Political rift starts at border
Monday, February 27th, 2006
By Chris Fitzsimon
Illegal immigrants in search of work find a nation at odds over their presence
LIZ CHANDLER AND DÁNICA COTO
lchandler@charlotteobserver.comdcoto@charlotteobserver.com
SÁSABE, Mexico - Politicalvrift startsvat border Illegal Immigration in the Carolinas Illegal immigrants in search of work find a nation at odds over their presence Liz Chandler and Dánica Coto
SÁSABE, Mexico — What do you want in America?
The 33 migrants waiting at a desert outpost for a ride to the border call out answers.
"We want to do the work they cannot do — or don’t want to do," says Oscar Lopez, 22.
"We want them not to be racist," says Luis Piñeda, 17.
"We are trying to get a better life for our people," another man shouts.
A cattle truck rumbles up, and the migrants climb into the flatbed and peer out between the slats. As the truck grinds toward the desert, one man calls out in Spanish: "Let’s put our heart in it."
America’s strategy to stop this illegal flow appears no match for the sheer will driving it.
You can see that in Border Patrol practices and in the conflicted actions of ranchers who deal daily with the desperate wave. You can see it nationally, where nearly 11 million illegal immigrants live and work, including an estimated 390,000 in North Carolina. And you can see it in the faces of the migrants whose determination to reach America makes them risk everything. (more…)
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