War and Migration: Life on the Mexican Frontier

In a summer of anti-Mexican rhetoric, dramatic drug lord jailbreaks and an international migration crisis, I traveled by train and bus across northern Mexico to see what the real story was. I wanted to go beyond the anger and the divisive language to understand the context of the debate. Some politicians in the United States are proposing that we build a wall along our borders, yet Donald Trump has gone as far as to call Mexicans rapists and murderers. On the other hand some political leaders have pointed to the success of NAFTA in facilitating the growth of the middle class in Mexico and reducing the poverty that fuels the crime and the desire to emigrate. I am using these images to provide a context for understanding the debate in our country.