Donald Trump launched his political career by drawing a hard line on immigration, and the issue still dominates his presidency more than a decade later. In his second term he has largely secured the border with Mexico, and he sparked nationwide protests with an aggressive campaign of mass deportations.
Many of these fights have played out along predictable political lines. But other battles have created odd alliances. Today, West Texas native Carrie McKean reports on local resistance to a proposed border wall expansion that would cut through a beloved stretch of Southwestern landscape. The clash illustrates the way politics can scramble when grand policy visions crash into local realities. —The Editors
My daughter was 7 when she waded across the Rio Grande river from Texas into Mexico. At first, she’d been unsure about even touching the water; she knew the other side belonged to Mexico and that it’s illegal to enter another country without permission. She eyed a nearby park ranger, nervously wondering if he was going to reprimand her for getting too close to the water.
“Won’t I get in trouble, Mama?” she asked, glancing his way once more. I could see him smile as he watched this little girl consider her small act of rebellion.
“Go ahead and ask him,” I suggested. “Ask him if it’s okay for you to walk across the river to Mexico.”
She nervously shook her head, but he’d heard our conversation and answered anyway.
“Do you see how tall and steep those walls are?” he gestured to the massive grandeur of the Santa Elena Canyon’s walls. We were in one of Big Bend National Park’s most iconic locations, having a quintessential experience—feeling like little ants standing next to the towering, 1,500-foot rugged limestone cliffs.
“We don’t worry much about people crossing illegally here,” he went on. “There are big mountains behind those cliffs, and those cliffs are too steep and too dangerous for anyone to get over. So if someone is in the river here—even if they wade over to touch Mexico—it’s okay. We know they came from this side.”
