Borderlinks Class Trip to Nogales

One of our first stops in Nogales was at Grupos Beta.  Grupos Beta is a Mexican Migration Agency that seeks to accomplish the task of giving correct and crucial information to immigrants and deportees.  They hand out helpful packets and booklets, give out water and food, and as much information as possible, including medical information such as CPR.

The meeting that we held at Grupos Beta was with an official of the state, as well as conversations with recently deported citizens of Mexico was quite knowledgeable.  When the official was informing us about the origins of Grupos Beta and what the organization actual does, it interested me to find out that most immigrants who are trying to get to the United States are unaware of what the passage endures.  He handed out little packets of information describing what is necessary when crossing the border. 

Within the packet it advises on what type of foods to bring and even describes to mix water, sugar, and salt together to create a beverage that helps prevent dehydration.  The packet also illustrates what actions to perform if you are reprehended by the Border Patrol, such as not to run, so that you do not become lost, and to also place you hands out in front of you, so that you are not considered to be a threat and also educations them on correct footwear and clothing.  The packet seemed to provide fundamental information but, it was surprising when the official told us that most migrants discard it.

I was oblivious to the fact that most of the migrants trying to reach the U.S. did not and do not have any information in what they must actually go through and how far the journey is.  The knowledge that I gained during the visit, was that most migrants think that the U.S is only about a day’s walk away and that some do not even bring water along with them. 

The deportees that we spoke with at Grupos Beta were a perfect example of how uninformed they can be.  There was a group of seven trying to cross the border, which after four days they were detained by Border Patrol.  They discussed their situation in which they were placed in once they began to cross the desert.  They did not have any water or food with them, the elder gentlemen of the group was wearing slip-on sandals, and their guide abandoned them.  They were unaware of which direction they should continue in or even what to do from there, so when one of the gentlemen traveling with them became injured they were forced to find a road with the hope that they would be picked up by the Border Patrol, so that they could seek help.

Another interesting part of the visit to Nogales was that to the maquiladora.  The maquiladora is a large manufacturing operation or factory, mainly supported by international corporations in order to obtain inexpensive manual labor.  Within this maquiladora we met with the Human Resource Manager.  The most interesting, in fact surprising piece of information that we received from her, was that the average wage of the manual labor worker was about seven dollars a day.  We were amazed by this information and she quickly came to her defense in saying that this maquiladora was one of the higher paying jobs and that they offer excellent benefits to their employees.  It was even more of a shock when we asked her what the average wage of a manager was and she responded, about two hundred dollars a day.

I was aware that Mexico had very low paying jobs, but I did not know exactly what the wages were.  We completed a market basket survey, in which we compared the cost of necessary provisions to the minimum wage in the U.S. and in Mexico.  Once completing this survey, it was astonishing to learn that it is very nearly impossible to live off the low wages paid to the Mexican workers and that common goods in the U.S., such as milk and diapers, are too expensive for the average worker to afford.