Border Dynamics

Recently I have overheard a lot of talk in lakeside about the USA southern border and US Border Policy. As one who lives on the border part of the year in El Paso TX, I have some observations that may differ from what is communicated in the mainstream press that seem to form the basis for the talking points in many of those overheard conversations about the border.

Present day El Paso TX USA and Ciudad Juarez Mexico make up the area sometimes known locally as "Borderplex". It is the convergence of two countries (the USA and Mexico), three cities (El Paso, TX- Ciudad Juarez - Mexico - Santa Teresa - NM) and three states (TX, NM, and the Mexican state of Chihuahua). The Rocky Mountain Range passes through the region and the Rio Grande River flows through it as well leaving a pass through the mountains known long ago as El Paso Del Norte (The pass through the mountains to the north). This convergence is also a convergence of two cultures (some might even say three as the Tigua Indians have made their home in this valley for centuries). This cultural blending is unique to this area and had existed this way since the first Spanish explorers arrived in 1598. This cultural blending was one of the things that drew my wife and me to move to this area.

My wife and I moved to El Paso 21 years ago and I have had a business there since the early 80s, so we are very familiar with the area. When we first came to El Paso in the early 80s the US border with Mexico was all but invisible. There was even a trolly that went back and forth between El Paso and Juarez called the "border jumper". Many people, including myself and my wife, would frequently go to Ciudad Juarez on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande River for dinner in one of the excellent restaurants located there. No one was concerned about safety, and people went back and forth at will. Passports were not needed to cross back and forth then.

This situation was interrupted starting in the early 90s with expanding cartel violence when the murder rate in Juarez became one of the highest of any major city in the world.

At the same time, El Paso was recognized as the safest major city of over 500,000 in the USA. The contrast could not have been greater.

Virtually all of the good restaurants in Juarez eventually moved to El Paso. Except for people who worked in the manufacturing operations in Juarez, no one in EL Paso went to Jurez.

9-11 increased the security requirements for going back and forth and passports were eventually needed for crossing. Borderplex became a divided place in order to maintain security and to keep our country safe.

At the same time, truck traffic went back and forth without major interruptions. The five industrial parks in Juarez produce products for many major brands and then they are brought to El Paso via trucks where the logistics warehouses are located. They are dispersed from there all-over North America.

Illegal crossings into the USA from Mexico were largely under control by Border Patrol as fencing and a border wall on part of the border reduced the volume of those crossing and those that did not qualify to be in the USA were immediately deported.

Ranchers on the border occasionally saw some of this traffic as well as the humanitarian organizations near the border that also encountered a few each week that got across the order without detection by Border Patrol. Many of these were just visiting families that resided on both sides of the border and/or shopping but did not have the legal status to pass back and forth.

I served as the chairman of the board of one of those faith-based humanitarian organizations for 9 years where we provided free hot lunches, used clothing from our thrift store, and food baskets to those in need without asking any questions. Many of those seeking our services were just poor people from Juarez that could not get help there.

We also partnered with the Rotary Club to provide a health clinic on our campus that provided basic health care without cost or questions about immigration status. Doctors from the University Health Center volunteered their time and pharmaceutical companies provided free drugs for the pharmacy in the clinic that were dispensed without cost.

On one occasion when there was a large influx of Cuban refugees seeking asylum in the USA. We housed them in the dormitory on our campus, helped them with their legal matters, provided food and clothing, and conducted ESL classes. This was an isolated case and there were a few hundred, not thousands from over 100 countries as there are now. Also, the USA had unique asylum rules for Cuban refugees that made it to our country by land whereby they could obtain legal residency status upon entry. There were also vetting requirements in place for the Cubans seeking asylum then that are not being observed now.

The border between El Paso and Juarez remained manageable until the current administration took office. On the first day of the new administration all of the policies of the prior administration about the border were rescinded.

The numbers of illegal crossings increased dramatically almost immediately. The shelters that serve this population were overwhelmed.

Several hotels in El Paso were leased for the sole purpose of housing these people until they could be transported to other locations of their choice in the USA. Across the street from one of my friend's business a large vacant warehouse was obtained and fitted out to temporarily house these people.

A stream of buses passed in and out of it throughout the day. Virtually none of the migrants want to remain in El Paso. We began to see migrants running across I-10 in heavy traffic creating a dangerous situation.

In the month of September 2023 over a quarter of a million were apprehended crossing our southern border. In Texas alone over 11,000 were processed in one day. Half of the southern border between the US and Mexico is in Texas (about 1250 miles). When the city of El Paso reached a breaking point with 1500 in a single day. El Paso Mayor Oscar Lesser (D) declared an emergency and called for DC to react by securing the border. The streets near the border in downtown El Paso are full of people living on the street. The city also chartered buses to transport migrants to the cities of their choice to relieve the strain on our resources. On Sept 23 (Reuters) reported - "The dramatic increase in migrants crossing the U.S. border from Mexico has pushed the city of El Paso, Texas, to "a breaking point," with more than 2,000 people per day seeking asylum, exceeding shelter capacity and straining resources, its mayor said on Saturday. "The city of El Paso only has so many resources and we have come to ... a breaking point right now," Mayor Oscar Leeser said at a news conference."

Managing the flow of illegal immigrants also disrupted the flow of trucks back and forth from Juarez and El Paso. A weekly publication titled BORDER NOW in an article on the 3 rd of October 2023 stated the following: "EL PASO, TX - The migratory crisis that has kept cargo crossings closed at the Cordova-Americas bridge at the Ciudad Juarez-El Paso border would have left losses of up to US$871.33 million in the period from September 18 to 30, according to the Secretary of Innovation and Economic Development (SIDE) of the state of Chihuahua.

According to SIDE information, on September 30 there was a traffic of 439 cargo vehicles on the Zaragoza-Ysleta bridge and 658 on the Jeronimo-Santa Teresa bridge, with 19 transports unable to cross. These figures give a total of 13,405 trucks that have not been able to cross the international bridges.

During this period, the Zaragoza Bridge had an accumulated traffic flow of 7,769 vehicles, 2,596 at Guadalupe and 12,635 at Jeronimo. In the same period, there was a total traffic of 23,101 units and it is estimated that more than 13,300 trucks were stopped."

As bad as the migrant situation had gotten on El Paso it is even worse in the small border town of Eagle Pass TX. The population of Eagle Pass is about 28,000 compared to over 700,000 in El Paso.

They are experiencing even more illegal crossings each day than El Paso and the situation there is desperate. There have been several drownings there too, adding to the desperation.

The Border Patrol is overwhelmed with just processing all of these people at several major crossing points and even though the National Guard is assisting them they are still in need of more help. In September they were faced with processing over 11,000 who arrived in a single day. This leaves large sections of open border with no one to intercept those who illegally cross there.

The cartels are well aware that much of the border is now wide open for smuggling, human trafficking, and other illegal activity. We have no idea what the numbers are there but police officers in rural border counties such as the sheriff of Cochise Cunty AZ who report large numbers of them are moving though their territory and they have limited resources to respond so the majority of them escape undetected.

Ranchers near the border east of El Paso are being overrun by illegals crossing their property. These are all so called "got aways" that are not seeking asylum but just want to get into our country without legal status. Many of these are criminals or many who owe a dept to the cartels that they can work off by doing their bidding.

I have also observed that many border check points are now either un-manned or under- manned compromising these check points away from the border where large amounts of drugs were previously intercepted. Border Patrol Agents have been pulled from duty at these facilities to perform administrative processing duties where large numbers of migrants are crossing. These check points were our last defense against illegal drugs that are now pouring into our country.

All I know is what I have been experiencing and what I hear from border patrol friends and ranchers on the border who are friends of mine. I find this to be very different than what is either underreported or not reported at all on the major networks. For those who say we do not have an open border I would invite them to see what I see here on the border every day. We are living in the midst of a crisis. I dream of someday returning to the Borderplex I found 40 years ago.

Author: Tim Eyerman