Lives on the Line: Dispatches from the U.S.-Mexico Border

by Miriam Davidson

Straddling an international border, the twin cities of Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, are in many ways one community. For years the border was less distinct, with Mexicans crossing one way to visit family and friends and tourists crossing the other to roam the curio shops. But as times change, so do places like Nogales. The maquiladora industry has brought jobs, population growth, and environmental degradation to the Mexican side. A crackdown against undocumented immigrants has brought hundreds of Border Patrol agents and a 14-foot-tall steel wall to the U.S. side. Drug smuggling has brought violence to both sides. Neither Nogales will ever be the same.

In Lives on the Line , Miriam Davidson tells five true stories from these border cities to show the real-life effects that the maquiladora boom and the law enforcement crackdown have had on the people of "Ambos (Both) Nogales." Readers will meet Yolanda Sánchez, a single mother who came to work in the factories; Jimmy Teyechea, a cancer victim who became an outspoken environmental activist; Dario Miranda Valenzuela, an undocumented immigrant who was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent; Cristina, a "tunnel kid" who aspired to flee the gang lifestyle; and Hope Torres and Tom Higgins, maquiladora managers who have made unique contributions to the community.

In sharing these stories of people transformed by love and faith, by pain and loss, Davidson relates their experiences to larger issues and shows that, although life on the border is tough, it is not without hope. Lives on the Line is an impassioned look at the changes that have swept the U.S.-Mexico border: the rising tension concerning free trade and militarization, the growing disparity between the affluent and the impoverished. At the same time, the book highlights the positive aspects of change, revealing challenges and opportunities not only for the people who live on the border but for all Americans.

223 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad I happened to pick up this book published in 2000, because it gives a very clear account of the conditions that arose along the Arizona border in the mid 1990s, conditions that gave rise to the problems we're having now. The effect of NAFTA was to encourage US companies to build factories just south of the border in order to take advantage of the shamefully cheap labor and minimal government regulation in Mexico. Thousands of people were drawn from the desperately poor interior to live along the border, employed but still impoverished. Not hard to understand why some were motivated to slip across the line in search of higher wages and better living conditions, while others turned to smuggling drugs to survive. The author also notes that the free flow of commerce between the two nations created an easy path for drug smugglers, who purchased produce and trucking companies in order to have the means to easily slip their contraband through the overtaxed and under-staffed border entry points. By telling the personal stories of some of the residents of Nogales, Sonora and Nogales, Arizona, the author shows that the problems we are now facing were caused in large measure by our own commerce policies, by government indifference and corruption on both sides of the line, and by that perennial spoiler, corporate greed. Our current crisis has been years in the making, and this book is an excellent introduction to the genesis of it.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Davidson's book was published in 2000 so it isn't new, but what the author does well is take you into the lives of border dwellers on the U.S.-Mexican border at Nogales. Her work gives the reader in a look, often mind opening, at the issues of the border, be that immigration, environmental problems, economic or humanitarian issues. The people one meets in her book and their stories will not be forgotten. Davidson is not proposing grand plans, making broad over-arching statements, (those often prove wrong), nor on a crusade. Rather she simply asks the reader to look at the U.S. Mexican border, in this specific place, with a different lens, one that admits a compassion that lets the reader see the complexity of border communities. She knows that the problems and possibilities of the border will require a bi-national effort. This idea is often lost in angry calls for a quick fix by politicians and others not really familiar with the border.

[Krystyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read 40+ pgs of this book in the bookstore alone. I just moved to Nogales, AZ in January and I have found this book to be very helpful in providing me a background of the Ambos Nogales areas. The book is very well written and keeps you interested from cover to cover. Living in the area and being able to directly relate to the book is a plus, however anyone interested in the US-Mexico Border would find this book to be a spectacular read. Enjoy!!

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great introduction to US/Mexico border issues. Some issues are well-researched, like environment and health and community activism around these concerns. Some issues are handled a bit superficially, like street/tunnel kids. Book spends time on a few specific people and stories which makes it a quick read.

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

A diverse look at issues on both sides of the Mexico/US border. Covers stories of individuals in the various groups who are most affected by the border--border patrol, cancer victims, tunnel kids, maquiladora workers, etc. Great high-level view of the big picture.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every American should read this. Mexico isn't just this place to south of the U.S. Our countries rely on each other and it's well passed the time to recognize that.