Buh Bye Kristi Noem, and who the heck is Markwayne Mullin? Trump's new pick for DHS secretary. Plus, an epic novel about the U.S. and Mexico's joint erasure of Apachería, and historian and author Lydia Otero on Tucson's racial and urban history, and more.
Historian and writer Lydia Otero on growing up in the borderlands, Tucson's racial and urban history, and their most recent book, Storied Property: María Cordova's Casa.
Mexican writer Álvaro Enrigue’s new novel, Now I Surrender, is an epic about the U.S. and Mexico’s joint erasure of Apachería.
Budd has investigated Border Patrol fatalities for years and the agency's efforts to cover up its crimes. Her work is now highlighted in a new documentary "Critical Incident: Death at the Border."
I’ve been speaking with Jenn Budd for years about Border Patrol crimes, impunity and how the agency could be (and should be reformed.) But both Democrats and Republicans have refused to demand oversight and accountability for the highly politicized agency.
Border Patrol and its paramilitary culture are now very much in control of the ICE & Border Patrol occupations in various cities in America. We talk about what this means for the investigation of Renee Good’s murder in Minneapolis by an ICE agent, and what that means for Americans as these occupations continue. We also talk about the many years of fatal shootings at the southern border, and the fact that not a single agent has been successfully prosecuted for lethal force.
We also discuss previous efforts at reform and what can be done to hold the agents accountable for their crimes.
You can learn more about Jenn’s work in this important documentary “Critical Incident: Death at the Border” which is out now on HBO Max. You can also listen to our 2022 podcast with Jenn about her memoir “Against the Wall: My Journey from Border Patrol Agent to Immigrant Rights Activist” about her time as an agent in the Border Patrol and her transformation into an activist and one of the fiercest critics against the agency.
Additional context mentioned in our discussion:
Logan Phillips was born in Tombstone, Arizona—a town best known for Old West-themed gunfight tourism. In his new book, Reckon, Phillips explores his relationship to the unusual setting of his childhood through themes of masculinity, history, and land.
In the spirit of broadening the analysis beyond ICE, Border Chronicle cofounders Melissa del Bosque and Todd Miller discuss the
Rollbacks to the Clean Water Act may have affected the borderlands more than any other region. States are stepping up—but there’s still more to do.
For years, Flores has served as an immigration policy advisor to Democrats at the national level, including President Biden. She talks about what went wrong, and what Democrats should be doing now.
Independent news, culture and context from the U.S.-Mexico border.
