Posts Tagged ‘border’
Massive Grave in Mexico Linked to Drug Cartels
6:40 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Drugs| U.S.-Mexico Border| Violence| mexico| society · 2 Comments
15 Mar 2009A grave containing 9 bodies was discovered over the weekend in Juarez, Mexico, and all signs point to the fact that this is yet another bloody chapter in Mexico’s on-going drug wars. CNN reports:
Investigators have yet to determine the identities of the seven men and two women found in the grave, Gonzalez said. They have not released information on how they were killed or how long they have been there.Juarez, which is across the border from El Paso, Texas, has become one of the major battlegrounds as drug cartels fight both each other and Mexican authorities. The conflict has made violence increasingly common in Juarez, Tijuana and other Mexican border towns.
The discovery coincides with the arrival of some 5,000 Mexican troops dispatched to Ciudad Juarez in an effort to put a stop the the heightening violence in the city.
To get a sense for what drug violence is doing to Ciudad Juarez (incidentally also infamous for the mysterious murders of hundreds of women over the past several years), have a look at the above video from the YouTube and Pulitzer Center “Project: Report” project.
Via / CNN
Website Makes Regular People Virtual Border Patrol Agents
10:42 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Drugs| Immigration| States| Texas| mexico| society · 1 Comment
13 Mar 2009
When you think “stay-at-home-mom”, what comes to mind? I think diaper changing, grocery shopping and picking up kids from school. But at least one mom in Rochester, New York thinks “patrolling the U.S.- Mexico border via webcam”. Uhhhh…
When her baby girl takes an afternoon nap, or on those nights when she just can’t sleep, Sarah Andrews, 32, tosses off her identity as a suburban stay-at-home mom and becomes something more exotic: a “virtual deputy” patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border. From her house in a suburb of Rochester, New York, Andrews spends at least four hours a day watching a site called BlueServo.net.
There, because of a $2 million grant from the state of Texas, anyone in the world can watch grainy live video scenes of cactuses, desert mountains and the Rio Grande along Texas’ portion of the international border.
That’s right, Texas has people on the other side of the country virtually patrolling its borders in what they call “virtual stakeouts”. According to CNN, those who are participating are doing so out of a “sense of civic responsibility”.
The Texas Border Sherriff’s Coalition, the entity that runs the site, says that crime has decreased as a result of the cameras. They claim that multiple arrest have been made, all related to marijuana trafficking.
I tried to test the site out myself but the videos don’t load for me. Perhaps the site knows my politics? The sign-up form contains questions like “Do you think the border is adequately protected from crime and terrorism?” and “Do you think BlueServo’s Virtual Community Watch program will aid and improve Texas border security?” They give you the option of skipping those questions, which I did. I wonder if that’s why I can’t see the video…
What do you think of this initiative? Are the people watching these cameras from their homes couch potato versions of the Minutemen? Or just concerned citizens? Do you think this well help quell crime on the border? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Via / CNN
PETA Makes a Run for the Border
10:30 am By Maegan La Mala · Activism| Controversia| Immigration · 3 Comments
12 Aug 2008
We’re used to seeing groups like the Minutemen at the U.S.-Mexico border promoting their particular point of view, but a completely different kind of organization is heading to the frontera to get its own message out. It’s animal rights group PETA, which is campaigning to show immigrants from Mexico that the diet that awaits them on American soil is hazardous to their health. Hmm…
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals plans today to announce an unusual marketing pitch to the U.S. government: Rent us space on the fence for billboards warning illegal border crossers there is more to fear than the Border Patrol.The billboards [pictured], in English and Spanish, would offer the caution: “If the Border Patrol Doesn’t Get You, the Chicken and Burgers Will — Go Vegan.”
“We think that Mexicans and other immigrants should be warned if they cross into the U.S. they are putting their health at risk by leaving behind a healthier, staple diet of corn tortillas, beans, rice, fruits and vegetables,” said Lindsay Rajt, assistant manager of PETA’s vegan campaigns.
Work in Human Rights at the border
12:20 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Careers| Immigration · 1 Comment
17 Jan 2007
Ever thought of working to help protect the human rights of immigrants right where immigration begins — at the U.S. – Mexico border? Our friends at Amnesty
International U.S.A. have the job for you:
Human Rights at The Border Fellowship
We are seeking Human Rights at the Border Fellow for the Domestic USA Program located in Washington, DC. The Fellow’s responsibilities will include:
Monitoring human rights developments in the area of immigrant rights in the United States; developing a focused human rights advocacy campaign around a specific immigrant rights issue; working with Amnesty activists to engage in advocacy focused at publicizing and curtailing human rights violations; working with coalition partners in the field; conducting media work; developing campaign and educational materials.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Requirements include: a Bachelor’s degree; knowledge and experience working on human rights issues, particularly economic, social and cultural rights; strong analytic and research skills; the ability to work effectively with grassroots volunteers; ability to work in a highly collaborative and consultative team environment and to establish and maintain strong and effective working relationships; experience organizing in communities of color; experience organizing through online/ electronic methods; excellent written and verbal communication, organizational and problem-solving skills. Bilingual Spanish is also strongly preferred.
For more information, visit the Amnesty International U.S.A. site.
Tip: Amnesty International USA / Image via youarethemusic_to_my_ea rs’ Flickr page
Bigotry pays on CNN
12:40 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration| Media| Politics| TV · 4 Comments
17 Oct 2006
Lou Dobbs, the CNN “journalist” whose favorite pastime is scapegoating Mexican immigrants for every problem this country has, has just been promoted by the cable news network. CNN had axed old timer Aaron Brown to make room for their new faves, Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer, and it seems now that Dobbs has been bumped up to star level as well, giving him a seat as anchor for the midterm elections right next to those guys:
Dobbs’ weeknight news show will expand to seven days a week, with the two weekend editions presenting highlights of the week’s reporting beginning Oct. 28.The longest-running anchor on CNN’s air, Dobbs is suddenly hot again, due to his new opinionated persona as a crusader on issues like immigration reform. His hourlong “Lou Dobbs Tonight” is up 22 percent in viewers this year over last, a bigger increase than any show on CNN or Fox News Channel.
According to CNN, Dobbs won’t be on hand to interview analysts (like normal journalists do) but strictly to provide his opinion on things. Get ready to hear the words “broken borders” and “the outsourcing of America” numerous times.
Anyone remember when journalists were discouraged from offering their own opinions on the news — when they at least pretended to be objective — and when they did offer opinions it was made clear that that was the case with the word “OPINION” written in big letters across the screen?
That’s not the case anymore, since spitting hate is now better for your career than proper reporting.
Via / Yahoo! News
Powell: no perfect wall
7:03 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration| Politics · Comments Off
9 Jun 2006
Speaking at a conference in Mexico City, former Secretary of State Colin Powell recognized that building a wall between Mexico and the United States is not the answer to the nation’s immigration “problem”:
“The Berlin Wall did not work perfectly and the wall that the Israelis are putting up is not going to work perfectly,” Powell said. “So, a wall alone is not the answer.”
The Berlin Wall didn’t work “perfectly”? The wall their building in Israel won’t work “perfectly”? Is he kidding? These walls are symbols of oppression, not a less-than-perfect experiment.
Powell also said that immigrants should be given the chance to earn status:
He said U.S. authorities should let many of the estimated 12 million undocumented migrants already in America earn some form of legal status through expanded temporary-worker programs.“We have to find a way for them to live in dignity and not in fear,” he said.
Not everyone crossing the border is Mexican
5:39 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration · Comments Off
16 May 2006
Think everyone crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S. is a Mexican immigrant? Think again. The Washington Post reports on the phenomena of non-Mexican immigrants from as far away as Brazil making their way in through Texas, and the crackdown that Border Patrol has started to stop them.
The Weslaco station, 50 miles upriver from the Gulf of Mexico, is ground zero in the effort to stem the flow of non-Mexican immigrants. More than half of “other than Mexican” immigrants apprehended this year by the Border Patrol were caught in the Rio Grande Valley sector, which spans 19 Texas counties and the river’s last 320 miles.Last year, the largest group caught in the sector was Brazilian. But in August, the United States expanded the deportation of non-Mexican border crossers without court hearings, and in October, the Mexican government stopped letting Brazilians enter without a visa. The number of Brazilians caught here is just 500 this fiscal year, down from 22,124 in fiscal 2005.
This fiscal year 52 percent of non-Mexicans caught here said they were from El Salvador.
From over 22,000 to just 500 in only one year? Only because Mexico requires visas for Brazilians now? Pretty dramatic drop based on one piece of policy change from the other side of the border.
Via / Washington Post
Photo via CNN.com
Documenting the undocumented
4:39 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Arts| Immigration · Comments Off
5 Apr 2006
Ever wonder what it’s really like to be an immigrant on the border? What about what it’s like to be a Minuteman? The creators of The Border Film Project, a photography project like none other I’ve seen, goes beyond the images we see in mainstream media to let the two groups tell their stories in photos. I wish I would have thought of this:
We are three friends – a Rhodes Scholar, filmmaker, and a Wall Street analyst – who spent three months on the U.S. Mexico border filming and distributing hundreds of disposable cameras to two groups on different sides of the line: undocumented migrants crossing the desert and Minutemen volunteers trying to stop them.
The project looks to portray the reality of the border and it does a great job at that. The immigrant photos are a mixed bag of strikingly “normal” everyday photos — some even showing happiness — to shocking and disturbing. They tend to photograph things around them; snakes, plants, their homes, while the Minutemen take more pictures of themselves and their activities, such as target practice and manning a radio.
Meeting death while looking for a new life
4:58 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration| Justice| children · Comments Off
14 Mar 2006
Chasing after a new and better life above the Rio Bravo continues to prove deadly for so many immigrants, not the least of which are often children.
Three days into the journey, a U.S. Border Patrol agent spotted the group of illegal immigrants, and as the agent chased them, the Border Patrol truck hit Cruz-Torralva and his daughter, Lourdes, killing her.
Yuma County sheriff’s detectives determined the death was an accident, but Cruz-Torralva was arrested on charges of endangerment. Deputies argued that he had placed the child in “risk of imminent death” by bringing her into the desert.
Make some noise about the Juarez “desaparecidas”
12:17 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Activism| Justice| Women| mexico · 1 Comment
9 Mar 2006
Did you know:
In Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua Mexico, over 400 women and girls have been killed or disappeared in the past thirteen years.An alarming number of these cases remain unsolved.
Federal authorities acknowledge that 177 state officials had acted negligently. Not one of them has been brought to justice.
Incredible, but true. Don’t you agree that something should be done? The Mexican government’s lax attitude toward what is amounting to genocide is disgraceful, and is allowing more and more deaths and disappearances of young Mexican women to take place.
Hola!
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