Calexico-Mexicali: Welcome Terrorists

A “low risk” threat attempts to import 9 tons of marijuana; security experts said it could have been 9 tons of nuclear bomb material.

If this story would have been published anywhere but the IV Press, it would have ruffled some coats. There was almost an indifference by U.S. agencies regarding this incident. I spoke to one of the authorities that I cited three days after this story got published and she hadn’t read the story. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not appear to be leveling with me (no surprise here) on how the investigation is going. They told me it was a “concern” but I learned they hadn’t even asked for the guy’s personnel file. I intend to keep pestering them about the investigation.

An antiquated port unsuitable for anti-terrorist mission

GSA says Calexico Port of Entry to split vehicle and pedestrian operations by 2011.

I roused up Congressman Bob Filner with this. Apparently he was not aware that the GSA was had plans to split the port. I got a desperate call from the GSA, asking for a link on the article. Thing is, it took Filner, who sits on a new border facilities committee  a month to read the article and complain to the GSA that he wasn’t notified-just a another example of the impotence of our website.

Border school politics and its slippery slope

Border town’s school principals almost sent to the border to catch their students crossing border.

This is another one of those stories that I’ve been covering long before it hit the national media. Our digital media team still can’t seem to get our website on the board. The Associated Press and CNN called me on this. I gave them some sources. Their stories appeared in Time. My story stayed in the Valley.

This story also demonstrated to me that contrary to popular belief, these border residents do not subscribe to the “immigrant haven” role. Many here feel the pressures of sharing resources with non-citizens and don’t like it.

Dualistic Existence: A Border Story

Mexicali’s destitute grapple with poor.

I found a shanty town in Mexicali and a woman living in a rudimentary shack. Todd Kranin took a picture of her that got it on the front page. The picture ended up reuniting a brother and sister that haven’t seen each other in ten years.

Man recognizes long lost sister in story.

At first I thought Jesus Trejo may have been mistaken, a retired guy with nothing to do but listen to his “oldies” wanting some attention. I scrutinized him like a Calexico councilman. I talked to his 21-year old son who confirmed the story. And then I requested to see a picture of Lupita. I was convinced I had a story.

Brother reunites with sister in Mexicali

I was almost not going to cover the reunion. But Todd Kranin had convinced me. I wrote this story like I saw it and considering the comments it got on the website, it appeared to touch people. But on a deeper level, the story is just one example of the duality that life at the border is, two states of nationalism, qaulities of life, language, even tacos.

Mexicali Cops

Child molesters and rapists in custody do get differential treatment at Agent Alfredo Arenas Moreno’s jail.

I wrote a story about the Mexican cop who located and arrested the Nebraska school teacher that ran off with her 13-year old student to Mexicali months before the story broke out in the national media. And I depicted him a bit differently than the way the Associated Press did.

Border Over Troubled Waters: The New River, Its Pollution and Apathy

The New River is less of an open sewer than ever before, but its still susceptible to being Mexicali’s toilet.

Slaughterhouse waste, industrial discard and garbage are still flowing into the New River.

After millions of U.S. EPA dollars and efforts in a waste water treatment plant in Mexicali, they had to admit they had little control over how the Mexicans would operate the plant. Prior, they had painted a rosy picture to me. It wasn’t until I visited the plant and obtained the most recent water quality data that they changed their tone.

Calexico Residents Blame Cancer and Ailments on New River

The river’s stench is undeniable. Most of the 15 or so residents I spoke with attributed some kind of ailment to the river-cancer, headaches, asthma. But they seemed genuine happy there. Yes, the rent is cheap in that part of town but if they sincerely believe the river is harming them, why do they stay. Then it occurred to me that all of the residents I spoke with were Spanish-speaking only. Contrary to general belief, this border town is not dominated by Spanish speakers. It has a sizable bilingual and professional demographic. These residents  on the west side of town were all recent arrivals from Mexico. They are accustomed to living with environmental hazards. I wanted to develop this part of the story. But my deadline was near and my editor wanted the story.

Border Town

Did city dupe U.S. Customs and Border Protection? Since Sept. 11, this border town has significantly increased its sales tax revenue while at the same time complained that long wait times at the border has choked its economy and subsequently gained concessions from a sympathetic U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

I requested to see Calexico’s sales tax revenue data to compare it with its neighbor across the border, Mexicali. I expected to see an inverse relationship. I expected to see Calexico’s revenue drop while Mexicali’s raise. After all, Calexico had been complaining that the long wait at the border was crippling the economy. Less Mexicali shoppers crossed because of it and forgone on the goods available at the U.S., they claimed. I was surprised to see that Calexico’s share had actually increased since 9/11. This while a new U.S. Customs and Border Protection port director made much concessions to the city in extending the hours of a peripheral port. I don’t know how those sales tax figures fit in to the whole picture, but it is definitely not something city officials had brought up before.

I saved the story for a week and published it the day Rep. Bob Filner came to the Valley and spoke with all the Chamber of Commerces, presumably about how the border wait times negatively impacted the region. I wanted to give Filner something to think about.