March 12, 2019
By: Maria Hinojosa & Maggie Freleng
In the Latino USA podcast, "24 Hours at the Border," it talks about how Donald Trump has been fighting for the past two months with congress over the funding of the wall. Trump has made claims that the Democrats are not funding the wall and as a result of that he shut down the government. Maria Hinojosa and Maggie Freleng went to Texas to visit the communities that were going to be affected or already affected by the wall. Maria and Maggie visited the La Lomita Chapel in Texas because it was one of the locations where the wall could potentially cut through. The chapel was built in 1895 and it's pastor Roy Snipes is very aware of the situation that could occur. The church is very small and people have prayed there for over 150 years. Father Roy continues to pray for the church and community around him.
The people of the chapel are actually trying to sue the government for their actions with no sense of remorse. Throughout all this stress, there is a river near the chapel called "Blue Eyes," that Father Roy uses as sort of an escape and relation of mind. According to Roy, the river actually signifies history, romance, and adventure. Unfortunately there are border patrol boats that patrol the river that Maria and Maggie actually get the chance to see. Both Maggie and Maria headed over to Brownsville where a "dragtivist" protest was going on and they were having a drag show on the wall that was already built in that area. The protest was also a fundraiser for the LGBQT community and people actually used the wall as a backdrop when they danced. Maria and Maggie were then called by Mike Benevidez who runs a group called "Teens Brownsville", which is basically a community of asylum-seekers in the Brownsville community. Mike and a few volunteers bring food and provide shelter to asylum-seekers on both sides of the border. He also helps people in a building in the middle of downtown Brownsville where people from India, Cuba, Ecuador, and Bangladesh come to seek help. Most, if not all of these people were released from immigrant detention facilities one of which was in a facility for more than two years and was not released until the day Maria and Maggie interviewed him. One of the woman Maria talked to was being threatened in her country so she had no choice but to flee to the U.S. Mexican officials also try to move people from being in public places like the park and Mike actively asks people everyday what necessities they need and he makes an extra effort to bring it to them. Maria talked to a father with his daughters and he told Maria that the reason he had fled his country was because his daughter had been raped so he fled Honduras and came to the U.S. because he thought it would be safer place for his children. Everyone mainly sleeps in tents and there are a lot of children and towards the end of the day Maria and Maggie go with Mike only to see a white van that drops off two women at a bus station and Mike immediately helps them because they had just come from an ICE facility. The women had been in the detention facility for about 8 to 15 days and had no idea where to go until Mike came a long to help. Maria saw that the women had a look of numbness in their eyes that she would never forget. I really enjoyed how Mike's efforts was really beneficial for all those people going through hell and he makes time out of his day before work to help each and every one of them as much as he can. I also liked how people at the protest were dancing and partying while using the wall as a backdrop. I think what really annoyed me was how the wall affects a lot of people and places like the chapel and I also didn't like how asylum-seekers would be dropped off randomly with no information of where to go next. One topic that I think the radio show could have covered was maybe more about the women asylum-seekers and compare the difficulties for them versus the males. In an article in the New York times, "Deportation Looms, and a Father Prepares to Say Goodbye" by Julie Turkewitz, it revolves around Jorge Zaldivar came to the country illegally in 1997 and he has 5 children who had to say goodbye to him about 7 times and in late February, his stay was denied so he had to say goodbye to his family so they all went to the federal immigration building. Everye was crying as him and his wife walked to the building but not too long after he came back out and was given a month postponement but would have to come back with some sort of bus or plane ticket showing that he was leaving. I chose this article in particular because it focuses on the hardships on immigration and how much it affects these massive amounts of families and it's really tough to not only go through but witness as well.
Deportation Looms, and a Father Prepares to Say Goodbye
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