Rain forest, paraguays guerrilla insurgency and the shifting politics of antarctica. He was also the New York Times bureau chief until then, covering issues including president hugo chavezs political movement, columbias long internal war and indigenous politics. Please give a warm welcome to mister simon romero. [applause] thank you for the very kind introduction. I will move on and introduce this wonderful panel i have the privilege of moderating. We have cecilia balli, cultural and apologist and writer at large on texas monthly. Her work focuses on the usmexico border and the history and culture of south texas. Her writing has appeared in harpers magazine and the New York Times. [applause] Angela Kocherga is a multimedia journalist to cover the usmexico border and mexicos interior for television, newspapers, and radio and mexicos border chief for a major broadcasting group. C is the Southern New Mexico border reporter for a special contributor for public radio and television. [applause] Alfredo Corchado is the mexico border correspondent for the Dallas Morning News where he has covered us mexico issues since 1993. He has reported for the El Paso Herald post in the wall street journal and is the author of homelands and midnight in mexico. [applause diving right in i want to ask you a question about the place you come from and the connection it has for you. You and i share something in that we are descendents of people who arrived a long time ago in what is now texas and the us southwest and in fact your family used to control what is now known as padre island in south texas. Tell us a little bit about that and how it influences your coverage of the usmexico border. We dont have that land. I dont own a condominium. There is a long history of lands held by Mexican American citizens after the mexican war. On my mother and fathers side, they came to the area in the 1700s in the middle of the 18th century and were part of these initial settlements that emerged along the rio grande, the river was a source of sustenance of life in these communities emerged on either side of the river. Eventually when the river became our border after the us mexican war the families and it up on either side. I only have one grandmother from mexico, from the interior, my other three grandparents are from this region. I dont have a lot of family in mexico or the us, people dont know my last name in either country, i am from the border, it feels like home and it doesnt feel like the edge of anything. Sounds like a long history of us being there. We will discuss how that changed but for me i grew up with a strong sense of rootedness and this is under so much dispute. You grew up on both sides of the border. You have that ability to move between both worlds in a way. How did that influence you into moving into journalism and working on the border itself . Im grateful to my mother because she did raise me on both sides of the border. I was born in mexico city, raised in guadalajara. Ten years old back to the us, moved to the same place where cecelia grew up, Rio Grande Valley. It was kind of a confusing place. A lot of people looked mexican to me but dont speak spanish and i had to understand this very unique language of spanglish, and try to understand that but over time the border is the only place i feel truly at home. A place where i and many people move back and forth seamlessly and im not talking about the infrastructure but the bilingual, by national border, i feel fortunate to have that experience and it has shaped who i am and helped inform all of my reporting. I am trying to service a bridge of understanding and it is a place where we dont have to think of ourselves as either or but more. Tell us a little bit about el pasos history especially its history of welcoming immigrants from all over the place and kind of functioning as ellis island for that part of the United States. How did that come about . How did that emerge . I was born in mexico. My father as a kid that is what my father talked about moving to the United States, the saddest conversations we would have. None of us, my brothers and my mother wanted to come north. We came because of immigration signed by lyndon b. Johnson, 65. I remember waiting for permanent green cards and at the franklin mountain, seeing the big story, the christmas season, this thing of that is where we want to go and where they are forcing us to go. It felt very much in retrospect, we came through a neighborhood which i would say millions of immigrants especially mexicanamericans, that was our ellis island in the southwest and we came through there on the way to california, central valley. My mother as a kid would never really sheets, towels or anything, she would put over money and sort of look forward to moving back to the border. To us the border at that time was like a holy land in a way, the annual pale image when we go back to el paso and always counting the days that we would make the move. As a journalist i was very much influenced and inspired by a correspondent at the la times. This notion that you can understand both sides and somehow bring both sides to the reader through journalism, even today i think i feel complete as a person reporting on both sides of the border. That is the ultimate feeling. When you know that you can crisscross and hopefully make americans understand and mexicans understand what it is to be bilingual, bicultural. I think as all of us in this room now, it was an eventful year on the usmexico border, we are covering issues like family separation and imprisonment of Migrant Children on their own in these facilities, the rather shocking, shattering massacre in el paso that took place in august when a gunman went into the walmart and targeted people because of their ethnicity, how did that reflect when it compares with the coverage you have done with difficult events on the border what has made this year stand out in a different way . There have been dark days on the border especially in el paso for all the reasons you said, it really stunned people, it was clear once the alleged gunman was taken into custody that el paso, we were chosen from the attack because of who we are and where we live and every mass shooting is horrible in its own way but that one in particular hit so close to home. I covered such violence which is spiking again. The thing that was standing, it happened in his everyday place when people on both sides of the border normal shopping. Combined with all the other heartbreaking stories it has been tough but i have been inspired by the resilience of border residents on both sides especially el paso, sitting a real example and this idea of tolerance, that is a place of tolerance and there are things we can learn from the el paso experience. The border plays occupies such a big place in the public imagination and especially in policymaking, so much antiimmigration rhetoric, the border is portrayed as this incredibly dangerous place and of course there have been calls to build more of a wall and barriers along the border. What does that feel like in south texas these days . What is the reaction to the wall and possibly a portion of private wall coming to south texas . We already have a good bit of border fencing built in 20082010. Back then, the communities along south texas were highly opposed to the wall. We call the defense back then and now we are openly admitting the function of it is more of a wall. The researcher in texas said he has done data crunching that shows there is a perfect relationship between how close you are to the border and whether you support the wall. We know the wall is symbolic, that people want it the farther they are from the border, the more they wanted. That is not to say border residents dont want different kinds of enforcement but the wall itself is the climax of all the political theater and i think people in south texas are tired of that. They know it replaced people come for photo ops and then they leave and folks are not investing in the region and communities are having to step in and provide difficult moments, provide for migrant families because the government are not doing that but i would say there has been a buildup of this. In the past 20 or 30 years and throughout history, this is an explosion of trends we have been living through on the border and the beginning of the border, the buildup of border enforcement began a long time ago but in the 1990s we started having this deterrent strategy that focused Border Agents in particular cities and under president bush, george w. Bush, the wall approved but then it was built under president obama. I dont live there anymore but spent a lot of time there. We are used to this, more and more stops and searches on the us side. Even if you cross to the mexican side. The last thing i will say is after 9 11 the stakes were raised when people started talking about the border differently and using the term Border Security which correlated with National Security so the implication was the threat to the country was at the border. I see a lot of change during that time and we have to be attentive to the language we use because it was changing into the language of Border Security that both Political Parties take for granted, that there is some persistent threat that needs to be addressed on the border. I want to ask a question about warez and el paso. I was recently in warez in the downtown part of the city and there was a band that was playing of all things Creedence Clearwater revival cover song in english and doing it fantastically well and i was like whoa. Where else but in the border city are you going to find that . Mexico city. Mexico city, okay. Tell us a little bit about the cultural life between these two cities. Where is the center of vibrancy . Is there more in el paso or cross pollination going on. Between people on both sides. Specifically, there is this history that by nationality, want gabriel plays a huge role. The last area was a clearwater sign. Forget the name. That kind of explains the bicultural part of it. It is an area in south texas, accordion music. High schools and colleges, makes them feel a sense of confidence, confident about belonging on both sides of the border. When we live in california my mother would say we want to go to the place where people wore ties. We grew up in the San Joaquin Valley and there were usually people on the field. Years later i understood that, they can claim both sides of the border and you dont feel you have to choose one side or the other and that goes with music, food and drinks. You mentioned when you were growing up you had to decipher a new language called spanglish which has experienced a huge growth and evolution. Walk around the streets of la, it is fantastic for spanglish that you hear all the time. What does that mean on a daytoday basis work wise . Do you do interviews in english, spanish, spanglish, do you know when to mix and when not to . Really both. It is frowned on in mexico city. I really think the border is a state of mine and be on the border you are seeing blending of cultures and languages and the border is a peek into the future. It is young majority, latino, mexicanamerican, american mexican and so these are communities that reflect the future. That can be confusing and create fear for people away from the border but we have learned something in the blending of cultures and the economy. We depend on each other, the us side, we depend on mexico, we have family ties, all sorts of ties that bind and we dont always get along or like each other but we learned a long time ago we need each other. That is something that on the border we need to learn beyond the border and accept that fact and stop fighting about it and figure out a way to make this new reality work because it is here. You cant turn back time. It is like what san diego and tijuana went through at the height of violence, san diego was going to turn its back on tijuana. All along the u. S. Mexico border. Mexico citys are larger, economically more vibrant, so and sanhave tijuana diego and it is a symbol that we need each other, we need to work this out together. But what happened in tijuana was interesting, because tijuana we have to reinvent ourselves. We cant just the gringos coming down, so they get into a culture, into the wine industry, the Food Industry and its become a much, much more vibrant region. A lot of other border communities have much to learn from that. To think of the border as one Big Community were a borderline was composed but at the end of the day you talk about walls, talk about fences, were really the same people. We are one community. You go back and forth all the time here you dont talk about you want to go to mexico, to the United States. One fact of life related to that is for people who live on the border or even i think as much as 100 miles from the border is the checkpoints and just it almost becomes something natural. You have to stop and you, you know, declare your citizenship and you are gazed at by a Border Patrol officer and they determine whether you are a risk or not. Do you think the rest of the country, cecilia, has a grasp on what that means on a day to day to be viewed by your own government as someone who is not entirely trustworthy perhaps . I dont think the rest of the country can imagine what that is like, and i dont think the rest of the country would be ok with that happening in new york or any other part of the country. We do have interior checkpoints that have been there since the 1970s, maybe. If you grew up crossing the border, like i did to visit my grandmother, every time you come back in, you are questions by you are questioned by the customs officer. We were kids and they would check to see if we were lying, and we didnt have passports say,then but they would are you a citizen, where you live, what school do you go to . I have been doing a Research Study on latino voters and voters throughout texas, and when you are subjected to that constant questioning of who you it and whether you belong leads to people not participating in the political system, having all kinds of. Ears and this doubt or fear any time you are around any kind of law enforcement. Theother thing we had at same time was a real deep sense of who we were because of the deep cultural immersion and. Raditions we had that problem continues and we have to think about whether we would allow this to happen to all americans, to be constantly questioned. Simon to be considered not innocent until Proven Guilty almost. Right. Yes. Its hard to know at this checkpoint. You dont have as many rights as you do in the interior, and you never know exactly what rights you have, and so they take advantage of that and its a life of questioning. Especially when you talk about so Much Technology nowadays. They pretty much know whos coming in and coming out but they still subject you to, claiming constantly whether your u. S. Citizen. And Border Patrol agents can get your phone and go through it and look at your contacts and websites youve beenn visiting and what text messages, he who youre been texting, find out what sources youg been communicating with. Thats becoming more prevalent in the last two and half years with this administration. Its almost like the federal agents feel much more empowered to sort of invade your privacy. Related to that point, this is for anyone on the panel, one thing that strikes me about Security Forces and Border Patrol is that it is largely a Latino Organization made up of, i think it is easily half of the workforce now. That creates some difficult, perhaps conflicted loyalties. These are people who may be arresting relatives of their neighbors or Something Like that, a lot of small towns. Angela, whats it like beauty with Border Patrol and trying to get information out of them . There are two things. First theres the actual Border Patrol agents were out in the field, and if to be honest with you as a very good federal job for people who would like to stay in the own community. Wellpaying at a lot of people get to stay at home and in a lot of these communities there arent a lot of great jobs and there is a brain drain. So it is a great opportunity and does create some issues, but it is very common for people to have customs and Border Protection members and their families are in the community. Getting information has become increasingly difficult from actual official agencies. Just little bits and pieces, and we cant find out certain things like how much detention space, why are people forced to wait in mexico if numbers have gone down, they have camped out in border cities when we are told there arent as many migrants coming, so this should be some space if you want to go through the asylum process. I will harken back to a story i did earlier this year. The Border Patrol agents were first to sound the alarm about horrible conditions inside these holding cells. We are of the, community, this is not what we signed up for and we dont want to see these families in these conditions. So it has been a tough year for them and i think its had an impact, but yes,n very, dont lots of Border Patrol agents living in the community, going to school with parents, family, friends. I would say like anything on the border, nothing is really black and white. Working with an editor in mexico for, we were doing a piece the new yorker, a series of stories on conflicted loyalties of agents. I remember the orders from mexico city was, they must be conflicted, they are mexicanamericans, they must feel for their compatriots, etc. Maybe not. That was the point of the story. There was more of a sense like you have to prove that you are an american, that you are defending the country. They are patriots. Mexicanamericans are very patriotic too. They are very patriotic. I think that really kind of shook the belief in mexico city as well, we were so wrong about that. I love texas, imov fascinatd by texas. Its so different from new mexico where im from, and the way that the border has been depicted in schoolbooks and in history books, thats evolved overan time. Whats that been like coming from a a background also in addition toat journalism, with a phda and coming from academia, what stefan like to watch that evolution the way the border, how the border is portrayed within texas itself . Well, growing up we were not told the stories about families like mine that it been a long time. Was the Texas Revolution the narrative about the war was rewritten so that it was made into a racial war when it was not a racial war. It was about what system of Government People wanted to live under. When he was told about the it was told about the Texas Revolution, it was something dangerous, to be contained. Texas was anglo. We grew up not knowing this story. I actually was in college student, a college trying to study my first year. It was rough coming from a Public School in brownsville. There was a section of history books about brownsville. That is when i started learning my history, in california. Then i dedicated my undergrad studies and phd to unraveling and rewriting the story my families were part of, and trying to understand how latinos and mexicanamericans got washedinet completely of the story of texas. C and i feel like i havent moved onto in other subjects because its an unfinished project. Is there a sense that is changing now, the debate over how schoolchildren should be learning about that . Very slowly. Theres been a fight for mexicanamerican studies curriculum to be accepted by the texas state board of education. In the Rio Grande Valley and the mcallen area theyre starting to incorporate this in the classroom. Its a wonderful thing. I think theres a fear in this country by some people if you have strong identity, if you hang onto your culture, their history, that is a threat to assimilation and a threat to the body politic of this country. My experience has been that the more you know who you are and you are confident you are and its okay to be who you are, the more empowered you are as an american citizen, and the more you can move between different spaces. And so i think that is changing finally but its been a long fight to get there. Alfredo, in one of your recent articles you returned to the site of the shooting in el paso, to that walmart. Tell us about that. What does lookou like now and whats the feeling at the store and surrounding area . Well, walmart just reopened about a week ago. In fact, a week ago. Made sort of a makeshift memorial to the victims. There were tons of rosaries, flowers, pictures of their loved ones. Within 48 hours, it was all gone. Back to theent relatives of the victims. Some of it moved to a nearby park, near the walmart. Did,f the things el paso like many other cities you go through a mass shooting el paso strong, etc. But, in talking to people at the walmart, i dont think we have been able to really process things. I dont think we will ever be the same again. Pasoan. Der and el we areus so hard that still trying to especially as journalist, we just go on to the next story. I dont think we have done this story justice. There is a lot more we have to do to educate both sides. Mexico yesterday, the government, on behalf of 10 mexican victims 49 people were injured. Almost half of them were mexicans. It tells you about both sides. The shooting happened on my fathers 85th birthday. When i think about that shooting, there are all when i think aboutse that shooting, theres all these brought emotions because if theres someone really believes in the american dream, its my father. He brought us to mexico. He wanted to give us a new life, and something, if you have someone from north texas come to el paso to target mexicans, that is a slap in the face to the city, but i think just about to any mexicanamerican who believes in keeping that dream alive, especially in these very divisive, polarized times in this country. If i i can follow up on thai was in el paso a few weeks ago or maybe lastt month, and tryo get a sense of what the mass commit to people. It was hard to get one predominant sense. You are exactly right that people are still processing how to make meaning of it. Its a very wounded city, i got that theres a lot of sadness. But for me we have missed the opportunity as a country and in texas to have a deeper reflection about what it means to have the worst crime against latinos in modern times, or to have hate crime, a racist hate crime thatha is targeting a different community. In 2015 we had dylann roof who killed nine africanamericans in charleston, south carolina, and i feel like he was a white supremacist and i feel like we took more timehe as the country with that incident to reflect on what it meant that we were here as a country. We didnt do the same with the el paso shooting, i feel, or not enough. One of the issues, going back to the point i made earlier, is that we have historically in texas and i think in the country thought of mexicans and mexicanamericans as outsiders. I just mention how we were completely erase from her own story, our ownn history that happen in other parts of the southwest as well. We are a community that is always seem perpetual s400s, as outsiders, and we dont have with understanding as the country our race problems around mexicans, mexicanamericans and latinos. We understand xenophobia but if you like the conversation needs to go beyond that. Needs to goco deeper. How, angela, is it playing out particularly on the border these days . . There was of course one of the candidates who is dropped out of the race is beto orourke and he spoke a lot about these issues. And yet Julian Castro talked a lot about these issues. Is there a sense that the border is included in the National Political debate, orders are still a sense that is neglected . How are you think . Its always include as kind of this flashpoint of crisis, whether its humanitarian crisis or securitys, crisis. In some campaigns as a dangerous no mans land overrun by criminals, which couldnt be further from the truth. Some u. S. Border cities are among the safest in the country. Being ae about borders safe place, everybody does, but they also care about health care, job creation. People are tired of only being i talked about the wall. We have a wall along big stretches of border. People have various views about it. Most people on the border polled are against the wall because it is an ineffective tool. They would like to see a more sophisticated look, both at Border Security issues, but more than that, issues that matter to border residents. There are issues with poverty that need to be addressed. Will we see voter turnout in these largely latino regions of the border . Will people turn out . What will it take for people to turn out . He didto orourke ran not win the election against ted cruz he motivated voters and young people to go to the polls. We will see we will see what happens if people would be motivated if they think the candidates are actually speaking to them. If i can add, i know the topic tonight is what can the rest of the country learn from the border, but i think the border can also learn a lot from california and 187. Having lived in california, i have aam big family here, thats one of the things the plate in my mind right after the shooting was, you know, will this finally motivate people to participate, to come out and vote, whether democrat or republican, really make themselves counted. The ultimate test is show up at the polls. So yes, beto did motivate a lot of people to vote. But i hope this trend continues and that el paso ones and people all alongas the border can finay come out, turn out and say were not against that. We really matter. And we dont want washington or some other city to write our narrative. We want to write our own border story and define who we are. It does work. Thats what the keep doing. It does work, yes. One of the things that have been mostst impressed by in my reporting trips to the border is just a place like annunciation house which is an Incredible Organization in el paso that assists refugees and asylumseekers andnd migrant families in many different ways. And how theres been sort of an organic growth of real activism among border residents to kind of solve these issues on their own, because they know that the federal or state or city governments are not going to solve these things for them. They really step in, you know, into that role. Is that something rest of the coach can look at maybe ncdot hey, is a real sense of solidarity and social cohesion on the border that is overlooked . E cecilia, how do you see that happening . You are coming from houston also which is a different dynamic. Yes. Is about social cohesion, i really like that. I do think that what the border has going for it, a strong sense of family, strong sense of community. I apologize, im about to speeders a lot of groups were intervening. And interfaith groups, groups working together which is different. Ive been doing it oneonone indepth interviews with voters and nonvoters. People and operatives but in the political process but theyre deeply engaged in their communities. Its not a lack of agency, not a lack of a since they can make a difference in their own lives but are doing it in these ways, historically, the border has had to do that for itself also. I do i think that something fors we can learn from. Enunciation house, one of the stories we missed as journalists is the impact that sad on the rest of the country. When you have volunteers cominn from wyoming, montana, from different parts of the country say, i want to spend a week, i went to spend a month and help out. Thats a a pretty helpful story for the country. Its not just gloom and doom. There are pockets of people that actually care. They really give a damn. I mean, we are not alone. All this attention has brought so many groups down to experience it firsthand. I would also say people can learn from the, especially volatile place like enunciation house. As americans come crossing borders is ins, our dna. On the border we see everyday. We dont have to be reminded that this is a country of immigrants. I think we understand that we can remind the rest of the country, and where people come to see, some of the poorest communities reaching out and do what they cant on both sides of the border. I was at these migrant intensities were mexican i asylumseekers are stuck and it getting donations from people who do knowst and remember becae that once with the people arriving at the border looking for a new opportunity. Theres an organization in juice and that did study of topic schools in the Rio Grande Valley of south texas and the found these schools with their high levels of poverty were outperforming other Public Schools in the state. They didnt know how to explain it and we started doing Qualitative Research and found these other intangibles that led to higher performance than you would expect in these communities, somethings like the investment of the whole community in the school, the parents knowing each other. I do think therehe are other gas that are hard to quantify and to see frome a distance when witchs is focusing on the politics. I think we are ready for questions. Thank you so much. We have another round of applause for our guests . [applause] we have time now for a few questions, so please raise your hand and one of our to make people on the side with microphone will call on you. Please sigourney before your question and keep it concise so we can respect everyone elses question asqu well. Debbie will have the first question over there on the left. Hello. My name is sean anymore and im a lawyer and screenwriter. Thank you for this. This is wonderful. My question is, is there a Cultural Practice that using present on the mexican side of the border that you wish were present in the United States, and vice versa . Is a Cultural Practice in the United States that you wish were present in mexico as well . I think more humility on the u. S. Side of the border would go long ways. [applause] and i think respect for rule of law on the mexican side. I think that would empower both communities even more. Do we have another question . Buenos noches. Thank you for creating this sacred space. You mentioned about settlements. I cannot stop and think about palestinian children locked up in israeli jails. Should palestinian children be locked up and our children be locked in cages at checkpoints . Palestinians have to go through checkpoints, security, so there is a lot of connections. Has there been any studies or correlation that you guys have been able to do investigative reporting to make that connection between palestinian and mexican children . Isen times the saddest part we dont make those connections. I have this palestinian bracelet i had this policy to a bracelet on cannot talk about being in solidarity with our brothers and sisters. So the ever present and read to keep them present in our hearts. Thank you. The connection is how does this study that connects us . I dont know of any any think having that exchange and we should take border journalists there and have journalism there come here. I did have a graduate student when i was teaching at the university of texas at austin who came to me because she was doing work in palestine and saw the correlations. We have thought about the conference ise being fairly different, and one thing about the border here, weve always been trying to open it and close it at the same time. Theres less talk about under the Current Administration but the previous president s were always talking about how to minimize the amount of time of waiting on the border, how to get more tractortrailers to come through and at the same time how to stop more of the goods that are illicit. Its a very specific kind of border here but i think as the enforcement has increased, we are seeing some of the same companies that invest in both places are behind the technology that is being used so i think its a good conversation that we are not having and that we should have. Another question over on your left. Ul buenos noches. I grew up in los angeles but for the past to take it to ive been living in bisbee arizona which is approximately 20 minutes from the border. Correct in saying a lot of the residents there have been involved in interfaith groups to try to stem the deaths, the humanitarian crisis of people crossing the border on prepared. Unprepared. A lot of people crossing the border trying to make lives in the United States are like people from los angeles, they are city folks. They are going into the desert with open toed shoes and being lied to, those lights over there, that is phoenix. Every year, there are people dying in the desert out of ignorance. With no what we do, more deaths, is to place food, caches of water. Also we go over to the other side. I wanted to know how many people were actually aware of the continuing deaths . Because its no longer being covered. Ca scott warren recently just two days ago was vindicated for basically doing this kind of work while our administration is going full board trying to prosecute. Thats a great question. I dont think many people are aware of the Civil Society groups, the ngos that do the kind of work along the border. Scott warren come his acquittal was Pretty Amazing this week. What is interesting though, one of theon most fantastic source ive done was here in california about a group that is based largely out of san diego, and what to do, they are comprised entirely of immigrants themselves. These are people who have day jobs, and what to do is they go out into the desert each weekend and they make it their mission to try to find the remains of people who perished during the crossing, to give the family members some kind of closure, just to know that that is the relative, to identify those bones. Its very difficult work to do. They go out, i mean, on their free time and do this. Its just an Incredible Organization. I think annce example also of immigrants who know what else is going to do it, and theyre doing it. I think thats a really impressive and it very difficult thing to get. There are similar groups up and down the border. Weve seen deaths, arizona is a mainwn place but in the brush in texas, and then children dying in remote areas of new mexico after they crossed the border. This is an ongoing concern and we do rely on these humanitarian organizations to try to provide help. Another question on your right. Thank you so much here we appreciate you coming out. So earlier one of the journalists brought up proposition 187 here in california that happened in 94 in the context of a political awakening. I was wondering if the panel could maybe elaborate on what was it about that that really rejuvenated o or kind of galvanized latinos here in california to vote but hasnt manifested on the border . Whats the difference, like, from your perspective . I think the difference is that we havent, it hasnt inspired enough people to go out and register to vote and actually vote. 187, it was seen as an antiimmigrant measure. What happen in el paso was an of hatred and directed at immigrants. Im hopeful that it will really give people across the border but in the general latino population to register, to vote, to participate. Well see. 2020 is just around the corner. I think if i can add something to that. I covered arizona a lot and arizona went through its own proposition 187 moment with s. B. 1070. The reactions reactions to it were somewhat different in that it was the pressure to weaken that legislation came largely from the business community. Although there also is like a huge outburst of activism and organizing. Arizona is very different from california demographically in that they fit so much migration from other parts of the United States. Especially from the midwest, the rust belt people moving there and bring their politics, often their conservative politics within. Although i think its in the cards that arizona is going to shift as well and its already looking very purple the way that its its congressional delegation is already made up. You see changes taking place just notot as quickly and in a different way that they have in california. Its the next generation. Whenfo i was at their teaching,t was the younger u. S. Citizens, childrendr of migrants who are w playing a key role in registry and organizing. When 87, what we did see [inaudible] we created the largest mass demonstrationn in los angeles. [inaudible] as far as like organization and people taking direct action, we took direct action. [inaudible] do we have any other questions . Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. Your lines about the border sound absolutely amazing. L for those, well, myself who are may be geographically challenged, how many miles, cities, states are recovering like life on the border . Just a geographical size, approximation. About 2000 miles . Forum state on your site and 60 it on the mexican side. I mean, sonora, chihuahua, baja california. Thats on the mexican side. California, arizona, new mexico and texas. Texas takes about 1000 miles of that 2000mile border. If you go down to south texas, within a two hour drive you will pass 14 different crossing points into the United States. Its a lot of downs all along, hugging the Rio Grande River on either side. Some of those towns go way back to the 1700s and so that area has been a continuously inhabited place where you just going from town to town. The big cities and the rural little towns, theres a variety of different types of communities, and the stork trails that cuts through el paso to see you dad. We will close our program there and thank you for joining us. Please do join us for reception right here right now. Before wegh close, on behalf of zocalo public square, thank you again for coming. Please give a huge round of applause to our guests. [applause] [inaudible conversations] more from campaign 2020 coming up president chicken cory booker. The new jersey democratic senator participates in a forum on Civil Liberties hosted by the university of new hampshires law school and the state chapter of the american Civil Liberties union. Live coverage at 1 30 p. M. Eastern over on on cspan. Online at. Online at cspan. Org or the sunlight on the free cspan radio app. Weeknights this week were featuring booktv programs. Tonight we take a look at books on history. Booktv in prime time this week and all day every weekend here on cspan2. This month marks the beginning of the second session of the 116th congress. The house has yet to decide on impeachment managers or send the two articles of impeachment over to the senate. Eventually senators would sit as a jury to get the cases against president trump. We also expect the senate to take up the u. S. Mexicocanada trade agreement, the usmca. Which the house approved before leaving for the holidays. Congress with her president pret trump deliver the state of the Union Address on february 4. Watch the house live on cspan and the senate live on cspan2. This holiday week booktv is on cspan2 every day with primetime features each night. At the turn of the 20th century and early 1900 was considered something almost unamerican. It was a vice of the foreignborn. The antismoking movement of the first two decades of the 20th century kind of road that, a wave of nativism in thinking about what type of behavior is appropriate for nativeborn, healthy americans. Friday at 8 p. M. Eastern donald trump, jr. For me unlike so many of those on the left today that are espousing the incredible purchase of socialism and communism its no longer a french element. Its like mainstream pop culture today. Unlike the liveaction experience to myself. Like ive actually been there. Watch the special airing a booktv this Holiday Weekend every weekend on cspan2. Sounded booktv features the latest books from former trump Deputy AssistantSebastian Gorka and former New York Times labor reporter steven greenhous greenhouse. Starting at noon eastern on in depth with a five conversation with Sebastian Gorka. When i saw those planes flying into the twin towers over the world trade center, i understood that the totalitarians are back. They may not be communists but they are totalitarians. And if you read the works that are from groups like isis are alqaeda, it is clear that america is once again facing a global totalitarian ideology. His latest book is the war from americas soul. Joint in a conversation with your phone calls, tweets and facebook messages. And that ninth eastern on after words Steven Greenhouse talks about his book beatendown, worked up. So many people had no idea what unions do and how unions help ring as the 40 hour workweek and bring as pensions and theres a Bumper Sticker unions are the folks who brought us the weekend. I wanted to explain to people come unions have achieved a whole lot in American History but now they are really have been taking on the chin and as a result things are considerably worse for workers of a them was a case 30, 40 years ago. Watch featured nonfiction authors this weekend and every weekend on booktv on cspan2. My name is adam cook and the 2018 cspans studentcam winter. Im here to encourage you to continue to wrap up this competition as the delight is getting close but dont worry if you still have time. This is about the time i started filming my documentary the first two i entered. Im in the d. C. Offices right now and im just going to tell you that cspan two studentcam was an Incredible Opportunity to express my thoughts and views about Political Climate in the contest was connect with some local and state leaders in political office. Im extremely excited you all are interested in this and are pursuing this because its a onceinalifetime opportunity. Im so excited you all are taking. There still time to enter the cspan studentcam video competition. You have until january 20 to create a five to six minute documentary that explores an issue you want the the presidet candidates to address during camping 2020. Where giving away a total of 100,000 in cash prizes with a grand prize of 5000. For more information go to our website, studentcam. Org. Next, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius hosts a conversation with two expert on iran. They discussed irans political future and its impact on the greater middle east. From december this is about 90 minutes. Ladies and gentlemen, while my fellow panelists are getting wired up let me begin our discussion on iran upheaval and repression. Im David Ignatius, a columnist for the Washington Post, have visited iran several times as a journalist