The immigration conversation gets a lot more interesting when both sides have a say. It would be even more interesting if the U.S. government would listen to the people actually involved in that conversation.
What they would hear is, “yes, there are border problems elsewhere. We don’t have those problems here. We’d like our border crossing opened, preferably with a nice bridge, please.”
The people in this particular conversation are the residents of South Brewster County and our neighbors to the South.
You may call them illegal aliens or wetbacks. Down here, we call them neighbors and friends.
The people of Lajitas – neighbors from both sides of the Rio Grande – came together to show their love, support, and willingness to work together to get the border crossing re-opened.
The unintended consequences of closing the borders have been devastating. Families divided, friends separated, economies adversely affected.
Simple things, like getting groceries, gasoline, or visiting grandma have turned in to multi-hour ordeals involving driving to the nearest “legal” border crossing and then driving back on the other side.
It’s time. It’s time to admit that we made a mistake and fix it.
