WALKING TO MCALLEN FROM HONDURAS

A mud-colored ribbon of a river runs along the Texas-Mexico border. It's almost dried up in places, while other river sections have rapids roaring between steep canyons. When you see the river from Big Bend on the American side with the gorgeous purple and golden Mexican mountains looming in the distance or glimpse at the sandy desert lands just beyond many of the Mexican border towns, it's easy to get distracted by the diverse beauty on both sides of the border. I've been on the Rio Grande a few times, from riding the rapids between those steep canyons in a raft to crossing into Mexico from the river twice, once in a small boat and once in a canoe. More than a few times, I've walked across the border. I never had a problem freely going back and forth without fear, as I'm an American and not brown-skinned. That's what white privilege does for you. It can make you immune and clueless to the suffering of people with brown or dark skin. There's an attitude by many lily-white Americans that the color of their skin is somewhat better than those living on the other side of the Rio Grande. The robust economy of the United States makes you forget about the struggling economies of the countries south of us. Americans' never-ending illegal drug demands have created a war zone in the poorest countries, with cartel members killing each other as innocent citizens become easy targets. They are busy committing murder to garner the market feeding America's addictions. And finally, there's the CIA's past association with the drug cartels involving money laundering and selling guns, which eventually were illegally sold back to Americans. Undoubtedly, sex trafficking has played a significant role in the "businesses" operated by the drug cartels. Our government's involvement has been either minimal or extensive, depending on what you read. It's a crisis of our own making.

Gangs are taking over Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. It isn't enough that many people living in those countries are even more unfortunate than the poorest in our country. Still, they are also losing their family members due to gun violence. Many women are targets of rape and beatings, as lawlessness is pervasive in those countries. In 1996, an act was passed to deport convicted criminals to Central America. After being expelled, tens of thousands of young men born in the US became M-13 and 18th Street gangs. Roadblocks are common in those countries, as gangs rule large swaths of rural and urban areas, creating more poverty with the loss of males as primary wage earners. El Salvador alone has 65,000 active gang members. Most young boys are given a choice to either join a gang or die. Gangs confiscate many homes for "strategic" purposes. As the government cracks down on gangs, many families are equally fearful of law enforcement. Everyone is a potential target, either by the police or by gangs.

If you walk from Honduras to the US, you will cover over 2500 miles, much of it in the desert. Families often leave their homes with nothing but clothes on their backs and babies in their arms. You see fear in their eyes as they quietly walk in a line down the street while being led from the Federal courthouse to buses. Whatever you imagine they went through in the months it took to reach our border is nothing compared to the trauma they most likely experienced. Their journey is unimaginable. They still come. Our border crossings process over 150 people seeking asylum at each location daily. Only a few weeks ago, the total was usually less than 50. There's a major crisis on the border.

I heard about a young mother, probably weighing less than 100 pounds, who slept on the Reynosa bridge leading to the American side. In her arms was her severely disabled 5-year-old son. She had carried him 2500 miles. She was leaving behind poverty, no medical care, and gun violence. Her older son and mother were brutally murdered. Her husband was missing, and gangs had confiscated her home. She had no choice. The Immigration Service at the border has been overwhelmed with asylum-seekers. It can only process a limited number of people daily. This mother waited several days before going through immigration at the border. No one knows what happened after she was processed, but it's a good bet that she was sent to a "detention center" while awaiting a hearing on her asylum plea. Suppose she has any relatives in the United States. In that case, she will be placed on a bus with maybe a snack provided by Catholic Charities and a $10 bill from an organization named "Angry Tias and Abuelas." They are our angels at the border.

I walked with a friend across the border from the US to Reynosa a few days ago. I wanted to see for myself what was happening. We were the only Americans walking the streets of Reynosa during our short visit to the city. I felt safe and found the town's citizens polite and eager to help us. Entering back into the US was another story. Even those with "papers" wait up to 3 hours to enter. We got in line with everyone else. The young woman in front of me told me her story. She works and goes to college in McAllen, arriving at the border three hours before her shift or class starts. When she gets off in the evening, she returns home, only to repeat it the next day. She wants a better life. Eventually, she would like to teach Spanish in America. The process to become an American citizen costs approximately $7,000. It will take her a long time to save that money, but she's determined. Why don't people in our country apply for citizenship? Saving $7,000 is not easy if you're a laborer at a construction site, mowing lawns, working in a kitchen, cleaning houses, or even attending college.

Suppose you pay a coyote several thousand dollars to take you to the river without going through an official border crossing. In that case, you might be captured by Border Patrol and sent to a detention center to await a hearing. The Rio Grande Valley section of the border stretches 53 miles. One Border Patrol agent estimated that 20 people attempt to cross illegally every day. He reported that illegal crossings have decreased by 50%.

In comparison, the number of people seeking asylum through official border crossings has increased by 150% in the past several months. Approximately half of the river crossers don't want to be captured because they smuggle drugs or humans for labor in the US, including young girls forced to work as prostitutes. Half want to be caught because they will be requesting asylum. Crossing the river from Mexico without going through the official border stations is a misdemeanor. Mexicans crossing without proper papers are bused back to Mexico. Those from other countries are sent to "detention centers" or prisons to await trial. The private prisons that have sprung up throughout this country resulted from no-bid contracts because they were deemed an "emergency."

There are now 500,000 people awaiting hearings, many of who have been there for months. This backlog will create a wait time of 3 years for each detainee. According to a group of women who participated in the recent Grannies Respond rally in McAllen, these facilities look like concentration camps. When they asked to visit the families detained inside, they were told to get off their private property. They then asked the guard to give the teddy bears they brought to the children. The guards' response was a resounding "no!" and a threat to call law enforcement if they didn't leave immediately. The private prison companies are paid anywhere from $67 to $300 per day per detainee. And yes, some of these facilities existed during the Obama Administration to house UNACCOMPANIED children. The "zero-tolerance policy" of the Trump administration separated children from their parents, including those seeking asylum! There are still over 400 children awaiting reunification with their parents, who have likely been deported.

I spoke with residents of McAllen who were first and second-generation Mexican Americans. They described a "palpable fear" existing amongst the city's residents. The fear of not having the "right" papers and the possibility of losing their children to some gun-toting, power-tripping law enforcement agent is overwhelming--and these are American citizens! The Border Patrol and ICE agents are allowed to question anyone anytime to ask for their "papers."  Brown-skinned adults are stopped several times a day.

Our group, Grannies Respond, visited the Catholic Charities Respite Center in McAllen one night. There were about 50 refugees in the center, including families with children. They spent the night at the center before boarding a bus the following day. We were allowed to greet them and sing Spanish songs with them. When we each expressed "Bienvenidos" to them, huge smiles crossed their faces. We wanted them to know that despite the current inhumane policies of our government, our country is full of loving people. One young man held an adorable boy who looked like he was around age two, the same age as my granddaughter. The child was continuously coughing, and as he coughed, his eyes rolled up inside his head without uttering a whimper. The father couldn't speak English, and I couldn't speak Spanish, so I felt his head, which was slightly warm. I located a staff person who called an ambulance. He could have been my grandchild or your grandchild or your child. He's God's child; therefore, he's OUR child, too. Please say a prayer for him.

And before you go to sleep in your big, comfortable bed tonight with a full belly, think about the families fleeing poverty and violence, walking thousands of miles across the desert, and sleeping on rocks or hard ground for months. Say a prayer for them. While you're at it, say a prayer for this country. We live in a country that elected people who think it's a good idea to take away children from their parents, incarcerate them, then lose the parents of hundreds of children because they kept no records (or worse, never intended to reunite them). 

When did we lose our moral compass? God help us all.