The BSP Loves Bikes!!!

The local tv news came and did a piece on our students and their bikes. Check it out.

http://www.kvoa.com/news/2-wheelin-in-tucson-taking-school-outside-of-the-classroom/#!prettyPhoto[gallery]/0/

The Virtual Border - Otis Wortley

So far this semester, I’ve found myself often pondering and citing the idea of the “virtual border,” given to us by the author David Spener in his book Clandestine Crossings. In this writing he goes on to explain how this virtual border is characterized by a “social space of illegality,” becoming a boundary between migrants and American society that follows them even into the furthest depths of U.S. territory. By labeling migrants as “illegals” or “aliens” this border is reinforced by suggesting criminality or otherness, stigmas already deeply embedded in the American social thought process. The reality of this discriminatory, segregating and all too real concept has been increasing apparent in my day to day experiences here in Tucson, but I have also come to realize that social space occupied by migrants, their families and the generations to come have implications that must be both considered and challenged.

This virtual border is an instant reflection of identity. No doubt that recent legislation like Arizona’s LB 1070 and the ban on ethnic studies (HB 2281) not only condone blatant racism, but also target the legacy of Mexican-American families and their heritage as some sort of threat to national security, virtually militarized to mock the real international border. Sure, Arizona is a border state; we call it the Borderlands, and “border issues” ripple out from the border itself. But Spener’s virtual border has permeated even beyond the Borderlands buffer region, as evidenced by the immigration enforcement that has spread throughout the country. Alabama’s HB 56 and the prevalence of ICE activity are examples of ways both State and Federal officials employ their power to expose this invisible social border and enact fear into the US’s 10-12 million undocumented migrants, their “legal” family members and friends, and even those of us who consider ourselves advocates or allies.

Nonetheless, even I am to blame. I can call myself an advocate or an ally, if it helps to settle my conscious about the realities facing our nation. But I am as guilty as most for allowing a sort of normalization to occur, where we engage in the discourse of illegality concerning the migrant population, and speculate on the legality of others. When Yendi Castillo-Reina spoke to us the other day, she made clear the thought-process of many Americans: “As long as it is not us, it’s ok.” We may not condone structural violence or militarization of the border, but our silence says otherwise. I grew up nearly 3,000 miles from the U.S.-Mexican border. The Hispanic population of the State of Maine is negligible, especially in comparison with most other states in the nation. Before Border Studies, I had little consciousness as to how the larger structural issues contributing to international migration and the response by the American government might affect me. And I suspect a lot of people feel the same way, even some of those who live as close to the “actual” border as I do now. Ignorance doesn’t afflict those who are physically distant from the border, but those to decide to remain distant consciously.

For me the virtual border emulates the way in which a cellular membrane absorbs nutritious particles and deposits waste through a process known as endocytosis. The border, or the membrane, folds in on itself, encasing the particle. Elements of that particle may diffuse through the border for the benefit of the cell function. Migration is necessary, and migrants contribute to the U.S.’s necessary low-wage workforce. Border militarization and the response by the U.S. government generate revenue for private industries, ensuring, at least for some, capital gain. Then the heathen cell spits out the remains—the unwanted—or the men and women tried inhumanely through Operation Streamline.

The permeability of this virtual border is debatable, however. While the system seems to want to control what goes in and what goes out, it would be ignorant to say that has been widely successful. From my perspective, on the ground, riding down 6th Avenue in South Tucson, or eating dinner with my host mother, the imprint of the region’s various ethnic heritages cannot be denied. Our historic attempts toward Anglo-centrism have been resisted by swaths of vibrantly painted murals, taco shops, and the Sonoran corruption of the American classic—the hot dog.

Operation Streamline - Sophia Yapalater

I want to write about everything that is happening, but it’s all so intertwined that I’d have to have a stream of consciousness thing going on all day every day. And so I’m worried that I won’t explain everything well enough or give all the necessary background information to understand a certain happening and so on and such forth. Especially also because so many of the things that we have been seeing are emotionally draining and are hard to express in a coherent manner.

Anyway, bear with me.

Today was one of those hard to bear ones that was simultaneously very important. We have been peeling back the layers of the border, peering into the cracks that no one really wants us to peer into, and seeing what lies behind the expansive idea of the US/Mexico border. Last weekend we went to Border Patrol, as I wrote about a few days ago, and then drove to Altar, a town south of Nogales where people trying to migrate into the US meet coyotes and guides, spend the night (or nights), form groups to travel in, etcetera. We stayed overnight at CCAMYN (Centro Comunitario de Atencion al Migrante y Necesitado), a migrant shelter that provides breakfast, dinner, and housing at no cost.

I was already pretty down after spending time at Border Patrol and sat on a bench outside the dining area watching men (there were no women that night or in the morning) of different ages come through the gates to wait for dinner to be served. A young looking guy sat down next to me. We started talking and ended up having a long conversation that lasted through dinner. He was twenty-three and had worked for a year in Mesa, Arizona, and then was apprehended by Border Patrol and sent to a prison in Florence, Arizona- a town made up entirely of private prisons (also meaning that they are for profit institutions) before being deported to Mexico. He was now in Altar with two other men waiting for the other people they had been deported with to meet them so that they could attempt to cross the desert again. He was upbeat the entire time and kept making jokes about my name because he was really into that actress Sofia Veraga from Modern Family. Before he left, he asked for my phone number so that he could call me if he ever made it to Tucson. I saw him again the next morning at breakfast. He seemed a bit less upbeat but still joked around with me. Then breakfast was over, and he left.

The most upsetting thing about that whole experience is that I have, and will have no idea if he makes it to the US. I will probably never see this person again. Or if I do, it will be in a context that would be highly more upsetting. And then knowing all that he, and all other migrants from south and central america, are up against whether or not they end up in the US. It felt bad. I wished him luck when he left and safe travels. But I don’t even know what those things mean in this context.

I was thinking about him today as we made our way into the federal court house in Tucson to observe Operation Streamline. I was terrified that he might be there getting prosecuted for trying to enter the US and that I would have to face him again, this time in the country where I was born into citizenship. Operation Streamline is a program that calls for ‘zero tolerance’ border enforcement policy and makes crossing the border illegally a federal offense. Furthermore, people are prosecuted in large numbers under operation streamline. Individuals apprehended while crossing the border or within the United States are detained in Border Patrol facilities, fill out detainment paperwork, and then one morning (a day, two days, a week after) meet with a lawyer, who is also responsible for seven to ten other people. they are all advised to plead guilty to the charges of illegal entry or reentry, which hold baseline sentences of thirty to sixty days in prison. they are then brought to court, where they are shackled, arraigned, and sentenced along with usually around 70 others.

We got to the court house and went through the metal detector. One of the security guards looked at us all and said “Let me guess, Operation Streamline?” We nodded. He laughed a bit. “What, there aren’t any trees left to hug.” We shifted around uncomfortably, not sure how to react. “I heard there’s an endangered owl outside that needs saving, actually…” he continued. Upon not getting a reaction he told us to go to the second floor.

When we got into the court room we shuffled into a couple of the back rows. On the left were rows of men in shackles and wearing ear phones in order to hear the Spanish language translator. In the middle were women, also shackled and wearing ear phones. Behind them were well dressed individuals who seemed to be the lawyers. We sat mostly on the right, behind a group of people from Samaritans, a humanitarian aid organization, who told me that they come to observe the hearings. There were a few customs/border patrol agents wandering around and joking around with each other for whatever reason.

The rest of the hearing went like this: the judge would call about seven names and the lawyers who represented them, and they would go up to microphones before the judge. The judge would then ask each of them about when they were apprehended and if they were Mexican citizens. Then he would ask them to answer all together to a few questions about understanding the criminal proceedings and then ask if they pled guilty or not guilty. After the last question there would be a chorus of voices saying “CULPABLE” (guilty), the judge would read them their prison sentence, and then tell them good luck as they were then escorted out of the court room by the court marshall.

This happened over and over and over again. It was impersonal with no room for discussion, dissent, or really anything besides yeses and nos and "guilty"s and 30 days 90 days 60 days 105 days. Sometimes one the lawyers would exchange laughs with the border patrol agents or high fives. At one point, a woman was being sentenced and her lawyer asked if she could see her husband, who had already been sentenced, because she was being deported and he was going to prison. The judge said that they could speak but have no physical contact. At the front of my row, the marshal sat her down and brought her husband out. They sat near each other and spoke for a little while before the marshal came between them and shoved them apart. They had not been touching.

The lawyers left quickly after all of their 12-hour clients had been sentenced. We left soon after. Everything still feels wrong. It’s unconstitutional at “best,” to sentence people en masse and send them off to private prisons where they fill thousands of beds to make money for corporations. It’s inhumane at not nearly “worst.”

Land of Contradictions - Nora Berson

Since coming to the border, I've been stuck by all the contradictions of this place. Watching the sun set over the saguaro cactus and Tucson mountains is calm and beautiful. Seeing the rusted metal of the border wall and the huge fleets of border patrol vans shows me the ugly side of this place. I am increasingly realizing the role of militarization, and the interests behind it.

In learning about many different issues, economic motivations come to the fore again and again. Nearly all of the migrants we talked to in Altar, Sonora mentioned the need to find work as their primary motivation. They were coming from Central America and southern Mexico, making the perilous trek north, across the desert, because they needed jobs to feed their families.

While having food to eat and a dignified place to live should be basic human rights, many people have an interest in criminalizing and dehumanizing people who migrate to meet these needs. Businesses in the United States have much to gain from having a large pool of undocumented laborers that they can underpay and exploit, knowing that fear makes these workers unlikely to speak out against abuse. U.S. citizens benefit from the cheap labor of undocumented migrants who do jobs like pick lettuce, pack meat, wash dishes and mow lawns.

While some businesses profit from the labor of undocumented migrants living in the U.S., other companies profit from their criminalization. The Corrections Corporation of America is a private company that earns is money by managing prisons. They contract out a certain number of beds in the prisons to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which thanks to current laws has many opportunities to target and imprison the migrant population. Many people make their living from the institutions that “defend border security,” from Border Patrol agents to lawyers assigned to represent deportees in Operation Streamline en masse trials. While I recognize that people doing these sorts of jobs are also human and also need to make a living, it seems unfair that a lawyer should make $125/ hour participating in formulaic deportation trials, when they migrants they are defending left their homelands to work for below minimum wage.

We've learned about other border phenomena not directly a part of human migration, but also intimately linked to economic motivations. In one of our classes, we've been reading about the drug war, and how Mexican drug trafficking organizations, as well as the Mexican police and government have been responsible for over 47,000 deaths (according to the Mexican government). The so called “War on Drugs” has been perpetuated by the desire for black market profits, both of the Mexican drug traffickers and the private U.S. firms responsible for manufacturing arms and providing security services.

Along the U.S./ Mexico border, since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), assembly factories called maquilas have sprung up. They employ most young women to work long shifts for low pay, assembling cables for electronics or other repetitive tasks that turn raw materials into goods for export. While some in the U.S. and Mexican governments laud the maquilas for providing employment opportunities, very little money from these operations actually bolster the Mexican economy. Instead, the finished products are exported duty-free from Mexico, to be sold at a profit to the multinational corporations. Even some of the wages paid to Mexican workers filter back into the United States, when Mexicans cross the border to shop in Walmart and such stores in the U.S., where goods are cheaper.

In connecting all these issues, I can see that we are facing something bigger than an “immigration problem.” Immigration is merely a symptom. We could point to capitalism, or imperialism as the cause, the these issues can't be fixed by simply building a taller wall or putting more guns on the border. In this way, what I've learned so far is both discouraging and illuminating. There are no easy solutions, and at times the problems seem so huge and systemically entrenched I feel powerless to make change. But then I think about all the people I've met and will meet, who are working daily, making small chips in this formidable edifice of oppression. I think about how education and awareness are the first steps toward change. I am thankful for this opportunity to spend time on the border, seeing difficult things, and thinking about what my role in all this is.

Working in Florence - Kira Cohen

I figured I should give an update on my field study: Its in the town of Florence, Arizona.

Florence, although I'm still exploring it, is definitively a prison town. It's located about an hour and a half northwest of Tucson, and there are about eleven prisons total within its borders. Some are state facilities, some are private and run by CCA (Corrections Corporation of America), and some are run by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I'm still learning to keep track of all of them. The ICE facility in Florence is the biggest one in the nation.

In town is also the organization where I'm working, the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project. The Florence Project provides free legal assistance to detainees and provides free workshops about legal rights. The office is one of the brightest spots in town - full of young, motivated women who stay incredibly positive despite the frustrating nature of their work. I've been helping translate documents that provide evidence to support detainees' claims in court, and doing research on country conditions to show the judges that people would not be safe if they were to be deported.

Even though I'm only at Florence a few months, I'm still struggling with the idea of feeling motivated to do this work long-term. I believe that this struggle will be a theme for me this semester. On the first day of Katie's class, I said this was what I needed to learn: how to see work like this, that seems never-ending, as part of a larger movement. I know that it's all good and necessary, and even though I've only been in Florence for two days, I can see that even though the organization can't single-handedly tackle the entire complex detention system, change is definitely being made every day in the lives of individuals.

But I guess it's this thought I still have that there is a small but relevant difference between between doing good and changing the world. This is not to discount the work that's being done here, the work that I'm doing. I guess it's a broader question. How can you commit yourself to this work day-to-day when the system you're working against just keeps getting stronger, and probably will continue to do so despite all your hard work? Something to think about long term. Many of the people I work with at Florence seem to have a positive spirit, which I've been internalizing more and more. I'm also doing my best to not get desensitized to the things I'm seeing every day. I don't want to normalize the prison industrial comlex, but it IS normal in Florence. Anyway, of course I'm coming up with tons of questions, but I feel really lucky to be doing another piece of learning here, and to know that I am needed and useful in my field study.

Week 2 - Tory Johnson

I can't believe I've been here almost 2 weeks now--in part I've gotten used to a lot here and feel like I've been here a long time, and yet I look back and the time has gone so quickly! I had my first full week of classes and everything last week, so I'm getting settled into a routine now. I finally started work at Ochoa elementary school last Friday, after spending much of my allotted field study time earlier in the week attending events organized by high school students who have been affected by the ban on Ethnic Studies in Tucson and are taking their education into their own hands--very cool to see and be able to participate in such strong activism! (If you want to know more, just google Tucson public schools and ethnic studies-- lots of articles will pop up! It's a very interesting and important debate here!)

The teacher at Ochoa I'm working with cancelled school for the first half of the week after talking with families about the controversy going on with the school board and Mexican-American Studies and held a walk out to support the MAS students. I met her Monday at the protest the students organized and then again on Tuesday at the "teach-in" which was sort of like autonomous education--students taking the banned classes and material into their own hands and using community members to help educate themselves in a public space.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I have classes with everyone downtown at the BSP office--the first week was a little irregular but the classes are going to be very interesting! We've got a lot of reading, but it seems like the written work is slightly lighter than during a regular semester, though the topics and experiential learning components will certainly be more intensive and take more energy in a different way. So far the group has been getting along pretty well, and classes seem productive and seem to be a safe space for everyone (yay!). We've also been really good about communicating interesting events in the community (like the teach-in; also Noam Chomsky is coming to the University of AZ!!), getting together to study and whatnot, and in general just make contact outside of classes. Like I said before, Tucson is a very unique place and we're all learning our way around and trying to take advantage of everything the city has to offer!

The weather has been absolutely GORGEOUS and is only supposed to improve with warmer, sunny days. I'm still trying to get used to the drastic changes between morning/afternoon and sun/shade temperatures, but that's what layers are for! I've been biking a lot (it feels like haha), though it probably only averages to 5-8 miles/day. I'm really lucky that my family drives, and that my commitments are around the same time and place as theirs in the morning! So I haven't really had to face the cold, windy 8am mornings (yet!), but during the day I get around by bike and then bike home in the late afternoon.

Overall things with my family have been going really well--I cooked tofu stir-fry for everyone on Saturday and everyone really liked it!! I'm not used to cooking for so many people so servings were on the small side, but now I know to at least triple my recipes! But I was really happy the tofu went over well! My host mom and sisters are really excited to learn some veggie techniques for cooking--and my host mom is now addicted to fresh basil!

There's been lots of time playing with the little ones and helping out around the house in any way I can. I have been able to get some quiet time in my room, and when the grandkids aren't here it's pretty quiet and I can just chill and watch telenovelas (I'm already addicted to 2!) with the rest of the family. I've gotten to talk more with the other daughter that has gotten married and moved out—she was involved in local activism for a while so it's interesting to talk about current events with her. Also, she just got married 3 months ago so the family has been showing me all the pictures and tonight we saw the wedding video from Hermosillo, Sonora (Mexico). So beautiful!!

I've worked at Ochoa twice now, and in a normal week will go Monday, Tuesday, and Friday for the school day (8:10-12:10). It's been really fun and interesting to be in the Hopes and Dreams room, and I'm excited to see more of the Reggio Emilio philosophy in action and talk with the kids and their parents, who are really involved in the learning process and the activities during the day. I'm working there with another Earlham student, Emily, so there is plenty of supervision to go around! Hopefully I'll be able to give more details and insight about my time there shortly!

On Thursday we're going on an "excursion" as part of the program/one of our classes--visiting a migrant shelter in Altar, Sonora for a day and night and then going back to Nogales for 2 days and a night. I'm sure I'll have much to say (if I can articulate the experience!) afterwards.

Settling Into Tucson - Tory Johnson

From January 23, 2012

We really hit the ground running here! I can't believe it hasn't even been a week yet--we've already seen and done so much in that little time! I arrived last Tuesday, and was in orientation with the rest of the group (there are 14 of us) until Saturday. We stayed at BorderLinks, an organization close to downtown Tucson that works with different groups that come in and then sets them up with speakers and prominent community members to educate them on what's going on here at the border and give them a better understanding of all the different aspects at play.

Anyway, we did all sorts of things in that time--got oriented to Tucson, to one another, to the specifics of classes, trips, and other details, and of course heard from important people in Tucson and about their views on the borderlands and current issues. So far we've been to the Arizona-Sonora desert museum to learn more about the landscape and ecology here, as well as the problems the militarization of the border (not to mention the wall) has created for the unique environment here. It may be a desert but there is so much life and a lot of unique plants and animals that don't exist anywhere else!

We've talked with several community activists about human rights, environmental, educational issues (and soooo many more) related to migration and the changes in immigration and trade policies, and on Thursday we actually went to Nogales, Sonora (Mexico) for the day to really get our first experience at the border and heard from people en el otro lado. That was a really intense day--one of the most uncomfortable for me as a privileged Anglo-American travelling with a very conspicuous group. But that's so important to this experience, and to developing a better understanding of what's going on here and how someone with my background can contribute positively. We'll be going back to Nogales for a longer stay (3 days) in 2 weeks or so, so it'll be interesting to compare that with the first trip.

On Saturday Orientation ended and we had a potluck lunch with all of the host families before they took us home! I'm staying with a first-time host family, and they seem really wonderful! My host parents and 2 of their 4 kids are here in the house, and one of the daughters who has moved out and gotten married has 4 kids under the age of 4 and they're over her. The mom and one of the daughters don't eat much meat, so they're used to vegetarian fare and are excited to learn recipes and such from me! Hopefully I'll be able to cook for them sometime soon.

All of the kids and grandkids are completely bilingual, but my parents don't speak any English. They all know I'm trying to get better so yesterday was mostly Spanish, but the kids help me out a lot! I've got my own room, and I picked up my bike today from the BSP office at the Historic Y downtown--it's an 30 minute (ish) bike ride back to the house from the office where we have classes so it's going to be quite the commute! There's a bus stop nearby as well, but I'm hoping to use my bike most of the time.

Today was pretty relaxed, thankfully, as yesterday was very long and exhausting! The group met up downtown to pick up our bikes and then explored some more before getting lunch and wandering through shops. Tucson is very different from what I'm used to but I really like it!! The downtown area has a lot of unique, independent shops, restaurants, and cafes so there is lots to do and find! After I got home I settled in a bit more and made some dinner, but it's been pretty quiet most of the day.

I should be starting at my field study (Ochoa elementary school) at some point this week, and classes start on Tuesday--we already have homework!