Day at border patrol and courtroom

My experiences today were nothing like I expected. It still felt so strange to me to be in the desert. Our first stop was the border patrol station in Nogales. Nogales is known as the busiest border crossing in the United States.

I had previously viewed the border patrol as "bad people". I hate tv shows that glorify their work, which I view as hunting down innocent people. It's strange though, because just as many people in the US dehumanize undocumented immigrants, I had dehumanized the border patrol. They are people too, who need to bring home a paycheck, and who also feel a strong sense of duty to their country. While I may not feel the same nationalism as they do, I understand their desire to protect their sense of community.

The courthouse was a very interesting experience for me. Initially I thought the streamline idea was good. After the judge had single handedly sentenced around 70 people in under an hour, he talked to us. From what I first gathered, he seemed reasonable. He explained to us that all of these people had committed a crime and that it was right to deport them.

However, we then visited a public defender, who completely changed my perspective. The judge had made it seem that all the prisoners there had committed crimes like distribution of drugs or assault. In actuality, the only "crime" that over 90% of them committed was entering after deportation. I felt like I had been deceived in the courtroom. The public defender went on to say how these trials are completely unconstitutional.

The main thing I learned today was that wrongs being done are not necessarily the fault of anybody I met today. They are just doing their jobs. I believe the real fault lies in congress, who continue to not even entertain the idea of allowing more immigrants to enter legally.