At our May 19 meeting at Jowonio School, we hosted Jim McKeever, recently returned from the US-Mexican border. Jim has made many such trips to help families who seek safety and refuge from violence and is deeply involved in humanitarian work.
Previously a writer for the Post-Standard in Syracuse, Jim’s path has led him to share his experiences and the amazing resilience and courage he has witnessed along the border.
A delicious array of finger-foods had been brought by those attending the meeting. The food was presented and served on a large table as people arrived, registered, gathered, and socialized.
Lorraine Markley introduced the speaker, Jim McKeever, a retired journalist and humanitarian. Lorraine had heard Jim speak to a group at her church, and had she had spoken to the WTB Council about a letter he had put into the Post Standard. Mr. McKeever spends four weeks each year in visits to the border. He spends two weeks at the Texas border in the Brownsville area (across from Matamoros, Mexico), and two weeks along the southern border south of San Diego, near Tijuana and Mexicali.
Mr. Mc Keever introduced himself. The small group was seated in three rows of semicircles around the table in front of the group and Mr. McKeever used his computer to show photos of his experience in the semiannual two-week visits he makes to the border between the U.S. and Mexico. During these trips he works with various groups and organizations assisting persons from countries around the world who have crossed the border seeking asylum or refugee status in the U.S.
The initial computer screen had the following piece from a poem by Warsan Shire called Home. “…I want to go home, but home is the mouth of the shark …” He began talking a bit about the desperate situation of so many people who come to the border to try to start new lives. In the countries they come from they have dealt with war, famine, brutality, discrimination, and political repression, etc.
Mr. McKeever then began showing a series of photos from his visits to the border. He used the 15 photos as a demonstration of some of the issues he wanted the audience to understand are involved in the migrants’ search for new lives.
The first photo shown was of a scene from the Darién Gap, which is an area between the continents of North and South America stretching across southern Panama. Many people who attempt to cross the US/Mexican border have navigated through this very dangerous area where migrants are often threatened with violence and some see and walk around dead bodies. He gave examples of experiences and asked, “Who would take children through this?” The implied answer was only those who are desperate would do so.
The next photos were those of parts of the Wall built along the border. The section shown on the first photo was 30 feet high. He said one of the reasons for that is for most people climbing dizziness occurs at that height and the person might fall and be gravely injured. Another photo of the wall was what remains of an older part of a wall that juts into the Pacific Ocean. Only the old wooden posts used to fence the area were still there from many years ago. Jim also said that it is estimated that about 10,000 migrants who have gotten into the U.S. have died in the desert.
Along with the next photos, Mr. McKeever talked about the situation for persons who have honorably served the country in the military. Some of those ex-service members who were childhood arrivals but had not obtained citizenship have been deported following their honorable service. One case went to the California Supreme Court in which the veteran who had been deported won and is now back in the U.S.
Jim discussed the difficulties in the migrant camps and showed a photo of a migrant encampment. Food, diapers, clothing, and other essentials for life are distributed there.
A photo of the Brownsville, Texas Welcome Center was shown. He said frequently migrants with just civil and not criminal charges are treated like criminals and chained by ankles and wrists just to make a spectacle. Jim showed a photo of a large bag, like a store “fruit bag,” in which everything a migrant owns is put. This is what they take to leave and make their way in the U.S.
Every new immigrant is supposed to have an interview with the immigration service. Some get it and others don’t. Many are just released to have an appointment at a future date. Persons who come across the border like this are not allowed to work usually for six months while their cases are processed. In order to have more prompt action on an application, it is important to have a lawyer, and there are far too few lawyers, although some work pro bono on cases. He said that lawyers are not guaranteed and without a lawyer, an asylum claim has a poor chance of success.
Mr. McKeever dealt with many issues migrants face were, including negative perceptions by Americans in the U.S. which they get from politicians and the press. One of those is the impression that the fentanyl drug problem in the U.S. is related to so many immigrants coming across the border. This is inaccurate. The vast majority of the illicit fentanyl is seized at official border crossings and immigration officials say that nearly all of that is smuggled by people who are legally authorized to cross the border — and much of it comes by sea.
Many caring and concerned persons and groups work with the immigrants on the border and assist them with basic needs and connections with agencies and groups which can assist them. However, more governmental programs and workers are needed. The federal government needs to increase staff to address the issues, interview, provide guidance, and help with processes of application for refugee or asylum status and a future.
The final screen he showed on his computer was another line from the poem Home by Warson Shire:
“…you have to understand that no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land…”
During the question and answer period that followed, Mr. McKeever mentioned the Syracuse Immigrant and Refugee Defense Network and Eastern Farmworkers as local groups advocating for change and assistance.
He provided hand-outs listing Some Organizations Working at the Border and Further Information: Links to Resources and Organizations about the Southern Border Situation.