Bootheel needs humanitarian aid, not wall
Iwas born an American citizen but raised on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande by parents and an extended family who did not enjoy that privilege. I’ve lived in New Mexico now for 17 years and still cross the border more than a dozen times a year to see my family in Juárez. I also hike, hunt and camp across New Mexico’s Bootheel every year.
During my career, I’ve had the privilege to work for one of New Mexico’s U.S. senators, coordinating the Southwest New Mexico Border Security Task Force. This took me to remote and desolate stretches of New Mexico’s border, working cooperatively with ranchers, border residents, and state and federal law enforcement agencies to address borderrelated concerns and formulate solutions.
During task force meetings, held in Deming and Lordsburg, I heard many unfounded fears. “Is it true they found a Quran in the desert?” “What do we do to stop the trains full of Mexicans from coming into the United States?” “I’m scared the immigrants will give my children scabies.”
These questions and comments were graciously and truthfully answered by law enforcement agencies attending the meetings, including U.S. Border Patrol, county sheriffs and state police. “No, we haven’t found a Quran, the trains don’t cross the border, and there is no scabies outbreak.”
Mexican intelligence agents regularly attended the meetings to reinforce their cooperation with U.S. intelligence agents. Fueled by a growing wave of anti-immigrant propaganda, many partisan border residents were not satisfied with the truth. They often walked out hurling insults or quietly mumbling grievances, even when the answers came from Border Patrol.
During this time, I worked directly with ranchers along the Bootheel, often mobilizing a slew of resources to address their concerns, which the majority of time were complaints against Border Patrol agents cutting their fences, tearing up their roads and “disrespecting their property,” as well as the one rogue, border-crossing cow (the state veterinarian confirmed a report of only one illegal cow crossing in 13 years). We did what we could to foster better coordination between Border Patrol and ranchers, but there were never concerns about what some today call an “invasion” banging on our doors out to hurt our communities.
The Bootheel has always been a sleepy, untrodden and extremely difficult-to-cross area of the U.S.-Mexico border and it has seen little traffic in the way of large migrant crossings. The terrain here is rugged and unforgiving. There simply has not been a need for a border wall here.
Today, large groups of Central American families are showing up in the Bootheel to give themselves up to federal authorities, a solution that calls for a much different and pragmatic solution than a clunky, expensive and antiquated wall.
We instead need medical resources at the border, help processing asylum-seekers and a well-resourced legal system that gives people a fair shot at the asylum process. But what you’ll hear from a small group of politically aligned voices in the Bootheel is designed to build the illusion of a crisis in order to help deliver Donald Trump his wall. Wall or not, they will still show up at our ports of entry, and they will still claim asylum.
Don’t be fooled. A wall is not what New Mexico needs. It is a massively irresponsible, immature, ecologically destructive and egregious waste of taxpayer money. In this age of widespread misinformation, it’s critical we cut through the noise and support smart policy decisions that bring out the best in America and strengthen our ties with our neighbors.
New Mexico does not need a wall. Let’s get past the politics and get serious: We need a humanitarian response to a humanitarian crisis.
Gabe Vasquez is a Las Cruces city councilor.