptable that very few people have faced consequences for this agency's unregulated actions. It is time to hold them accountable once and for all by advocating for tangible solutions, such as:

• - Equipping agents with body cameras
• - Updating racial profiling guidelines to match the rest of the country
• - Properly training agents against racial profiling
• - Holding agents accountable with consequences
• - Rolling back the 100 mile border zone of jurisdiction

Team Sin Fronteras

Sources:

https://www.dhs.gov/dhs-budget https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/BP%20Staffing%20FY1992-FY2015.pdf https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USBP%20Stats%20FY2015%20sector%20profile.pdf https://www.usaspending.gov/DownloadCenter/Pages/DataDownload.aspx http://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics-publications https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USBP%20Stats%20FY2015%20sector%20profile.pdf https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/BP%20Staffing%20FY1992-FY2015.pdf https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/u5646/CBPO_Landing.png http://www.migrationpolicy.org/data/unauthorized-immigrant-population/state https://www.aclu-nm.org/guiltyuntilproveninnocent/2015/05/ https://www.aclu-nm.org/deaths-and-injuries-during-encounters-with-cbp-officials/2014/02/ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/06/magazine/10-shots-across-the-border.html?_r=0 http://www.migrationpolicy.org/data/unauthorized-immigrant-population/state