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Presentation includes sound.
Concrete divisions
A New Age of Walls · Episode 3
Coming Oct. 17
Published Oct. 17, 2016
About this series
From eight countries across three continents, this series examines the divisions between countries and peoples through interwoven words, video and sound.
‘Build that wall’
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DONALD TRUMP Republican nominee for president of the United States
“On Day One, we will begin working on an impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful, southern border wall.”
Ted Thayer Retired river guide, Marathon, Tex.
“Where would you build it? Down the middle of the river? That's the border. You gonna build a wall on the border, it needs to be down the middle of the river.”
SCOTT MCWILLIAMS Owner of Val Verde Wool and Mohair Co.
“If we can go to the moon, we can build a wall.”
Eloisa Tamez Lipan Apache civil rights leader
“All of this building of the wall, it is a sign of the erosion of our democracy.”
Donald Trump has made no secret of his plan to build a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border — and persuade Mexico to pay for it.
The Republican nominee has been remarkably vocal about the proposal, one that 6 in 10 voters disagree with. The wall, he argues, is needed to curb illegal immigration, reduce gang violence near the border and stop drugs from reaching the United States.
For now, fences cover just 700 miles of the nearly 2,000-mile-long border. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, opposes completing the wall — but as a senator, she voted for the 2006 bill that led to construction of most of the existing fence.
CA
Segments of border
with some kind of fence
San Diego
AZ
NM
Tijuana
Nogales
El Paso
Segments of border
with no fence
Ciudad
Juarez
Nogales
TX
Del Rio
Laredo
Eagle Pass
Brownsville
McAllen
Reynosa
Matamoros
100 miles
Segments of border
with some kind of fence
Segments
with no fence
U.S.
CA
AZ
S.Diego
NM
Nogales
TX
El Paso
Tijuana
C. Juarez
Del Rio
Laredo
Brownsville
100 miles
Segments of border
with some kind of fence
U.S.
CA
Segments of border
with no fence
AZ
San Diego
NM
Nogales
El Paso
TX
Del Rio
Eagle Pass
Laredo
McAllen
Brownsville
100 miles
Source: Center for Investigative Reporting, Openstreetmap.org
The idea of “completing the wall” has been part of political rhetoric since construction of the fence began. But now, a decade after the majority of the fence was built, opinions are divided on whether a barrier spanning the entire border is necessary – or even feasible.
San Diego, Calif.
Support for the wall
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MARA KRISKA San Diego resident
“Well, have you seen the wall? It's like you could hop over it. It's like a joke. It's a joke.”
DE LE San Diego resident
“Right now, we have a fence. But a fence can be cut. But I would rather have a solid wall. A solid concrete wall.”
“The entire border needs to be walled off from California all the way up to Texas.”
“Illegal immigration is a drain to America, and they are doing nothing but bringing this country down.”
“And look at them, they come here -- they mostly uneducated, they commit a lot of crime, they are low-class people. They’re trash.”
“Let’s build a wall, a fence, whatever. Let’s keep illegals out.”
“I cannot wait to be walking down the street and see American faces again for a change.”
“They might call me racist. I don’t care.”
Reynosa, Mexico
Worsening relations
Some Mexicans worry the rhetoric surrounding the border wall debate will worsen relations between the two nations. Dalton Ramirez, who makes pinatas of Donald Trump in Reynosa, Mexico, thinks Trump’s rhetoric provokes racism.
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DALTON RAMIREZ Owner of Ramirez Pinata shop
“That border wall, it sounds ridiculous to me.”
“Even more when I hear that we are going to pay for that. It's talk of war.”
“It's like going back to ancient times.”
“I think they are just words he says.”
“But who knows? If he is elected, maybe he'll do it.”
Reynosa, Mexico
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Reynosa, Mexico
Growing fear
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Mario Lopez Villareal Rancher and president of the Reynosa Chamber of Commerce
“I don’t want him to win. Because of threats toward Mexicans, people like us.”
“Because of what he thinks, what he’s got in his head, what he’ll do.”
“He can lose control and do serious damage.”
José Luis Guzmán Pérez Rancher
“That’s right. Many people are afraid that World War III will break out, because this old fool is crazy.”
Del Rio, Texas
Connected communities
The U.S. and Mexican economies are deeply intertwined. This can be seen clearly in the agricultural communities along the border. Scott McWilliams owns Val Verde Wool and Mohair in Del Rio, Tex., a place that remains mostly unfenced and where ranchers from both nations come together to do business.
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SCOTT MCWILLIAMS Owner of Val Verde Wool and Mohair Co.
“A high percentage of our retail business comes from Mexico.”
“So we have a great relationship with the ranching community over there as well as here.”
“If the wall was built, that might stop some of the drug traffic from coming through their ranches before they get to our ranches. So it could be a positive for them as well.”
“It would have to be such a wall and monitored in such a way that it actually worked, but I've seen fences built in this country in places you wouldn't imagine you could build one, and they managed to do it.”
Del Rio, Texas
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Del Rio, Texas
Challenging terrain
Some locals stress the enormous logistical challenges of building a wall. The Lake Amistad in Texas, shown here, is just one example of the rough terrain.
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The shifting border
Mile by mile, the landscape and culture along the border vary wildly. West of El Paso, through New Mexico, Arizona and California, where most of the existing fence has been built, the border is largely a series of straight lines drawn by men. But to the east, in Texas, it follows the winding path of the Rio Grande. Most of the border land here is still unfenced.
Barrier construction in this area would be difficult because of the region’s isolation and rough terrain. The federal government owns very little land in Texas, so a bigger fence would require the use of private land, adding to the legal and logistical challenges.
Federal land
CALIFORNIA
Segments with fence
Segments with no fence
ARIZONA
San Diego
NEW
MEXICO
El Paso
Tijuana
Nogales
TEXAS
Ciudad
Juarez
Nogales
BAJA
CALIFORNIA
CHIHUAHUA
SONORA
Del Rio
Laredo
Eagle Pass
COAHUILA
100 miles
Brownsville
NUEVO LEON
Matamoros
Segments with some kind of fence
Segments with no fence
Federal land
CA
U.S.
AZ
NM
S.Diego
Nogales
El Paso
TX
Tijuana
C. Juarez
Del Rio
Laredo
Brownsville
100 miles
But most challenging of all, the Rio Grande is a natural feature – not a man-made boundary. Rivers erode the land they pass. They flood. They dry up. They sometimes change course. A completed border barrier would have to navigate these natural challenges.
Near the mouth of the Rio Grande lie the twin towns of Matamoros, Mexico, and Brownsville, Tex. Here, the land is remarkably lush, the river winding and prone to flooding.
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A bird’s-eye view of the river reveals a history of its previous paths. The United States and Mexico have had multiple disputes over land affected when the river has changed course.
Brownsville, Texas
Border fencing is sporadic here. Where fencing does exist, it often sits far from the river, outside its flood plains — creating wide seams between the fence and the official border. Jeremy Barnard, general manager of a golf resort, worries that his business would be walled off from the United States if the barrier is completed.
Brownsville, Texas
On the seam
Border fencing is sporadic here. Where fencing does exist, it often sits far from the river, outside its flood plains — creating wide seams between the fence and the official border. Jeremy Barnard, general manager of a golf resort, worries that his business would be walled off from the United States if the barrier is completed.
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Jeremy Barnard General manager, River Bend Resort & Golf Club
“There's about 200 residents on the south side of the levy that would be displaced if you built the wall right here on this levy.”
“They'd be cut off from America and be in a no-man's land.”
“A lot of people just assume the wall would be built right here at the edge, and that's not true.”
“There's lots of people and communities that would be affected in a different way.”
Brownsville, Texas
Walled off
For some, living in these seams is already a reality. Construction of the existing barrier impacted hundreds of landowners. Farms and farmland were fenced out. Important wildlife sanctuaries were fragmented.
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Eloisa Tamez Lipan Apache civil rights leader
“This is my indigenous land. This is where all my ancestors have come from. That's where I was born, right here. That's not the original house, but that right there is where I was born and raised.”
“The property extends onto the other side of the levy. I requested direct access. They denied it.”
“By not having direct access to my property to see how things are on the other side, I have to go 1,200 feet to the east, or twice that length to the west. And now there's a gate there.”
“I have to put in a code to get into it.”
“If they took the land to build this wall, what is the benefit? Have we seen the benefit?”
“Has it done anything to prevent the drug trafficking or the so-called undocumented coming through?”
Brownsville, Texas
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Brownsville, Texas
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A complicated answer
Whether the existing barrier has achieved its goals is up for debate.
Fencing is just one part of the effort by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to secure the country’s borders. The number of Border Patrol officers has doubled in recent years. Where no fencing exists, cameras and sensors do.
Data released by CBP suggests that illegal immigration has decreased since 2001, but it’s difficult to show which specific policies made a difference. The Great Recession, which began in 2008, almost certainly deterred some economic migrants, researchers say.
1.6
1.6
Apprehensions on the southwest
border by fiscal year.
1.5 million
1
1 million
500,000
0.3
0
1986
1960
2000
2006
2015
The Secure Fence Act was signed in Oct. 2006.
Apprehensions on the southwest
border by fiscal year:
1.6
1.6
1.5 million
1
1 million
500,000
0.3
0
’60
’86
’00
’06
’15
The Secure Fence Act was signed in Oct. 2006.
Apprehensions on the southwest border by fiscal year.
1.6
1.6
1.5 million
1
1 million
500,000
0.3
0
’86
’60
’00
’06
’15
The Secure Fence Act was signed in Oct. 2006.
One consequence of tightened border security policies is that routes for migrants — many of whom are Central Americans, not Mexicans — have become more dangerous.
This map shows the apprehensions by Border Patrol sector:
IN 2006
Segments of border
with some kind of fence
El Centro
S. Diego
61,465
Tucson
142,104
El Paso
392,074
Yuma
122,256
Segments of border
with no fence
118,549
Del Rio
42,636
Big Bend
7,520
Laredo
74,840
Rio Grande
110,528
100 miles
Apprehensions by Border Patrol:
IN 2006
500,000
S. Diego
300,000
El Centro
Yuma
Tucson
100,000
El Paso
Big
Bend
Del Rio
Laredo
Rio Grande
No fence
100 miles
Fence
Apprehensions by Border Patrol sector:
IN 2006
Segments of border
with some kind of fence
El Centro
S. Diego
61,465
Tucson
142,104
Yuma
Segments of border
with no fence
El Paso
392,074
118,549
122,256
Del Rio
Big Bend
42,636
7,520
Laredo
74,840
Rio Grande
110,528
100 miles
This map shows the apprehensions by Border Patrol sector:
IN 2015
Segments of border
with some kind of fence
El Centro
S. Diego
12,820
Tucson
26,290
El Paso
63,397
Yuma
14,495
Segments of border
with no fence
7,142
Del Rio
19,013
Big Bend
5,031
Laredo
35,888
Rio Grande
147,257
100 miles
Apprehensions by Border Patrol:
IN 2015
500,000
S. Diego
300,000
El Centro
Tucson
Yuma
100,000
El Paso
Big
Bend
Del Rio
Laredo
Rio Grande
No fence
100 miles
Fence
Apprehensions by Border Patrol sector:
IN 2015
Segments of border
with some kind of fence
El Centro
S. Diego
12,820
Tucson
26,290
Yuma
Segments of border
with no fence
El Paso
63,397
7,142
14,495
Del Rio
Big Bend
19,013
5,031
Laredo
35,888
Rio Grande
147,257
100 miles
Source: Center for Investigative Reporting, Openstreetmap.org, cbp.gov and staff reports
Today, most deaths reported by Border Patrol officials occur in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, where most of the border remains unfenced, and in the Tucson area, which is mostly fenced.
Sasabe, Ariz.
Tougher routes
Border enforcement has pushed migrants off existing routes into more deserted areas. In southern Arizona, migrants walk dozens of miles through the desert, carrying water in plastic jugs.
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Dinah Bear President, Humane Borders
“People are dying out here. We've had around 3,000 confirmed migrant deaths in southern Arizona. We know that we're going to be finding bodies for years, for decades.”
“As the border wall has gone up in various areas of the border, it's moved people into more remote areas.”
“We have seen a baby who is still alive who was trying to nurse from its mother, who was dead.”
“We have had a 1-year-old die.”
“Several of our volunteers have found dead bodies.”
Sasabe, Ariz.
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Nogales, Ariz.
Patrolling the border
This is one of the most challenging places to attempt a border crossing. In 2015, the Border Patrol had more than 790 rescues in the Tucson sector. The death rate is one of the highest along the border.
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Vicente Paco Nogales Border Patrol agent
“8-6-5 off of 2-6-7. Okay, go ahead with the bio. It shouldn't be a death sentence for anybody to cross a border. Out there in Ruby Road, which is northwest of Nogales, an individual that was fighting a fire that started in Mexico and had crossed into the United States approached us and said they had an individual that claimed to be from Mexico in their custody. A walker came in just as we were leaving and he's really in distress. The Sonoran Desert out here is very remote. More than often, tragedies like this occur. He claimed that he had crossed two days ago and that yesterday at night he fell from a cliff. And that's when he hurt his leg and had a laceration in the head. Once the individual is in stable condition and fit for travel and detention, we run his fingerprints through different databases. And he might be facing administrative or criminal charges and ultimately repatriated back to Mexico.”
Nogales, Ariz.
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Nogales, Ariz.
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Coming together
Immigration is a complicated issue; a barrier along the border addresses just one part of it. An estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants already live in the United States, representing 5 percent of the labor force.
Emma Sanchez embodies the intertwined nature of border protection and immigration policy. She is married to a U.S. veteran and has two American children but was deported 10 years ago after being found without documents.
Every Sunday, dozens of deported mothers like her meet for a church service at Friendship Park, the only binational meeting place between the United States and Mexico. Situated at the west end of the border, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Diego and Tijuana, the park provides divided families a chance to catch up with their loved ones — if only for a few hours, and only through an 18-foot-tall steel and mesh fence.
Tijuana, Mexico–San Diego, Calif.
A partial solution
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EMMA SANCHEZ Sanchez sister living in Mexico
“We’re a group of moms. We’re all deported moms, repatriated moms.”
“I didn’t kill anyone, I didn’t steal.”
ARAELI SANCHEZ Emma's sister, who lives on the American side
“I didn't commit a big offense. My only crime was staying in the country without documents, going into the country without documents. That was my crime.I think it's sad that we have to look at each other through a wall.”
“And it's heartbreaking because I'm there right there and my dad is right there and I can't give him a hug or I can't give him a kiss.”
“The pinkie finger is the only one that goes through the little holes, and that’s the only way we can touch each other. It’s very hard to see these little persons and not being able to embrace them, see my little niece and not being able to embrace her.”
“Hear her saying she wants to come to the house, and knowing that she can’t come to the house, that I can’t bring her, that it isn’t something possible.”
“I think it’s like prison, jail, the way that they put these walls here.”
“This wall is something really painful.”
“It is inhumane.”
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Credits
A project by Samuel Granados, Zoeann Murphy and Kevin Schaul
Editing
Kat Downs, Reem Akkad and Douglas Jehl
Additional reporting
Joshua Partlow
Drone Footage
Clinton Bailey and River Bend Resort & Golf Club
From eight countries across three continents, this series examines the divisions between countries and peoples through interwoven words, video and sound.
Raising barriers
Episode 1 · Oct. 12
The world has more border barriers than at any time in modern history. The rise of walls marks an increasing wariness of globalization.
Watch this episode
Fenced out
Episode 2 · Oct. 14
The system of fences Europe raised to stem the migrant crisis is a case study of a vital question: Are walls enough?
Watch this episode
Concrete divisions
Episode 3 · Oct. 17
A journey along the U.S.-Mexico border shows what it would take to complete the wall — and what the impacts might be.
Watch again
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