An expanding definition of "terror" ignites a more bellicose extension of the U.S. border abroad. A history of labor and mining and community written on borderlands' gravestones. And The Border Chronicle in Douglas and with Amy Goodman this coming week.
Just what did U.S. officials at the Border Security Expo earlier this month say about U.S. foreign policy, border extension, and a revival of the war on terror?
Mining operations have been in the center of borderland labor conflicts for more than a century. These photos tell the moving story of one such town, through its cemetery.
The Cost of Being Undocumented: A Podcast with Alix Dick and Antero Garcia
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Alix Dick arrived in the U.S. more than a decade ago, fleeing violence in Sinaloa, Mexico, that tore her family apart. But the impact of living without legal status in the United States has been almost as brutal as the violence she fled.
In her new memoir, The Cost of Being Undocumented: One Woman’s Reckoning with America’s Inhumane Math, cowritten with Stanford University sociology professor Antero Garcia, Alix Dick tallies the costs—spiritual, mental, physical, and economic—of being undocumented in the United States, especially as the Trump administration escalates its cruelty and persecution of people living without legal status.
Alix and Antero discuss how they decided to cowrite her memoir, why they chose to publish it now, and how Alix worries that she might be unable to promote it publicly because of Trump’s harsh crackdown. She also explains why many immigrants supported Trump in the election. “I believe when a society is so desperate for answers and leadership, and they lack identity, they will follow whoever seems the strongest,” she said.
The two also run a Substack called La Cuenta, which is one of our recommended Substacks at The Border Chronicle. La Cuenta, launched in 2022, highlights the experiences and perspectives of people living without documents in the United States. It’s crucial reading for Americans, especially in this era. TheCost of Being Undocumentedwill be released June 17.
Torre Centinela, a Mexican surveillance hub that will share intelligence with U.S. and Texas law enforcement is slated to open soon. Olivares discusses his investigation on Torre Centinela and the private corporation running it.
"The history of migration through El Paso is one that’s been forgotten and overlooked, even though these workers—and not just workers but intellectuals, activists, and poets—helped shape the American Southwest as we know it today."
With more than 40 percent of the U.S.-Mexico border now under military authority, we discuss our Border Chronicle/The War Horse investigation examining this unprecedented expansion of federal power and its impact on border communities.
“For a long time, a big proportion of the American public said that border security was their most important issue. People are starting to realize what that means in terms of the violence entailed.”