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NEWS & LETTERS, February-March 2006Our Life and Times by Kevin A. BarryLife and struggle on Mexico's borderThe year 2006 portends many challenges for undocumented immigrants and their supporters. On Dec. 30, Guillermo Martinez, a 20-year-old from Guadalajara, Mexico, was shot in the back and killed as he and his brother were trying to cross the heavily fortified border at Tijuana-San Ysidro, to visit family in Pasadena, Cal. The Border Patrol agent who shot him, himself a Mexican, claimed Guillermo had thrown rocks at him. This horrific event, which evokes the Israeli military's treatment of rock-throwing Palestinians, occurred two weeks after the House of Representatives passed some of the most draconian anti-immigrant legislation ever (HR4437, brainchild of James Sensenbrenner and Peter King). It authorizes the construction of 700 more miles of fence through parts of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, criminalizes anyone who lends any kind of aid to someone they know to be in the U.S. illegally, provides for the deployment of the military along the border, and makes it easier to deport immigrants without giving due process. It hasn't passed the Senate yet. Even the Catholic Church has sent a formal request to Congress and Bush demanding they not make it law. The murder of Guillermo Martinez has enraged Mexicans on both sides of the border, who listen to the stories every day of someone dying trying to get into the U.S. Several protests have been held on both sides of the border. Fueling that rage are comments from officials like Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security, who came to San Ysidro for a press conference Jan. 5 to say that while the killing will be investigated, the Border Patrol will continue to pursue a policy of "zero tolerance" towards anyone they feel threatened by. He added that the job the Border Patrol does along the 2,000 mile border is a "humanitarian" one. The administration of Vicente Fox has also been the target of protests, as he has done nothing but bow down to Bush's refusal since September 11, 2001 to negotiate reforms to the antiquated immigration laws. --Mitch Weerth |
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