June 29, 2018

There’s Still So Much of the Border Crisis to Cover. We’re There. Here Are Our Video Dispatches

“This is about humanity and how we’re treating each other.” 

A the border crossing between Bownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Mexico, migrants are forced to rely on donations of food and water from volunteers.Noah Lanard/ Mother Jones

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The White House may have officially ended its policies of dividing families at the border last week, but roughly 2,000 children are still separated from their parents, and migrants seeking asylum continue to be turned away by US Customs and Border Protection officers. For the last week, Mother Jones reporter Noah Lanard and filmmaker Mark Helenowski were in Texas and Mexico, and spent some time on the bridge between Brownsville and Matamoros, following the stories of some of the people there who were still hoping to enter the United States.

During the first two days, they saw a number of families waiting for stretches of eight hours or more to claim asylum. Many of the migrants were women and children, and lacked basic necessities such as water or diapers, much less cellphones. They relied completely on donations from strangers, and many didn’t know where they would sleep if they were denied asylum. One Mexican woman, who had been there since six in the morning, came to claim asylum for herself and the daughter of her recently murdered sister. They had been waiting for over eight hours by the time Mother Jones spoke with them. 

Right in the middle of the bridge is a tent where CBP officials have been telling families they cannot enter the United States. This tactic, which started approximately a month ago, violates US and international asylum policies. Families on the bridge could endure waits that last anywhere from one to two days to up to a week. 

On Thursday, Mother Jones continued its coverage from a rally at a federal court in Brownsville, where many had gathered to protest. “This is personal to me, this is why I’m here,” Norma Garcia-Lopez, who was a Mexican immigrant herself, told Mother Jones. “This is no longer about political lines. This is about humanity and how we’re treating each other.” 

You can continue to follow Mother Jones‘ reporting from the border live on our Twitter account.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

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