Runnin' The Border
It’s A Line. It’s A Wall. It's A Border.
Dust. You get within a mile of the border and you can smell and taste the dust.
The dust is inevitable. The Border Patrol drags thousands of miles of California roads and trails every night with appliances that are pulled along behind various vehicles. Jeeps, Hummers, 4wd Pickups, ADVs and Quads. They drag so that it makes footprints easy to see. If they see footprints heading north the chase is on. Every single day of every single week of every single month…
Every surface that isn’t washed every day holds talcum fine dust. It’s just everyplace. Even when it’s washed off using precious water the dust forms pools and puddles that soon dry out and make more dust as the day wears on. There is no escape.
It’s less than 350km from end to end, the border between Califonia and Mexico. Call it 225 miles by road. The portal towns are vibrant and alive, with traffic streaming both ways. The Wal-Mart in San Luis, Arizona is one of the busiest in the entire chain. Rents are incredibly high for shop spaces surrounding the border on the American side. Surprisingly good restaurants, particularly Mexican and Chinese Restaurants abound.
The Chinese restaurants are a function of past California history. After bringing hundreds of thousands of Chinese to farm and mine the newborn state in 1885 the state decided it was time to do something about the immigrant problem so they simply made it illegal to be Chinese. A huge number fled to Mexico. It is not abnormal to hear Mandarin, Spanish and English in the same conversation there.
It’s different this time around. In today’s Southwest the culture has a definite Spanish influence throughout. The 2020 census will show Hispanics to be the majority population in Arizona. Bilingual is not a theory here. If you don’t know some Spanish or English you are going to be handicapped no matter what you do. Most of our early written history involves Missions brought here by people of Spain.
Crossings at Mexicali and Tijuana often feature multi hour waits. Every vehicle is looked at, sniffed by a dope dog, and checked electronically. The smaller ports at San Luis and Tecate are just as thorough. There is simply no way to slip across.
Still they come. They are looking for an improved life that simply is not available to them in their home country of Mexico. They aren’t looking to take over anything, they just want a job where they are paid. They want something better for their children and grandchildren. They lust for our pay scale, our education system, our health care. The vision of their children being able to grow and prosper according to their own efforts is akin to Nirvana to them. So they come, legally or illegally.
The illegal immigrants are not the only reason for the wall. America’s insatiable desire for drugs of all kinds is part of it, and they are often combined. The cartel will give you the SUV and money if you will just haul one load of dope across the border. It’s just a numbers game that 10% get caught. 90% don’t. The profit margin makes that an acceptable loss.
image courtesy the author I phone 6+
The towns roll off my tongue as I ride along. Jacumba (Huh-come buh). I seriously considered moving to Jacumba several years ago. Manzanita. Boulevard. Campo, partially on a reservation and home of a great railway museum and a serious private truck collection. Potero. Tecate is a couple miles off the main road. Barrett Junction, home of one of the all time great breakfast buffets on earth. Served on the weekends only. Dulzura. Otay Lakes and you are in San Diego.
Jacumba is a mere shadow of it’s former self. When they put up the wall it literally divided the town and if you are south of the wall it is a 30 mile drive to get to the American half of the town. Why bother?
The border is militarized here. The Border Patrol and Immigration and Homeland Security all have a large presence here. You can’t even ride through the town without feeling you are being watched. Because you are.
image courtesy the author I Phone 6+
Jacumba used to have a vibe to it, a feeling of community. It’s a really small place, a gas station out on the freeway and a general store right on main street. There are hot springs here, and the town sits high enough to get some relief from the brutal summer temps on the valley floor. There is an old school Spa with a good restaurant that is still hanging on.
What ever vibe that Jacumba had once is gone, enveloped by the dust. The airport is not only closed but barricaded. All that’s left is a building that once housed a couple of businesses and a lonely sailplane beside the runway.
If Manzanita isn’t dead, the demise is expected soon. There is just nothing left here at all.
As you get closer to San Diego the look improves. There is money here, in flight from the crush that is San Diego. There are really big houses and estates, and some business to go with it. Campo is well, if not flourishing. There is a really large Border Patrol presence along here, and those people have to live someplace. Where they live, they spend money. Where they spend money the communities thrive. Some win, some lose.
The Militarization of the Border
In many places, the border zone resembles an armed camp. Border patrol stations all have tall chain link fences and concertina wire. It really does resemble an armed camp because it is.
One thing has changed. There used to be a fleet of white busses continuously moving up and down Highway 94. They were detainee busses. Every time somebody was thought to be an illegal immigrant or dope smuggler they were loaded up and taken to a central facility for identification and processing. The numbers are down enough that the busses no longer run all the time.
I don’t know any answers, the questions are way above my pay grade. All I know for a fact is that the southern border of the United States has changed drastically in the last 20 years and that it isn’t a lively and vibrant place like it once was.
Authored by: @bigtom13
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Great story and post @adsactly. The footage created by Vice is somehow shows what its like to be on the borderline.
👍👍👍
I have known about the border issues my whole life and yet it still amazes me when I hear about them. To think that the border must be closed off so tightly and that there is such a strong desire to keep people out. People are so desperate to get through that they are willing to risk everything to sneak across. This was the first time I had heard about the sands being groomed to help show footprints. The drug issue is a huge one. It is mind-blowing to think that it is worth the potential loses to keep sending drugs through border checks. Being Canadian we sit on the border with the US and it is so different. Much of it is unprotected whereas some people want a wall to border Mexico. Makes me sad.
It seems to me to be a method of making people different. If they are different we NEED to keep them out. They aren't different, they are precisely the same. In all aspects.
I didn't mention the deaths. As crossing gets harder a higher percentage die in the desert. Men, women, children. And still they come.
It is sad. From all perspectives.
That is a tragic circumstance of economic disparity and economic design I believe. Very sad to see the loss of human life a result of motivation to create a better life.
Boarders are just in our head, too bad a lot of people still have them. I am a citizen of this planet, and I really don't like the idea of boarders. It divide us and makes us hate each other just because we're not on the same side...
What a crazy idea that is, and people fall for it :(
More to that, this is all idea of the rich people, to divide us and control us, while we're losing jobs, houses, or we need to move from our hometown and our childhood memories to another town just to barely survive... That ia not the life, life is way much greater thing.
Tax the rich, free your mind and the love will follow. Let's build a sustainable and free future for all mankind <3
good post.
Yes. Just yes. And yes again. I hope your vision is the one that comes.
It's coming Tom! It's coming... We just need to speed up the process by sharing the knowledge and love... <3
Good post
It is sad to see how the gap between rich and poor strata of the population is growing. The rich try to separate themselves from the poor and build walls. How much in this world is this separation? It's sad that some people are forced to leave their hometown to survive. They are looking for a place elsewhere. But instead of helping each other, we build the walls.
Whatever the effectiveness of the boundaries was stronger they use manipulation. How can I manipulate the mind with the whole thing? - this is through the media. We are being imposed false patriotism and forced to hate other people. Trump on this background looks bad. His crazy idea of building a huge wall on the border is a complete absurdity. He wants to fence off people who are in a desperate state. Such people will find a way to cross the border. The saddest thing is that in an attempt to cross the border of many innocent people are dying. Men, women and children who want a better life.
On the other hand, illegal immigration has a bad side. The smuggling of weapons and drugs is bad for society. Nevertheless, all these divisions serve to show that we are "different" people. But I think that we are all the same. The difference in skin color and thinking is all. But this is my opinion.
Good article, thanks
I can't help but think there was a time in our history where we could have held out a hand to Mexico. Helped them get business going and let them make a living there. That day is sadly past, I fear.
I absolutely agree that it is about our 'differences'. Where there really aren't any.
I have not seen a post this well written and gripping in a very long time. @adsactly, you captured the atmosphere perfectly. It almost feels apocalyptic. It reminds me of the Berlin wall; it reminds me of our own South African border war in the 1980s. It reminds me of the protest songs sung by that brilliant Mexican singer, Joan Baez.
Yes, answers we do not have. I only weep for the loss of freedom for people, all races, cultures, backgrounds, once again. Will this vicious cycle never end?
Thank you. Very kind words, and I appreciate them.
The entire border seems to be holding it's breath. A feeling of expectation, and not in a good way. And it's the same on both sides of the border.
I too, weep for the people.
You have captivated me with this post, which is difficult to put in place of those people, The libertarian position on immigration is to have, not open borders without restrictions, but to have controlled borders that allow people who work hard to come to America to help raise their standard of living and improve the economy of the United States.
https://steemit.com/feed/@ericausaury/gender-violencec
look like hell on earth, the faith in humanity comes this far?
Interesting .. Nice work, thanks for the info
Great post from you
Thanks for sharing
i like the pics
Fantastic work @bigtom13! Very interesting to see your description of the border between the US and Mexico. I thought your explanation of how the economics of the area work stateside and your explanation of why there seem to be so many chinese restaurants and the historical connections made was fascinating. Overall a very thorough and well thought out piece of work. Take care.
Nice photo
South America dope smugglers grew each day because money continue s flowing in and out of the business.
And the change in our communities and nation at large will continue to occur. Both legal and illegal.
All are the spices of life.
The cartels are nearly as powerful as the Government in Mexico. The amount of money generated is almost beyond belief. And you are correct, the change goes on.
This is deep:
Quite an informative piece.
Here, in close proximity to the border, even the most militant of anti immigration know the reality. All have sympathy for the wishes that drive people here. It's a pretty simple desire that drives them north.
Change is the only constant thing in life, we all want a better life. Nice pictures
It is what we all want, isn't it? Really simple desire. A better life.
Quite sad how we are divided by some imaginary lines and if you are born in one place you have more rights than someone born in another place. Nobody owns the land but instead people feel patriotic over a piece of land that their country got by killing the people that used to live there before.
And the wall is just so ridiculous but amerikkkans that support it and voted trump bought everything he said. They want us divided and Trump the puppet is doing a great job.
I hate to tell you, this started much before Trump. Bush II started the current wall and Obama finished it. Bush raised the specter of job loss while Obama used 'security from terrorists' to justify. Everybody's got dirty laundry on the border.
Thanks for that didn't know about them 2 involved I was just referring to when in his campaign for presidency he was saying "build the wall.." and rubbish like that. They are all corrupt and full of BS anyway.
Photography and your travelling post both are awesome......It teaches us something much better............everywhere border is a very dangerous place...... Upvoted
For me, the border doesn't feel like a dangerous place. Due to my birth status and the color of my skin. Those two attributes take most of the danger out of the equation.
China builds a wall and it becomes a world heritage site and tourists flock to see it every year lol when America does it everyone loses their minds
The Great Wall was to protect against invasion by Mongols of the Steppe.
Mexico is already part of the US sphere of influence.
Fortifying the border wall and keeping many Mexican in a perpetual limbo, never giving them a greencard, is a strategy to drive divisions between workers, and reduce wages and harm work conditions.
There is a really simple and elegant answer. Thank you.
You know? You are right. I really couldn't get close enough to the wall to get really good pictures of it, but it is a blight at the very best. I wonder if the Chinese people felt the same about their wall?
It would be cool if you could get some drone footage of the wall so we could really see the extent of its size. I'm sure the Chinese were torn about the wall too, they just didn't have social media to complain and argue about it on a mass scale. Plus im sure it created plenty of work/jobs for them at the time, not that im sure it was paid for labour
The wall was built by slaves, and it's estimated that millions died to build it.
The Chinese were using the wall to fend off the Great Mongol Empire. China was the smaller empire. Eventually, it was incorporated into the Mongol empire, which extended from eastern Europe to the Korean peninsula.
If Mexico had a wall to prevent invasion by the US, it would be serving a similar purpose.
However, the US already has a lot of control over Mexico. Many of the presidents were educated in the US, or worked for American corporations.
I have once read about Jacumba but have never been there. The wall cannot totally prevent immigrant from moving illegally. Same way African are trying to cross to Europe through Libya. Everyone just want a place with opportunity and better life for their family
It can't be completely stopped. Apprehensions of illegals are WAY down. It's the old law of diminishing returns.
i dont know why american people are thinking, the immigrant people are stealing from them.(at least they behaving like this). As far as i remember, around 90% people usa have today,are all came from different places around the world. Native american are very scarce these days.They are nearly extinct. Then why they are opposing it...since are also immigrant people..just came a little early..
No kidding. America is a nation of immigrants. We nearly exterminated the people that lived here when we came (whoever we might be). I guess timing IS everything.
and u guys are feeling proud about it?
There is a nearby country with tens of millions of indigenous people. It's called Mexico.
What I want is a world without border. No countries that divide between human race and only one race, a human race.
never going to happen, it goes against human nature.
"Human nature"? When did countries arise? 6,000 years ago in Mesopotamia? It's not "human nature" to have cities, much less countries.
You and me and John Lennon. I agree.
I think "Border" is the most annoying thing of the world.Let's break it with our "Thinking".
Back in my day as a kid, we used to be able to go from Canada to USA without a passport, just government ID. It's unfortunate we live in a world with these borders. Do you ever wonder if theres another "earth" out there in a galaxy far far away that has no borders, just love?
John Lennon certainly imagined it.
It's sad that we have to build walls to prohibit our co-humans from entering the supposed to be free world.
Mexico - USA is always in the news for two things:
illegal immigration
drug trafficking
Unfortunately the two goes hand in glove. But the American government has done a great job curtailing the movement.
when we are unable to earn and live in a normal way...they think a different track...wherever unemployed people are there..illegal {??} business arises..90%. remaining are born criminals can found in all society..
But the US is not responsible for the bad economy of Mexico.
Most often crime is a by-product of bad internal management.
I sometimes wonder if our tighter border security is preventing the frequent back-and-forth movement that characterized Mexican migration for most of the 20th century. That would create some negative impacts, as people couldn't leave the US when jobs were few, and couldn't easily re-enter when they were plentiful. This additional money would have strengthened the Mexican economy, and probably contributed to social stability.
Now, shit's a mess. Paramilitary gangs. Paramilitary border patrol.
They have certainly curtailed illegal immigration. It seems to me like there isn't really a dope shortage in the US, so maybe not so much there. There is so much money involved that they will just keep coming with it. The smugglers are really inventive and they change tactics often.
You nailed it.
@bigtom13,
Another great piece. I lived just North of San Diego for a couple of years and visited Tijuana on a few occasions. It is a unique place. I hate to hear that part of our world has changed so much in recent years.
As always, I love your posts and love reading about your travels.
Keep Riding and Steeming!
Thanks Joe.
The border has a real grimness to it that wasn't here even 10 years ago. I don't like it.
I would imagine so, especially with all the negative attention it gets.
La vida está tan llena de obstáculos que solo sobrevivir es un triunfo, gran información, gracias.
Si. Gracias.
Informative and pointed commentary in your essay.
it's a very dangerous pollution for breathing with the dust that runs when the car drove with high density we have to wear a mask.
I strongly agree with your opinion because the dust can pollute the environment
Very nice photography post..At first I felt for Michael’s mom to worry so much about him. Afterall, he lost his brother, his best friend. When he actually ran away from home and then came back after eight days like nothing happened, his mom must had been happy to see him alive, but at the same time she was worried, because Mike was still closed to himself and unhappy person who lost his best friend. Now that he knows what his intuition told him about his brother not committing suicide, but being killed by drug gang, he feels anger for revenge. That’s why he is doing the favor to the other gang with all these maps and timelines. Every person of this other gang getting killed gives him satisfaction, especially when they get killed or punished because of his information he provided.
Very nice photography.....best of luck
@upvote and resteemit
Good post!
Great post...
The Mexico United States border is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean to the west and Gulf of Mexico to the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from major urban areas to uninhabitable deserts. Approximately 350 million legal crossings occur annually, and is the most frequently crossed border in the world....best of luck@adsactly sir,,,upvote done
Nice photography , i like your post more especially travelling post.
Wow beautiful pictures, i like traveling is my hobby, thanks for sharing this great experience
Dear @adsactly
how are you?
i gifted to you
Change is the only constant thing in life.
Hmmm what an experience
sir, your post was very nice. I like this post..
thank you for share.
Very nice trip, success always for you brother @adsactly
sir, your post was very nice. I like this post..
thank you for share.
Very interesting and informative blog with awesome picture with beautiful secenry.
Stay blessed and keep it up.
@imran498
The Mexico United States border is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean to the west and Gulf of Mexico to the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from major urban areas to uninhabitable deserts. Approximately 350 million legal crossings occur annually, and is the most frequently crossed border in the world
c'mon bro, don't just copy-paste the text... This is not a platform to do that...
Let's make this platform better with normal conversations, not just copy pasting - anyone can do that.
nice photography
nice post
very nice pic my friend
Very nice information and pictures. Well another awesome international border is between India and Pakistan (punjab side border) as there is 2 place where India and pakistan's border line meets.
The Mexico United States border is an international border.......Awesome
very informative i must say
and i pray something is done within the shortest possible time to reduce the amount of air pollution that is emitted from this border.
Very good ("-")