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| Mexico's would-be border crossers undermine Trump's case for a wall | Mexico's would-be border crossers undermine Trump's case for a wall |
| (17 days later) | |
| When Donald Trump views the prototypes of his proposed border wall outside San Diego on Tuesday he could say, truthfully, that just a few miles south there are hundreds of Mexican men desperate to break into the United States. | When Donald Trump views the prototypes of his proposed border wall outside San Diego on Tuesday he could say, truthfully, that just a few miles south there are hundreds of Mexican men desperate to break into the United States. |
| You can find them at shelters like Casa del Migrante, a hostel for migrants in Tijuana, a sprawling city with a soaring murder rate. They admit they have no permission to live in the US and are determined to enter illegally. | You can find them at shelters like Casa del Migrante, a hostel for migrants in Tijuana, a sprawling city with a soaring murder rate. They admit they have no permission to live in the US and are determined to enter illegally. |
| Some have glimpsed the prototypes the president will inspect and concede they look formidable: 30ft high with state-of-the-art technology to withstand or impede blowtorches, jackhammers, ropes and ladders. | Some have glimpsed the prototypes the president will inspect and concede they look formidable: 30ft high with state-of-the-art technology to withstand or impede blowtorches, jackhammers, ropes and ladders. |
| “Honestly, I don’t know how I’d get over it,” said Félix Mateos, who saw the eight prototypes last week while trying to sneak across the border. | “Honestly, I don’t know how I’d get over it,” said Félix Mateos, who saw the eight prototypes last week while trying to sneak across the border. |
| The stories of Mateos and many other would-be border crossers here, however, dent the case for the wall. | The stories of Mateos and many other would-be border crossers here, however, dent the case for the wall. |
| Few seem to match the “bad hombres” – rapists, murderers, drug traffickers – that Trump conjured to sell the wall to voters during the 2016 election. | Few seem to match the “bad hombres” – rapists, murderers, drug traffickers – that Trump conjured to sell the wall to voters during the 2016 election. |
| An increasing proportion are people who lived for years or decades in the US, working and raising families, and were deported for minor infractions. | An increasing proportion are people who lived for years or decades in the US, working and raising families, and were deported for minor infractions. |
| Mateos, 54, lived in California since the age of 16 and harvested grapes, nuts and peaches in the fields around Modesto, earning $14 an hour. | Mateos, 54, lived in California since the age of 16 and harvested grapes, nuts and peaches in the fields around Modesto, earning $14 an hour. |
| Last October, police stopped him for driving without a license and he ended up in the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), one of an increasing number of undocumented migrants swept up for minor offences. | Last October, police stopped him for driving without a license and he ended up in the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), one of an increasing number of undocumented migrants swept up for minor offences. |
| Mateos paid a lawyer $7,000 – almost his entire savings – but an immigration judge ruled against him, unmoved by the fact the labourer had three children, aged two, eight and 11, who were US citizens. | Mateos paid a lawyer $7,000 – almost his entire savings – but an immigration judge ruled against him, unmoved by the fact the labourer had three children, aged two, eight and 11, who were US citizens. |
| Deported to Tijuana just before Christmas, Mateos resolved to find a way back – to make the “brinca”, the jump. | Deported to Tijuana just before Christmas, Mateos resolved to find a way back – to make the “brinca”, the jump. |
| “I miss my children,” he said, his eyes watering. His partner works part time washing dishes in a restaurant, not enough to support the family. “I need to work. What will become of them?” | “I miss my children,” he said, his eyes watering. His partner works part time washing dishes in a restaurant, not enough to support the family. “I need to work. What will become of them?” |
| Deportees with deep roots in the US account for an increasing number of the shelter’s population, which totalled 7,000 last year, said Valeria Griego, a Casa del Migrante administrator. They are highly motivated to return – about 70% try at least once, she said. | Deportees with deep roots in the US account for an increasing number of the shelter’s population, which totalled 7,000 last year, said Valeria Griego, a Casa del Migrante administrator. They are highly motivated to return – about 70% try at least once, she said. |
| Salomón Cortés, 28, was one of them. He used to run the kitchen in an Italian restaurant in New Jersey – his speciality was pasta Alfredo – and had a four-year-old son there, William. The name is tattooed on his arm. “A father should be with his son,” he said. | Salomón Cortés, 28, was one of them. He used to run the kitchen in an Italian restaurant in New Jersey – his speciality was pasta Alfredo – and had a four-year-old son there, William. The name is tattooed on his arm. “A father should be with his son,” he said. |
| Bad hombres or not, there is another reason these would-be border crossers dent the case for the wall: they can’t get in. | Bad hombres or not, there is another reason these would-be border crossers dent the case for the wall: they can’t get in. |
| They have tried and failed – stymied by the existing barriers and surveillance networks operated by the border patrol. | They have tried and failed – stymied by the existing barriers and surveillance networks operated by the border patrol. |
| Cortés, who returned to Mexico to marry, said he has tried 14 times to re-enter the US – detected each time by border controls that have been steadily expanded and militarised by successive presidents since Bill Clinton. | Cortés, who returned to Mexico to marry, said he has tried 14 times to re-enter the US – detected each time by border controls that have been steadily expanded and militarised by successive presidents since Bill Clinton. |
| For his last three effort,s Cortés spent three months in detention in Texas, six months in New Mexico and six months in California. | For his last three effort,s Cortés spent three months in detention in Texas, six months in New Mexico and six months in California. |
| If caught again he faces two years in detention. “It’s ugly in there, it’s hard. I don’t want to risk it,” he said. Cortés said he has now decided to stay in Mexico. | If caught again he faces two years in detention. “It’s ugly in there, it’s hard. I don’t want to risk it,” he said. Cortés said he has now decided to stay in Mexico. |
| Border crossings are near historic lows and in recent years it is estimated that more Mexicans are voluntarily leaving the US than entering – a product of economic and demographic shifts. Still, Trump has made the wall a keystone of his immigration crackdown. | Border crossings are near historic lows and in recent years it is estimated that more Mexicans are voluntarily leaving the US than entering – a product of economic and demographic shifts. Still, Trump has made the wall a keystone of his immigration crackdown. |
| Mateos, the farm labourer, last week tried to sneak in with two friends via Otay Mesa, near the wall prototypes. Two border agents on motorcycles caught them within three minutes. | Mateos, the farm labourer, last week tried to sneak in with two friends via Otay Mesa, near the wall prototypes. Two border agents on motorcycles caught them within three minutes. |
| Mateos was deported the next day to Tijuana. | Mateos was deported the next day to Tijuana. |
| Though limping from a fall while scaling a 6ft barrier, he intends to try again. “At least once, maybe twice.” He cannot afford the $8,000 to $15,000 charged by coyotes – the nickname for people smugglers – so will make another amateur effort. If he fails – a fate suggested by his tears and defeated demeanour – he said he may bring his children to Mexico. | Though limping from a fall while scaling a 6ft barrier, he intends to try again. “At least once, maybe twice.” He cannot afford the $8,000 to $15,000 charged by coyotes – the nickname for people smugglers – so will make another amateur effort. If he fails – a fate suggested by his tears and defeated demeanour – he said he may bring his children to Mexico. |
| Mateos did not have an opinion about whether it made sense to build a 30ft wall along the border. “That’s for Mr Trump to decide. All I know is the prototypes are very tall.” | Mateos did not have an opinion about whether it made sense to build a 30ft wall along the border. “That’s for Mr Trump to decide. All I know is the prototypes are very tall.” |
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