Trump’s wall and its aftermath – DW – 02/09/2024

Last winter, thousands of women, men and children waited at the Mexican border for a chance to find a better life in the United States. Authorities estimate that for the past three years, two million people have been crossing the border illegally each year. More than ever before. Some call it an “invasion” and proof of the Biden administration’s failure. Others see it as the logical consequence of the lack of prospects in Latin America and the world in general. The southern border is already the number one issue in the election campaign. The report follows migrants crossing the Rio Grande and volunteers who help them with food on American soil. It also introduces us to Republican and Democratic candidates and supporters in the midst of the election campaign. On the Mexican side, cartels dominate the illegal immigration business. Coyotes must give a portion of their earnings to drug bosses. Otherwise, they may end up dead on a sidewalk. Mexican historian and archivist Oscar Lyman sometimes sees from his office coyotes preparing ladders so that immigrants can jump over Trump’s wall and enter the United States. Well versed in the migration crises of the last three decades and the election campaigns around this issue, he says that hatred of migrants has never been as great as in this campaign of 2017. 2024.