Schar School of Policy and Government Associate Professor Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera is undertaking a remarkable journey this month: She, along with journalist Sergio Chapa of the Houston Chronicle, is driving the entire length of the U.S.-Mexico border. It’s the second time they’ve made the journey—the first time was in 2013—“but much has changed since then,” she said. “We thought we should repeat the experience given the enormous changes that the region has undergone in recent years.”
Her observations will enrich her research and teaching of migration, human trafficking, organized crime, border security, militarized drug cartels, and other issues that appear in headlines each day. Watch these pages in the coming days for updates on Correa-Cabrera’s journey as she shares her insights encountered on her 1,600-mile drive from Brownsville, Texas, to San Diego, Calif. —Buzz McClain
When I lived for eight years in Brownsville, Texas-Matamoros, Tamaulipas, the main issue was organized crime on the Mexican side of the border and the war between the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel, two militarized cartels. Now the main discussion is about asylum seekers and the construction of a border wall.
A real human tragedy is visible there, particularly on the Mexican side. I also observed further militarization and greater surveillance in that segment of the border. This is a real human rights problem in so many regards. More on that later.
At Piedras Negras, Coahuila, we saw that there were fewer migrants waiting to enter the United States to ask for asylum. This might have been due to the hot season or the recent deterrence policies implemented by both the U.S. and Mexican governments, so this might be only a temporary reduction. Also we should remember that the Migrant Protection Protocols, or the “Remain in Mexico” policy, have not started yet in some cities we have visited so far.
We started Day 3 in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, sister city of Del Rio, Texas. I have been to Ciudad Acuña several times before to conduct research on migration, human smuggling, and organized crime. This time my visit was extremely interesting.
I started to notice people wearing fluorescent vests and cleaning windshields for money in different corners of the city. They seemed to be from a different country and not the regular Central American migrants. At first, I thought they were “Garífunas” from La Ceiba, Honduras. Garífunas are Hondurans with African roots; people refer to them there as “black Hondurans.”
I decided to ask one of them where he was from. Imagine my surprise when he said he was from the Democratic Republic of Congo! He told me there were several of them in the city waiting for asylum. I discovered that in recent months, several trans-continental migrants had arrived to that city since they were told in Tapachula, Chiapas, that applying for asylum in Ciudad Acuña was faster.
Sergio and I decided to visit the camps where they were staying. We saw people from different African countries—DRC, Angola, Cameroon, and others—as well as Cuba and Central America. All of them were planning to apply for asylum. The experience was very interesting since I had never seen that phenomenon before: I had never seen people from African nations in Ciudad Acuña waiting there to apply for asylum.
We took some photos of the Rio Grande River (Rio Bravo for Mexicans) at Vega Verde, Texas, and headed towards scenic Big Bend National Park. We passed though Seminole Canyon, the Pecos River crossing, and then we got stuck in the middle of the desert due to traffic and construction near Sanderson, Texas.
We finally arrived to Big Bend National Park—a preserve for the Chihuahuan Desert. Visitors from Texas and tourists in general like this place very much. We spent the night in the manufactured ghost town of Terlingua. I had been there before. It was once a mercury mine, but eventually it went out of business.