By Jenn Budd Former Senior Border Patrol Agent It’s been many years and once again, I’m standing in front of a single file line of immigrants. Most are from Guatemala and Honduras. Maybe a family or two are from El Salvador. All the children are so young, clinging to their parents in fear. Many are sneaking a look at me, then quickly looking away as if I am about to spit out orders at them like I used to when I wore a green border patrol uniform: “Get in line! Hands behind your back! Get inside! Silencio!” Continue reading

On the ninth anniversary of the brutal death of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas at the hands of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP), The Southern Border Communities Coalition remembers him and the many lives lost to their deadly policies and protocols. Continue reading

By Jenn Budd Former Senior Border Patrol Agent Recently, a baby drowned and three others were feared dead after their raft capsized in the Rio Grande River, which marks the border between Texas and Mexico. Their deaths are the latest in the more than 7,000 migrants who have died at our nation’s southern border. Continue reading

The southern border region is one of the most diverse, economically vibrant, and safest areas of the country. Is a beautiful, welcoming and diverse place that’s home to more than 15 million people that are known for their hospitality and great food. Sadly, the national dialogue about “the border” has centered almost exclusively on notions of “security” and “enforcement”  as well as hyper militarization and walls. Politicians exploit these notions for political gain and to advance policies that are detrimental to the quality of life for the millions of people who live, work and travel through the borderlands. The truth is it’s easy to figure out what’s really going on here (hint: not a crisis). And if you really want to know what’s going on, ask the locals! For those uninitiated to the wonder that is the southern border region, here are 4 (out of countless) things WE LOVE about the southern border. Continue reading

The southern border region, home to 15 million people, is a place of encounter, hope, and opportunity. Yet over the last few decades, increased border militarization has undermined our values and affected our quality of life. Continue reading

By Yesenia Padilla Photo Credit: Jill Marie Holslin The militarization of the southern border through deadly walls is nothing new. In fact, it’s been going on for decades. Continue reading

The Southern Border region is one of the most diverse, economically vibrant, and safest areas of the country, home to about 15 million people. It is a place of hope and opportunity, not fear and conflict. President Trump is throwing a tantrum and now threatening to declare a national emergency by spewing blatant lies about the border and our communities in a sinister attempt to justify his deadly, wasteful and harmful border wall. President Trump is wrong to use federal workers and their families, along with asylum seekers, immigrant youth, border communities or anybody else as political bargaining chips for a hateful campaign promise. The only crisis we see in our communities is one stemming from excessive, unchecked militarization - and a humanitarian crisis of Trump’s own making. Continue reading

Single mothers trying to feed their kids. Nervous parents anxious about losing their home. Federal contractors who will never see a retroactive penny for the work they’ve done. All because Trump closed down huge parts of the government until he gets his deadly, harmful and wasteful wall. Continue reading

Trump has created a manufactured crisis in the southern border to justify his deadly, harmful and wasteful wall. Recently, it closed the San Ysidro Port of Entry as border agents fired tear gas and rubber bullets at men, women and children seeking asylum at the busiest border crossing in the world. Continue reading

Living in the Southern Border region--one of the most diverse, economically vibrant, and safest areas of the country, home to about 15 million people--we've seen decade after decade, policymakers push to militarize our communities with policies that erase the civil and human rights and quality of life of those of us who live, work and travel through the borderlands. Now President Trump wants to finish building a border wall, further endangering people, communities, and the environment. Meanwhile, we know that #WallsDontWork, and here are 10 reasons why: Continue reading