Fernando Garcia. Preface

MURAL IN DOWNTOWN MCALLEN, TX, BY MURALIST ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ

PREFACE

Based on 21 years of experience at the border, it is very clear and very obvious to many of us that border communities have been imposed by a system of militarization of our communities by the criminalization of immigrants and all of that wrapped with racism, white supremacy and xenophobia. But there’s also been resistances: we were fighting every instance, in every community –in every community there’s been resistance of the community but also of the nation as a whole.

What is happening at the border is not unique to our border. It is true when we say that our border, in this case the US-Mexico border, will define the character of our nation for better or for worse.

As you know when we think of Ellis Island, and statue of liberty, you will recall how those symbols defined the character of the nation in the 19th and 20th century. Ellis Island: almost 100 years ago, more than 50 million poor immigrants from Europe came through that border --and they did define the nation.

Obviously, they were mistreated, they were called animals, they were called criminals. But at the end of the day, they resisted and defined what was known for many years as a nation of immigrants, a melting pot, e pluribus unum. So, when you think of the statue of liberty, you think about the ideal of America; when you think about Ellis Island, you’ll think about how immigrants define this nation. I believe very strongly that that is going to be the case for the US-Mexico border in the 21st century.

The nation will be defined by the US-Mexico border, and we have just 2 options: Either we’re going to have a nation that is militarized –and not only the border but the whole nation; that we have a nation that puts children in cages, that persecutes immigrants, that builds walls; or we are going to have a nation that recognizes that immigrants will continue to build this country, that this nation will be diverse and multi color and where the border will seem like a place and land of opportunity.

That’s why we believe that the US-Mexico border is indeed the new Ellis Island.

Fernando Garcia, Executive Director and Founder, Border Network for Human Rights. El Paso, Texas