Bulldozing has started in the iconic Big Bend National Park, and protestors try to save the last of 200-year old cottonwood trees in Arizona as the border wall advances, plus we launch our community mapping project, Wall Watch, on Tuesday!
Worried about the future of democracy in the United States? Look to Indigenous histories; they have much to teach us about the struggle between liberty and empire.
A new book tells the scandal-ridden tale of Sonora’s toad-smoking neo-shaman.
A detailed, intimate, frank (and, be warned, often explicit) conversation with the 'Border Hacker' authors about how they met, why they decided to write a book, and how they are living under threat.
One of the best books I read in 2022 was the engrossing and page-turning Border Hacker: A Tale of Treachery, Trafficking, and Two Friends on the Run. Some of you probably heard the interview The Border Chronicle did with author and anthropologist Levi Vonk in June.
Although we do encourage you to listen to the previous interview (and to read the book!), please don’t worry if you haven’t. Today’s interview stands on its own two feet. This time we also feature fellow author Axel Kirschner. Axel was born in Guatemala but grew up on Long Island and was deported as an adult. We are proud to say that this is the first interview Axel has done since Border Hacker was published in April.
Immediately after the book’s publication, Axel had to go into hiding because of threats on his life. Levi had to flee Mexico City for similar reasons, which they both explain in detail during the interview. The book, Axel says, is “costing me my life.”
But that’s not all they talk about. They describe how they met in the chaos of a migrant caravan in 2015, and how they developed a deep and enduring friendship. They talk about how they decided to collaborate on a book and why they felt the need to document what they experienced. They talk about how the book has been received, respond to critiques, and discuss the book’s place in the world. Although the conversation is intimate and frank, be warned that there is also often explicit language.
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As floodwaters swept hundreds of one-ton border buoys downstream, international bridges closed, commerce slowed, and officials struggled to get answers from DHS about a project advancing despite local opposition, environmental concerns, and treaty questions.
Hundreds of massive orange buoys staged for a controversial DHS floating barrier project broke free near Eagle Pass and are now drifting toward Laredo, threatening bridges, commerce, drinking water supplies and downstream communities.
In February, the country broke an ominous record: over 68,000 people were being held in detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, more than ever before.
As immigrant families face detention, shrinking legal protections and the threat of deportation, Camp Hope offers children a rare chance to play, heal and dream. One former camper is headed to an opera conservatory in Italy.
Independent news, culture and context from the U.S.-Mexico border.
