Report back from Tijuana

A FLUID AND CHANGING BORDER

Faride, my host in Tijuana, takes a long draw on her cigarette and looks down the beach towards the line of posts stuck in the Pacific Ocean and the metallic boundary that adjoins them, marking the border between the U.S. and Mexico. I ask her what she thinks about the wall of separation. She snorts and replies, “I haven’t seen any wall. It’s just that metal stuff, easy to jump.” She goes on to tell me that the US authorities had started building a bigger wall at one point a few years back, but that they stopped. Instead, she’s calls this barrier by a different name, “the line.”

In many ways, the border between Southern California and Tijuana, Mexico is just that – nothing more than a line in the sand. The border stretches across 1969 miles of land between these two countries, traversing desert, mountain ranges, rivers, canals, and cities. Despite the political division the boundary creates, cultural and economic exchange occurs frequently across the border. The result is that the two sides “look” alike in many respects. Mexico’s Tijuana is the next-door-neighbor to the U.S. city of San Ysidro, which lies about one hour south of the major metropolitan area of San Diego. Tijuana, San Ysidro, San Diego, and other cities in the region share many of the same characteristics of cultural and economic life. For example, people on both sides of the border can trace their lineage back to the same ancestors. Also, the foods and restaurants on both sides both exhibit a strong northern Mexican flavor, and the same music styles and radio stations are heard blasting from cars and pick-ups.

Cross-border Culture

Magda, a friend of Faride’s in Tijuana, personifies the cultural and economic cross-border relationship. When I meet her she tells me her boyfriend, like many Tijuanans, commutes every night to San Diego, to work as a janitor in a movie theater. He used to live in San Diego, but the rent is cheaper in Tijuana, so he decided to move back to his native Mexico. Now, he makes the 1-hour commute (up to 2 hours with traffic and/or a long wait at the border) in his car, however others can the trolley, which goes straight up to San Diego and leaves every 20 minutes. Thankfully, he has a special border-crossing SENTRI pass that allows him to enter the U.S. on a regular basis. Since he drives, he can get through the border faster in the SENTRI lane, which provides him with EZ-Pass-type capabilities. This situation is not uncommon. Many Mexicans who live in Tijuana have these special visas that allow them to go back and forth between the U.S. and Mexico frequently to shop, see family, and work.


The line to get in to the US - backed up into Mexico. Women and children walk amongst the cars, selling items to the people as they wait.

Similar border-crossing tendencies can be found among people who reside on the U.S. side. Viri, a friend I met at UC San Diego and was gracious enough to invite me to brunch at her home in Chula Vista, tells me that her family travels frequently to Tijuana. She has a lot of extended family members that live just south of Tijuana, and she and her parents often go to visit and enjoy the beaches of Baja California. As U.S. citizens, their family has no problem going back and forth. “And there’s also the shopping!” her mother doesn’t hesitate to remind me. Due to price and commerce differences between the two countries, there are a number of things Viri’s family prefers to get in Mexico. Viri tells me, “There’s a yogurt I like that’s a third of the price when we buy it in Mexico.”

The southern California region has a long history of this type of cross-border transculturalism. One hundred years ago, the cultural and economic exchange across this border occurred without restrictions. During that time, people used to cross back and forth easily, visiting family and engaging in commerce. The exchange of culture, customs, and conditions was practically seamless and the border region developed its own, distinct culture, unique from that of both Mexico and the US.


Business and supermarkets in Los Angeles carry products familiar to Mexican Americans and immigrants.

Despite the continued prevalence of cultural and economic exchange across the border, the border region today looks greatly different than it did one hundred years ago. Over the years, fluidity of exchange across the border has greatly decreased due to increased political restrictions placed on cross-border movement of peoples and exchange of goods.

Options for Legal Entry

Although some people who live in the region, like those mentioned above, enjoy the freedom of having visas to enter and leave the US as they please, they are unique compared to the overwhelming majority of Mexicans. My host Faride, for example, was able to get her visa because she was able to “prove” she doesn’t plan on living in the U.S. The fact that she is from a northern state of Mexico, that her family is fairly well off, and that her father had a visa and a history of not defecting to stay in the U.S. are big factors that helped her get the coveted visa. Also, her family had the money to pay for the visa application process, which costs about 150-300 US dollars, depending on the type of tourist/border crossing visa, and has to be reapplied for every few years.

For most members of Mexican society, going through the visa process proves quite difficult. Generally speaking, most working class Mexicans without family in the US and without significant savings and property have virtually no chance of being approved for a travel visa. Temporary work visas are a possibility, however only around 5,000 of these are issued each year, which doesn’t even come close to matching the demand (for example, an estimated 500,000 undocumented immigrants who may have qualified for temporary work visas enter the US each year). Even if someone does decide to take the chance to apply for a visa, the interview fee can prove prohibitive, especially because it is not refunded if the request is denied. Also, to complete the application process, applicants must be able travel to a site of the embassy, of which there are few in the country.

The Last Resort – Entry Without Documents

With no visa to enter the US legally through a port of entry, Mexicans who hope to find work in the US have sought other ways of entering. They hop the border fence, use a fake ID, pay a smuggler to bring them through underground tunnels, or hide in crossing cars and trucks, praying not to get caught at the border checkpoint. For years, this “unauthorized” crossing happened with frequency, and may have contributed to the transcultural phenomenon at the border. However, in recent years, US immigration policy has responded to the situation, and sought to crack down on unauthorized crossings. In addition to developing more elaborate screening policies at the ports of entry, they’ve also deployed more Border Patrol agents to monitor the border line. The current policies can be traced back to a turning point in 1994, when the US government instituted its program entitled “Operation Gatekeeper”, which dramatically increased the number of Border Patrol agents and the use of enforcement equipment and technology within the region, all with a distinct focus on “sealing off” the border. This policy set the tone for future border enforcement activities, which have continued to escalate enforcement and border militarization in the region.


Thousands of white crosses line a portion of the Mexican side of the border fence, representing the number of migrants (over 3,000) who are known to have died attempting to cross the border since 1994.

But even with the increased enforcement of the division at the border line, there’s been a consistent “push back,” as people on both sides attempt to continue the interaction across the line, even since 1994. Undocumented immigration continues, and Tijuana continues to be a “jumping off point” for many Mexicans hoping to enter the US without a visa. Mexicans arrive in Tijuana from various parts of the nation. They either find a smuggler (or “coyote”) to guide them across and into the US, or they work in the maquilas (factories in the region that are known for their low wages and exploitative conditions) to earn money to eventually pay the coyote’s fee.


Many migrants don't make it across the desert. Others leave personal items along the migrant trail.

Maintaining Ties – Friendship Park

Another clear example of the “push back” against forced division along the border line is the case of Friendship Park. The “park” lines on the Pacific Ocean, split down the middle by a post fence representing the political boundary. For years, this park was a site of intense cultural interchange. Families without immigration privileges would come from both Mexico and the United States to meet at the fence, exchange stories, talk in person, even kiss. Friendship Park was a striking example of how cultural connectedness can assert itself, even in the face of political division. Nevertheless, now even the ability of people to interact at the fence is being chipped away. In June 2009, the Border Patrol started a new “no touching” policy at Friendship Park. Now, people must maintain a certain distance from the fence on the US side, and cannot embrace and talk face to face as they had done before. Another barrier to communicating at Friendship Park is the difficulty in finding the place. When Viri and I visited, we drove down a long road for about ten minutes before getting to a fairly deserted parking lot. There was a lone sign saying that we were in state park land, however there were no clear walking paths or instructions on how to arrive at Friendship Park. Thankfully, someone else was there in the parking lot and we were able to ask for directions. He directed us down a long concrete path which took us down to the beach. He also told us that the lack of directions and signs is a more recent development and part of the broader strategy to limit people’s use of the park.

And the strategy seemed to be working. The beach was deserted – save a few lone horseback riders from the local ranches, and the Border Patrol vans. Viri and I walked along the coast, southward, towards the border fence. As we approached the fence, we started hearing honks. We realized they were coming from a Border Patrol van, located up on the hill away from the coast. Shrugging our shoulders, we continued walking towards the fence. The honks got more frequent, then louder, as we realized that the agent was driving down the hill towards us. He was motioning with his arm excitedly. We stopped walking, partially in shock. He motioned us for us to move backwards and we realized what had happened – we had gotten “too close” to the fence. We took a few steps back and the agent seemed to be satisfied.


The border patrol watches over Friendship Park.

Now at an “acceptable” distance, Viri and I looked over into Mexico. On the Mexican side, children were playing in the water right up next to the fence – their mothers observing them from the beach. On the hill above them, Mexican tourists took photos of the border, talking excitedly. All Viri and I could do was look on solemnly, from a distance. We saw a seagull circle above the posts and land on the Mexican side. A young man in a bright red shirt and a baseball cap came up next to us and joined us in our gazing over into Mexico. I wondered what it was he was looking for – the familiar shape of a relative’s body, his own features represented in the face of his child? He stood watching for five minutes, then turned around and headed back along the beach. A few minutes later, we turned around and headed back too.


The border "line" from the US side of Friendship Park.

Barriers in the Border Region

The policies and immigration control mechanisms put in place in Tijuana have clearly placed limits on the extent to which cultural and economic exchange can occur across the border. In addition to the growing political barriers, another major deterrent to cross-border interchange is the drug and gang-related violence of Tijuana. Due to recent surges in violence on the Mexican side, many people in the US are hesitant to go to Tijuana. This is true even for people with longstanding connections to Tijuana. It’s this violence, for example, that’s caused Viri’s family to sharply decrease the number of trips they take to Tijuana now. For Viri, her recreational activities have also changed. She explains: “I used to go to party with my friends when I was in High School – we’d go dancing, run around Calle Revolución (the main strip in Tijuana), eat tacos… but now I never go for those things. Now, we just go, do what we need to get done, and come back.” A large change, especially when you consider that the border is just 20 minutes or so from their home. What caused the change? Viri attributes to it to a terrible tragedy that occurred a few years ago to a girl from her town, a friend of her sister’s. The young woman was partying in Tijuana when she was kidnapped, killed, cut open, and stuffed with drugs to smuggle across the border in a car. When Viri learned about this incident, she was shaken to the bone. And clearly her fear still remains. As she told me the story driving back from Friendship Park, I could note the fear in her eyes. It was the same sort of fear that I saw in the eyes of many people in San Diego before I left for Tijuana when I told them I was going there.


Gang "tags" mark many of the buildings of Tijuana, such as this one.

These fears are not based purely on imagination and hearsay. Local media is plastered with stories of gang violence and drug-related crime in Tijuana. Most likely as a result of increased coverage of violence as of late, there have been significant reductions in vacationing and recreational travel to the Tijuana by US citizens and residents. A local paper details the lamentations of Mexican rental car company owners who are suffering greatly from the recent decrease in business. And perhaps this fear is part of what’s kept many people who live in the area from even visiting Mexico in the first place. “I don’t really know why,” my cousin who lives just north of San Diego tells me when I ask him why he’s never been to Mexico. “I guess I never really had the interest.”


A wish for peace in the volatile border region. "Soplarán los vientos de paz" = "The winds of peace will blow."

Immigration and Vulnerability in Tijuana

While clearly distinct in nature, the two reasons I’ve outlined for decreased cross-border interchange – the fear factor and the border enforcement – are in many ways interrelated. For example, the smuggling industry is partially fueled by the money and labor of migrants who come to Tijuana seeking passage to the US. “Coyotes” charge upwards of $3,000 dollars to help people make the trip. Since the industry preys upon poorer and more vulnerable migrants to do their “dirty work”, poorer migrants are especially prone to engage in illicit activities they need to find ways to raise a lot of money in a short amount of time. When faced with this type of situation, doing a small drug run or getting involved in potentially lucrative sex work becomes more attractive, even to the most innocent.

Migrants themselves at times also get involved with using drugs. As Antonio, a man I met outside of a migrant shelter in the city, told me, “There are a lot of bad things happening here. I’d like to go back to my family but I just am so into the drugs now. It’s going to be hard.” Antonio’s been away from his family for about ten years, and has been living in Tijuana, doing whatever he can to get by. That particular night, we got to talking because he offered to wash Faride’s minivan, in exchange for a few pesos. As he rubbed his dirty rag over the car’s passenger window, he told me that he first turned to drugs when he was living as an immigrant in the US. Part of the reason he starting using, he tells me, was that it was just too depressing and stressful for him to be away from his family as a migrant, especially because he couldn’t easily travel back and forth between his family and the US. Drugs provided him with a kind of release from this loneliness. This use of drugs as an “escape” proves to be a strategy for many other migrants in the region.

Another major link between immigration enforcement and the drug trade and dangers of Tijuana is that mass deportations into Tijuana from the US also provide fuel for illicit activities in the region. When Mexicans are apprehended trying to cross the border or if they’re picked up in communities in the U.S., they are processed by U.S. immigration authorities. Depending on where they are from, the number of times they’ve been apprehended, and whether or not they sign a voluntary removal, they are either sent back home immediately or detained. For people being deported from California, the port of entry at San Ysidro, California and Tijuana is commonly used. The number of these deportations is rising, as evidenced by the line of deportees waiting on the U.S. side of the border division at San Ysidro to be repatriated. When deported migrants are dropped on the other side of the border, they often have no money, no identifying papers, nothing to help them orient themselves to life back in Mexico. This leads to another situation of intense vulnerability for migrants. Some find refuge in the various migrant shelters that exist in Tijuana. Others grab a bus back to their home states. Others seek out a different route to cross the border, such as the Arizona desert. And some (perhaps the most unlucky) just stay in Tijuana for a time, thinking about if and/or how they’ll cross again. For those people, many of whom are lacking money and ashamed of returning home empty-handed, the illicit activities that make Tijuana infamous are all the more appealing.

Deportations on the Rise

As was mentioned above, captured border-crossers are but one of the categories of people being deported to Tijuana. Now, more and more, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are deporting people from inside the country. Raids and partnership programs with local law enforcement agencies such as the 287(g) program and Secure Communities, and now the most recent Arizona law, are funneling more and more people into the deportation pipeline. In 2009 alone, 387,790 people were removed from the US by ICE, up 5% from the previous year and more than double the number of those deported for the same period in 2004. The number grows dramatically when we consider the amount of “voluntary departures” (generally people who are apprehended in raids or at the border that agree to be sent back voluntarily). These immigrants who are sent back include people who have been living years and years in the U.S., people who have established families, jobs, and whole lives in the US. Some of them haven’t lived in Mexico since childhood, and speak weak Spanish. Some of them haven’t committed a single crime against the United States, but were simply rounded up in a raid, or arrested by the police on a false charge. Compared to the people apprehended at the border, these deportees might be even more vulnerable and even more likely to turn to illicit activities, because their lives are in the United States and they have less to return home to in their areas of origin. Thus, although the violence of Tijuana restricts cross-border interaction for reasons that go beyond policy reasons, the violence is clearly linked to various aspects of US immigration policy.

Unnatural Boundaries

Back on the beach in Tijuana, Faride and I saunter down the beach, dodging big boulders with our sandaled feet. I point over to the fence and show her where I had been standing, just two days prior, on the beach on the US side of Friendship Park. Through the metal-paneled wall that begins past the sand, we can see the Border Patrol car prowling over the line, constantly keeping watch and ready to pounce. Now on the Mexican side, I get up right next to the wall. I take photos freely of the graffitied “Angels of the Border” and the phrase “Not one more death,” reminding us of the thousands of migrants who have died trying to cross the border. I run my hands over the white crosses strung up together on a panel of the fencing, each one representing a migrant death. Faride jokes about jumping over the fence to see what would happen, mocking the stolid vigilance of the Border Patrol agent on the other side.


A view of a border patrol van from the Mexico side of the wall. In the foreground, a mural of "angels of the border" representing people who have died attempting to cross can be seen.

Further up the hill, the Binational Garden is in full bloom. A brightly-painted sign proclaims the history of the garden – how schoolchildren planted it years ago in a gesture of international solidarity. The wire fence along the border line partially obscures the shape of the plants on the other side. I squint to make out the shape of sprawling desert flowers. These flowers curve and bend. Their vines snake through the gaps in the fence. Their buds sprout through the cracked desert sand on both sides of the fence, connected at the roots.


The binational garden was created as a symbol of friendship and connectedness between the two sides of the border. Unlike the roots of these plants, most people cannot cross so easily between the two sides of the border.