This is an unintended postscript to my posts about Life on the Border. Yesterday one of the employees who lives on the refuge property drove out of his driveway about 7 or 7:30 am. He found several pickup trucks parked on the refuge road, facing toward US 281, which runs east to west in front of Santa Ana. He wasn't able to get out of his driveway. He watched in disbelief as a group of people ran out of the refuge and hopped in the back of the trucks.
Our employee then was able to get out of his driveway and drove to a local gas station. He went inside for a few minutes, then returned to his truck, only to find someone in the truck bed. He told that man, first in English, then in Spanish, to get out, but the man didn't leave. So our worker called either the police or Border Patrol to help him.
Apparently, the trucks were there to pick up some illegal aliens. One man obviously got into the wrong truck. He was soon under arrest.
Thanks for writing about this. We never felt uneasy anywhere we went while we were in Mission, even the meany times we went to Progreso. We always walked across the border, though, wouldn't consider driving over. Our RV park was gated also but there were several times illegals got in at night to try and use the phones outside the clubhouse that had free long distance for guests. Apparently someone discovered the phones so they would somehow get into the park and call their contacts for a ride. It's sad that people are so desperate to get out of Mexico, and a shame that it makes people feel unsafe to live near the border. Don't think there is a good solution to the problem. We will be back in Mission this winter, though, and hope for the best.
ReplyDelete