
{"id":307883,"date":"2024-08-21T22:41:46","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T02:41:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=307883"},"modified":"2024-08-21T22:41:46","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T02:41:46","slug":"the-border-of-the-american-dream-promise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/digital-channel\/gallery\/the-border-of-the-american-dream-promise\/","title":{"rendered":"The border of the American dream: Promise"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A group of Latin American journalists, convened by Inquire First, a non-profit journalism organization based in San Diego, California, recently spent a week touring the border between the United States and Mexico. Photojournalist <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/author\/kaloian\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><i>Kaloian Santos Cabrera<\/i><\/b><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, from <\/span><\/i><b>OnCuba<\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, was part of the group. The series \u201cThe border of the American dream\u201d attempts to capture several of the intense experiences lived during those days in mid-July. Here is the first installment.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Separador-023-1-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-264218\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Separador-023-1-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"758\" height=\"28\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Separador-023-1-2.png 758w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Separador-023-1-2-300x11.png 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Separador-023-1-2-750x28.png 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 758px) 100vw, 758px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With 3,185 kilometers in length, the territorial border between Mexico and the United States is witness to a rich cultural and economic interaction, but also to complex challenges. It covers urban and inhospitable areas, from Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on the Gulf of Mexico, to San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Baja California, on the Pacific.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The dividing line between the two countries was established more than a century ago with a line on a map. In 1845, during the U.S. expansion, Texas was annexed and, after winning the war with Mexico, the United States kept more than 55% of Mexican territory. The border was relocated to the Rio Grande (or Bravo), and included other natural barriers, such as mountains. Since then, the region has become a crucial geopolitical zone, a nerve center of the migration conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today there are 56 border ports along the border, of which 20 are land crossings and 36 are bridges that facilitate the transit of people and goods. Legal access points are vital to trade, tourism and the daily lives of the roughly 12 million people who live in sixty cities on both sides of the border, which runs through six Mexican states and four U.S. states.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308137\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308137\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-8-1366x997-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308137\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-8-1366x997-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"997\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-8-1366x997-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-8-1366x997-1-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-8-1366x997-1-1024x747.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-8-1366x997-1-768x561.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-8-1366x997-1-750x547.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-8-1366x997-1-1140x832.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308137\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A group of people line up to cross the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge, which connects the cities of McAllen and Hidalgo, in Texas, United States, with Reynosa, Tamaulipas, in Mexico. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The entire area is characterized by movement from north to south and vice versa, when people work or study on one side and live on the other. But some cross only to the north and not through the checkpoints, but rather as far away from them as possible: the thousands of migrants who try this every year in search of a better life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fleeing their countries of origin due to violence, poverty, the ravages of nature caused by climate change, political crises, or lack of opportunities, migrants from Latin America, the Caribbean, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/05\/us\/africa-migrants-us-border.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">even Africans, Asians and people from the Middle East<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> undertake a journey full of dangers, guided mostly by human trafficking groups who sell them the expensive promise of taking them to their dream destination.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308140\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308140\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-11-1366x849-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308140\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-11-1366x849-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"849\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-11-1366x849-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-11-1366x849-1-300x186.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-11-1366x849-1-1024x636.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-11-1366x849-1-768x477.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-11-1366x849-1-750x466.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-11-1366x849-1-1140x709.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308140\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Paso del Norte International Bridge connects the U.S. and Mexican border cities of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez, Chihuahua. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The journey can last weeks or months and involves walking long distances and crossing several countries in South and Central America aboard the most diverse and precarious means of transportation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are no guarantees. Anything can happen along the way. Some threats are natural, such as crossing the intricate Dari\u00e9n jungle in Panama, full of geographical features, intense humidity, and wild animals; others are social, such as extortion, threats, kidnapping and rape, by gangs or paramilitaries as well as by local authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308134\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308134\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-5-1366x927-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308134\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-5-1366x927-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"927\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-5-1366x927-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-5-1366x927-1-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-5-1366x927-1-1024x695.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-5-1366x927-1-768x521.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-5-1366x927-1-750x509.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-5-1366x927-1-1140x774.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308134\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of the control and rescue towers installed in the state of New Mexico, very close to the border with Chihuahua. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When finally reaching the southern border of the United States \u2014 those who make it \u2014 the ordeal will not be over yet. More extreme weather and complex, diverse and hostile geography lie ahead. From a river with apparently calm waters that can be turbulent, to rugged places where summer temperatures are around 40\u00b0C and in winter they can drop below 0\u00b0C.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the last great obstacle to overcome is the Border Patrol, attached to the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and in charge, as its name indicates, of patrolling the United States territory along the border. So far in 2024, more than a million people from more than 80 countries have been apprehended.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308142\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308142\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-14-1366x952-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308142\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-14-1366x952-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"952\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-14-1366x952-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-14-1366x952-1-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-14-1366x952-1-1024x714.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-14-1366x952-1-768x535.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-14-1366x952-1-750x523.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-14-1366x952-1-1140x794.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308142\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Part of the fence and mountains that divide the U.S. state of New Mexico and Chihuahua. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Border Patrol divides the border into nine sectors, each with multiple stations, totaling 71. From west to east, the San Diego sector covers 97 kilometers of land border and 183 kilometers of coastline, with 8 stations, and of course, includes San Diego, the sixth most populous city in the United States. The El Centro sector covers 113 kilometers of land border with 4 stations. Yuma covers 203 kilometers, with 3 stations monitoring dunes and military reservations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Tucson sector spans 418 kilometers with 8 stations, covering Tucson itself, Phoenix and Nogales. El Paso covers 431 kilometers, of which 142 follow the Rio Grande. The sector has 11 stations in New Mexico and Texas. Big Bend, with 821 kilometers of land border, is the largest sector and has 10 stations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Del Rio sector covers 338 kilometers and 9 stations, being the most agricultural area with numerous farms and ranches. Laredo, with 275 kilometers and 9 stations, includes the city of Dallas and several rivers that flow into the Rio Grande. Finally, the Rio Grande Valley sector, the most traveled by Central Americans, covers 508 kilometers between the river border and the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, with 9 stations in cities such as Brownsville, Rio Grande City, Corpus Christi and Kingsville.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The \u201cwall\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308133\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308133\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-4-1366x946-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308133\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-4-1366x946-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"946\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-4-1366x946-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-4-1366x946-1-300x208.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-4-1366x946-1-1024x709.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-4-1366x946-1-768x532.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-4-1366x946-1-750x519.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-4-1366x946-1-1140x789.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308133\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A migrant tries to cross the metal fence between the United States and Mexico, July 2024. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most media-covered aspect of the border is usually its physical barrier, the so-called \u201cwall\u201d that Donald Trump promised to contain illegal migratory flows. In reality, it has always been a heterogeneous structure that today covers a third of the border (about 1,130 kilometers), along very different ecosystems that therefore require different security approaches.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The different prototypes are part of a long history in which both parties have tried to sell to the U.S. public and the world that they can forcibly stop border crossings simply by \u201cclosing the border,\u201d as if this were possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308149\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308149\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-21-1366x909-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308149\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-21-1366x909-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-21-1366x909-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-21-1366x909-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-21-1366x909-1-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-21-1366x909-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-21-1366x909-1-750x499.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-21-1366x909-1-1140x759.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308149\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some areas of the barrier consist of a large concrete wall and iron bars. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In some areas, the fence is composed of solid concrete blocks and iron bars. In others, the prototype is reinforced with double or triple fences, which increases the complexity of the crossing. However, in some remote or difficult-to-access areas, the barrier is replaced by long stretches of barbed wire, iron crisscrossing structures, and concertina wire mesh, which act as less forceful but effective deterrents.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first border fences to contain immigration from the south began to be installed during the administrations of Democrats Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, after decades of building fences to stop the passage of animals. The trigger was a significant migratory flow that was unleashed in the 1940s and 1950s.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But it was not until 1965, under Lyndon B. Johnson\u2019s administration, that a limit was imposed on the number of people who could immigrate to the United States from countries in the Western Hemisphere such as Mexico. The change in regulation directed greater attention to the border.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308148\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308148\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-20-1366x830-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308148\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-20-1366x830-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"830\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-20-1366x830-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-20-1366x830-1-300x182.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-20-1366x830-1-1024x622.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-20-1366x830-1-768x467.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-20-1366x830-1-750x456.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-20-1366x830-1-1140x693.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308148\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">In some areas of the border the barrier consists of coils of wire with sharp blades. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the following decades, the physical barrier grew or was modified under different administrations, both Democrat and Republican. Up until the 1990s, when xenophobia and public debate on illegal immigration increased in the United States, prompting both parties to move towards physical border security.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1993 and 1994, Clinton launched three separate border operations: Operation Hold the Line in Texas, Operation Safeguard in Arizona, and Operation Gatekeeper in Southern California.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clinton established a \u201cget tough policy at our borders,\u201d expressed in the anti-illegal immigration program Operation Gatekeeper. He used surplus military landing mats for the fences to build a supposedly impassable wall. While these barriers were being erected, NAFTA opened the border to material goods.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since then, each successor, up to President Biden, built a part of the wall.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2016, Donald Trump had as one of the main points of his campaign the promise to build \u201ca wall\u201d along the southern border of the United States. In his speeches he repeated that he would build the wall and would make Mexico pay for it. However, it was a promise impossible to keep for economic, technological, topographical and even biological reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308147\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308147\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-19-1366x909-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308147\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-19-1366x909-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-19-1366x909-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-19-1366x909-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-19-1366x909-1-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-19-1366x909-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-19-1366x909-1-750x499.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-19-1366x909-1-1140x759.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308147\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">On the streets of El Paso it is common to find migrants after having crossed the border. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before Trump was elected president in 2017, there were already several types of fences covering a total of just over 1,000 kilometers, in the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Although at the end of his term he boasted of having built 800 km of wall, in reality, what he did was repair and reinforce a large part of the existing structures that were in poor condition. Less than 100 km were built during his term.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most recent prototype consists of a giant iron fence, with between 5-and-9-meter-high masts on a concrete base.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only is it an imposing iron and concrete fence, but it is also equipped with an advanced security system in critical areas. It includes up to three containment barriers, high-intensity lighting, motion detectors, electronic sensors, and night vision equipment, all connected to the Border Patrol. Surveillance is constant, with all-terrain vehicles and helicopters patrolling day and night.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308144\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308144\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-16-1366x909-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308144\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-16-1366x909-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-16-1366x909-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-16-1366x909-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-16-1366x909-1-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-16-1366x909-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-16-1366x909-1-750x499.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-16-1366x909-1-1140x759.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308144\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Border Patrol helicopter carries out maneuvers in Santa Teresa, a desert area in the state of New Mexico bordering the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308145\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308145\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-17-1366x909-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308145\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-17-1366x909-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-17-1366x909-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-17-1366x909-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-17-1366x909-1-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-17-1366x909-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-17-1366x909-1-750x499.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-17-1366x909-1-1140x759.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308145\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Border Patrol agent in the early morning hours, on the banks of the Rio Grande, below the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge, which connects the cities of McAllen and Hidalgo, in Texas, with Reynosa, Tamaulipas, in Mexico. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From a distance, the fence that marks the border in the desert near El Paso, Texas, stands like a giant scar on the arid landscape. Up close, it reveals a scene of desolation and flight: fragments of cloth from what was once a shirt, a torn shoe, broken and scattered toys\u2026traces of those who passed through here and the conditions in which they did so.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the territory near the border, tragedies occur daily. Reports of falls by migrants trying to climb are common. Some are seriously injured; others die. They often get caught between the wires from above, which increases the risk of fatal accidents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For those who live in border cities and towns, this strange wall has been part of the landscape for three decades, and its presence has marked them as individuals and as a community, on both sides of the border.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308132\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308132\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-2-1366x909-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308132\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-2-1366x909-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-2-1366x909-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-2-1366x909-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-2-1366x909-1-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-2-1366x909-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-2-1366x909-1-750x499.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-2-1366x909-1-1140x759.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308132\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Remnants of clothing, shoes and other belongings of migrants lie near the fence. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b>Natural obstacles<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The complex topography and its fauna, together with many other factors, such as high construction costs or the presence of private property in certain sectors, make it practically impossible to erect these structures in the remaining 2,000 kilometers of the border. Instead, barbed wire barricades known as concertinas are used. The rest of the border barriers are natural: mountains, rivers&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A part of the fence ends at the foot of Monte Cristo Rey \u2014 a natural border that divides the U.S. state of New Mexico from Chihuahua, in Mexican lands. Every year thousands of pilgrims climb its slopes, recreating the Via Crucis. The mountain, with almost 40 square kilometers and 1,400 meters above sea level, is also used as a route by human trafficking gangs. But passing through Monte Cristo Rey is an extremely difficult and painful feat, not in vain it evokes the path that Jesus took to the cross.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308135\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308135\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-6-1366x909-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308135\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-6-1366x909-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-6-1366x909-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-6-1366x909-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-6-1366x909-1-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-6-1366x909-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-6-1366x909-1-750x499.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-6-1366x909-1-1140x759.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308135\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Monte Cristo Rey, a natural border that divides the U.S. state of New Mexico and the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSince there is no wall on this mountain, criminal organizations, drug cartels, coyotes and human traffickers think it is an advantage and use this route to penetrate into the United States. However, the area is very difficult to travel due to the elevations, blind spots, rocky and uneven terrain. We have rescued people with serious injuries after serious falls, or dehydration. Migrants are merchandise for criminal organizations. That is how they treat them, they are disposable,\u201d explains Orlando Marrero-Rubio, an agent and emergency medical technician for the Border Patrol in El Paso, in a meeting with journalists at the foot of Monte Cristo Rey.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308141\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308141\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-12-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308141\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-12-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"665\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-12-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-12-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-12-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-12-1-750x499.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308141\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Orlando Marrero-Rubio, Border Patrol agent and emergency medical technician in El Paso. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The desert is very close, another dangerous odyssey. The dry, burning heat and the threat of a variety of wildlife with coyotes (the original ones), jaguars and poisonous snakes, add to the danger of the crossing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With temperatures that in July and August can exceed 40 degrees, migrants, after several days of walking, poor nutrition and worse hydration, are often disoriented, dehydrated and abandoned by traffickers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt is an area where we find people almost on the verge of death,\u201d added Marrero-Rubio, and explained that in the current fiscal year \u2014 October 1, 2023- September 30, 2024 \u2014 757 migrant rescues have been carried out in this area alone, where they have also found 132 corpses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The same agent showed one of the rescue towers installed in remote and rural areas. \u201cThese towers are equipped with a big red button that, when pressed, activates the emergency system and gives us the coordinates to arrive and offer assistance,\u201d he explained.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308136\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308136\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-7-1366x851-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308136\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-7-1366x851-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"851\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-7-1366x851-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-7-1366x851-1-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-7-1366x851-1-1024x638.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-7-1366x851-1-768x478.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-7-1366x851-1-750x467.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-7-1366x851-1-1140x710.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308136\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Paso del Norte International Bridge, which crosses the Rio Grande and connects the U.S.-Mexico border cities of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez, Chihuahua. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">About a thousand kilometers from that point is the Rio Grande Valley, a vast region that spans southern Texas along the border with Mexico. This has historically been one of the most critical points in the migration crisis. Although the landscape is different from that of the desert, the danger for migrants persists.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main border in this region is the famous Rio Grande, the fourth longest in North America. On the other side, in Mexico, it is called the Rio Bravo and is the longest tributary in the nation, from the San Juan Mountains in Colorado for 3,034 kilometers until it flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Of these, approximately 2,000 kilometers form the natural border between the United States and Mexico, from the cities of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez, Chihuahua, to the Gulf.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a body of water whose width and depth vary significantly along its route. It is relatively shallow and wide. Where migrants usually cross is between 1 and 2.5 meters deep and between 5 and 50 meters wide. Its waters, although they seem calm, \u201care treacherous,\u201d says Border Patrol agent Andr\u00e9s Garc\u00eda, spokesman for the Border Patrol, in the middle of the jungle, a few meters from the banks of the river.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308143\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308143\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-15-1366x979-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308143\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-15-1366x979-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"979\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-15-1366x979-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-15-1366x979-1-300x215.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-15-1366x979-1-1024x734.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-15-1366x979-1-768x550.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-15-1366x979-1-120x86.jpg 120w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-15-1366x979-1-350x250.jpg 350w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-15-1366x979-1-750x538.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-15-1366x979-1-1140x817.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308143\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Border Patrol patrolling the waters of the Rio Bravo. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308146\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308146\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-18-1366x875-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308146\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-18-1366x875-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"875\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-18-1366x875-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-18-1366x875-1-300x192.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-18-1366x875-1-1024x656.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-18-1366x875-1-768x492.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-18-1366x875-1-750x480.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-18-1366x875-1-1140x730.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308146\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Border Patrol patrolling the waters of the Rio Bravo. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe border is extremely dangerous. Although we have seen a slight decrease in numbers, there are still between 200 and 300 daily entries in this sector, which is still considerable. We understand that migrants make this journey out of necessity, but it is crucial to warn about the risks. The river is treacherous because it has deep currents that take you to the bottom. It has claimed countless lives. In addition, there are rattlesnakes, crocodiles and a tick that bites and causes very high fevers. These risks, added to exhaustion and extreme heat conditions, can make a migrant\u2019s journey the last one they make.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mabel*, a Central American woman in her 30s, knows this very well. After being kidnapped on her way through Mexico and suffering other humiliations, she almost drowned while crossing the Bravo with her 2-year-old son.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI never imagined that that river that seemed calm was so dangerous. The water came a little above my waist. I could walk and the other shore was close. I was carrying my son on my head. Suddenly, a current began to drag me along. The river was very strong. It was stronger than me. I was very scared. A man was coming behind me and I screamed desperately for him to help me with my son. I already thought I was not going to be saved. He took my baby and helped me get up to continue walking. When we got out of the river, the immigration patrol was very close, so I turned myself in. They took care of us, gave us food and clothes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mabel remembers it and trembles. She cries while hugging the child tightly in a shelter in El Paso. There, with an electronic ankle bracelet that keeps track of her, she awaits a hearing with an immigration judge who will decide whether to approve her asylum in the United States or rule her deportation.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308139\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308139\" style=\"width: 1289px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-10-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308139\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-10-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1289\" height=\"996\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-10-1.jpg 1289w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-10-1-300x232.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-10-1-1024x791.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-10-1-768x593.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-10-1-750x580.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-10-1-1140x881.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1289px) 100vw, 1289px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308139\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A person is checked by immigration authorities in the United States before being deported for having entered the country illegally through the border with Mexico. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are areas where it is not enough to cross the river. Other obstacles coexist: jungle terrain, wire fences and the imposing fence. For example, close to the banks of the river, a few kilometers from the international bridge that connects the cities of McAllen and Hidalgo, in Texas, with Reynosa, Tamaulipas, wildflowers are trapped between a tangle of sharp wire fences.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Right there, the sun rises, over U.S. territory. It could be a wonderful spectacle, but from the Mexican side, every day they receive a trapped sun: it can only be seen through the bars of one of the large doors of the imposing fence. Paradoxically, the crank that activates the opening and closing system has a sign saying \u201cMade in Mexico.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308138\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308138\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-9-1366x909-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308138\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-9-1366x909-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-9-1366x909-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-9-1366x909-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-9-1366x909-1-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-9-1366x909-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-9-1366x909-1-750x499.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-9-1366x909-1-1140x759.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308138\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Opening and closing crank of one of the large doors of the wall. On it can be read \u201cMade in Mexico.\u201d Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_308131\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-308131\" style=\"width: 1366px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-1-1366x909-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-308131\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-1-1366x909-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-1-1366x909-1.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-1-1366x909-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-1-1366x909-1-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-1-1366x909-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-1-1366x909-1-750x499.jpg 750w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Primero-frontera-1-1366x909-1-1140x759.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-308131\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">At a point on the border between the United States and Mexico, the sun rises behind the famous barrier that divides the two nations. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*For privacy reasons, the real name of the witness has been changed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To be continued\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The fate of millions has been defined on the line that divides the territory of the United States from that of Mexico, an abyss between the Americas always at the mercy of the ups and downs of politics and history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3262,"featured_media":308130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34643],"tags":[22938,19256,34537,3835,23082],"ppma_author":[33930],"class_list":["post-307883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gallery","tag-cuba-and-mexico","tag-featured","tag-illegal-emigration","tag-mexico-en","tag-u-s-border-patrol","post_format-post-format-video"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The border of the American dream: Promise | OnCubaNews English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The fate of millions has been defined on the line that divides the territory of the United States from that of Mexico, an abyss between the Americas always at the mercy of the ups and 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