In 2006, I was working for the WCNC-TV Investigative Unit in Charlotte, NC. I was part of the team sent to the U.S.–Mexico border in Arizona in the hopes to find people migrating to the Carolinas. I was sent with the team because I knew the land, the people, and how to navigate the bureaucratic monster called “The Wall”.
I found myself in a Econoline van riding with 15 people from Altar, Mexico to Sasabe, Arizona to cross in the United States. Along with 15 people traveling was a Coyotaje (Coyote). Coyote is a colloquial Mexican–Spanish term referring to the practice of people smuggling across the U.S.–Mexico border
Smuggling should not be misinterpreted to mean human trafficking. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) define smuggling as the “importation of people into the United States involving deliberate evasion of immigration laws.”
In part two of my interview with Morgan Loew, we pick-up talking about crossing the border in Sasabe, the dangers of the border, and what is life is like for a reporter to tell these stories in such dangerous conditions and treacherous times. We continue this journey was we examine the institution of “The Wall” in Beyond the Borders.
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