El Paso native disputes border narrative
Iam from the U.s.-mexico border, or la frontera. Last Tuesday, President Donald Trump delivered the State of the Union and talked about my hometown — El Paso, Texas. He falsely stated there is an “urgent national crisis” on the southern border. He painted a picture of chaos, crime and disorder.
The president attempted to make an example of El Paso by claiming that the city used to be “one of the most dangerous cities before a barrier was put in place.” He alleged that immediately after a wall was built, it became one of the safest cities in the country. This is a lie. El Paso has never been one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S., and it was safe long before a barrier was built.
In 2006, President George W. Bush signed the Secure Fence Act directing the Department of Homeland Security to erect 700 miles of reinforced fencing in different areas along the southwest border, including El Paso. Construction of the barrier began in 2008, yet FBI crime data shows that from 2005 to 2007, El Paso was one of the safest cities in the nation with a population of over 500,000 people.
In fact, violent crime peaked in 1993, then dropped more than 30 percent between 1993 and 2007. As crime fell, nothing but a silver chain-link fence stood between El Paso and Ciduad Juárez. FBI crime data also shows that violent crime rose again between 2007 and 2010, after the 18-foot steel barrier was erected in the city. Still, El Paso has remained one of the country’s safest cities. In 2017, El Paso had the second-lowest murder rate in the country with 2.8 murders per 100,000 people. First was San Diego, another border city, with a rate of Thousands of El Pasoans cross to and from Mexico by foot or car every day to have lunch, have a drink, visit family, see a doctor or go to work.
2.2 murders per 100,000 people.
The president’s representation of the border is misleading and harmful to the reputation, economic development and job creation of a safe and vibrant community. He has fabricated a false narrative to justify shutting down the government for a multibillion-dollar border wall that is supposed to keep us safe. President Trump does not know the border. El Pasoans know the border. We know that it was a safe city before any barrier was built, and we know that it is safe now because of its people, its exceptional law enforcement and its unwavering sense of community.
The border is more than a geographical demarcation between the United States and Mexico — it is a symbol of our bi-national reality. Border communities are inseparably intertwined. More than 80 percent of El Paso’s population is Hispanic and Latino. We are bilingual, bicultural and shaped by both sides of the border.
Our unique location is a sense of pride for many of us. There are three international bridges that link the city to Ciudad Juárez. The bridges facilitate trade, migration and travel for a combined population of over 2.5 million people. Texas is the largest exporting state in the country and Mexico accounts for 36 percent of the state’s foreign trade. Thousands of El Pasoans cross to and from Mexico by foot or car every day to have lunch, have a drink, visit family, see a doctor or go to work.
Like many El Paso families, I grew up in a bicultural home. My mother is a naturalized American citizen from Mexico and my father is a first-generation American of Mexican parents. My father served in the military after high school and taught my brother and I that first and foremost, we are American and to never let anyone make us feel that we are anything but. My mother taught us to speak Spanish, to embrace our heritage and to never forget that we have a family on the other side of the border.
Like my family, El Paso families are remarkably blended. For this reason, President Trump’s wall is seen by many as an attempt to cut off the circulation of a region. It would be a symbol of division in a place where two nations merge into one.
Even if we put aside what the wall would represent, the data shows that the president disparaged El Paso with erroneous claims. His rhetoric has hurt our city’s reputation, but it will not hurt our spirit.