A correspondent for The Guardian newspaper, Jo Tuckman, recently joined in on a very unique tour in the Mexican village of El Alberto, where she and many others spent the night at the US/Mexico border to feel what it’s like to be in the shoes of an illegal immigrant. When they reached the borderline, they scurried into a tight huddle behind bushes and rocks from being seen by the border patrol. They sat for a dreadful moment together, eyeing the flashing red and blue lights and each other, thinking this may be the coming of their demise. When the border patrol took off on vehicle, the group got up and continued on. Strangely, the video shows a simulated arrest of a man illegally crossing the border, being put down by armed guards and interrogated on the spot while handcuffed.

What is the actual point to this tour guide, you may ask? Well that’s what I’d like to know as well. But most of all, WHY do we need something like this in the world? Isn’t it enough for a nation to be burdened with an awful stigma; that everyone in this country, who is Mexican, is perceived to be a potential illegal alien? The bigger issue here is not just about illegal Mexicans or Central Americans in the United States but illegal immigrants from any nation in just about any big developed country.

In a way, this tour guide seems to be a mockery of the Mexicans, who have a rich and beautiful history and culture, and adds to our society’s condescending aspect of Mexicans in America. Sadly, our only knowledge of the Mexican heritage is of nachos, tacos, burritos and illegal immigration. I don’t need a news special to tell me all that or to prove it to me because I have already seen that kind of disrespectful conception by many people who I’ve crossed paths with in my life.

Illegally evading into another country is wrong but turning their struggles into some kind of experiment game or theater-like event doesn’t help in trying to deal with the big issue of illegal aliens. If we truly need to understand their struggles, then perhaps we ought to look at more serious ways to take care of this matter. I haven’t yet spoken to anyone of Mexican descent about this topic so I’m not certain if they share my view on it. Others may feel that this is probably the only way to understand the struggling life of an illegal migrant making the jump over the line.

Takeru, Chameleon

[edit - Mar 29, 2009] My apologies for not including the link to the actual video. I can be forgetful at times -- haha

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2009/mar/17/us-immigration-mexico