borderlands

Illustration by Livia Falcaru

I am the border agent who looks
the other way. I am the one
who leaves bottled water in caches
in the harsh borderlands I patrol.

I am the one who doesn’t shoot.
I let the people assemble,
with their flickering candles a shimmering
river in the dark. “Let them pray,”
I tell my comrades. “What harm
can come of that?” We holster
our guns and open a bottle to share.

Maryada Vallet 2-09-2011
The shooting in Tucson, Arizona has spurred numerous 'calls for civility' in the heated political tension of Arizona and beyond.
Maryada Vallet 9-13-2010
In southern Arizona, a glimmer of hope for immigration activists is like a drop of water on a hot summer day -- you are quenched for a brief moment, but the moment is gone once you realize how thir
Cesar Baldelomar 5-28-2010
This past Tuesday, President Obama announced that he intends to send 1,200 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Maryada Vallet 5-07-2010
"When we met the young lady in Nogales, the daddy in me wanted to take her to a safe place.
Maryada Vallet 4-21-2010
From the borderlands perspective, it has been a week of momentous steps both forward and back for immigrants.