I accompanied one of the many border militias of the Rio Grande Valley on one of their nightly patrols on the lookout for ‘illegals.’ The following is just one of the countless armed groups -both licit and illicit- who inhabit the border area that migrants might encounter on their way to El Norte.
Texas’ Rio Grande Valley is currently the most important transit point for north and southbound traffic of contraband, including people, on the US-MEX border. In 2014, the valley made international headlines as the numbers of Central American unaccompanied minors entering the United States grew dramatically. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
Law enforcement agencies from all different stripes descended upon the border. The Rio Grande, shown here, is the natural border between Texas and Mexico. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
A Mexican gang member belonging to the Valluco gang taunts authorities on the US side. Street gangs on both sides of the border are often employed by organized crime to smuggle people across the river as well as within Texas itself by bypassing the various migration checkpoints. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
A country road between ranches on the US-Mexico border. Smugglers within the US use these roads after picking up migrants, looking to blend in with regular traffic in the surrounding towns of McAllen, Brownsville and Laredo. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
Bottles left by migrants after crossing the river. Once in Texas, migrants are given directions on where to wait for pick up. They are then moved to one of many safehouses (known as bodegas). (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
In addition to the different law enforcement agencies patrolling the US-MEX border, local and national border defense militias are popping up along the river. One such militia, Free Nebraska, joined the fray after the migratory crisis began receiving daily coverage by the national media. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
A member of Free Nebraska (FN) stands at attention. This FN militiaman explained that he joined the militia after being left for dead by a Central American gang member who brutally mugged him. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
An FN member shows off the custom AR-15 he recently acquired. He claims most border defense militias are made up of veterans who served in US wars as far back as Vietnam. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
Isaac was outspoken on the migrant crisis. “The cartels’ll get you across the border and then once they do that they basically own you. Now you have to run drugs for them.” (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
Ranches like this one are used by migrants as cover on their way to their assigned pick up point (el levanton). Border Patrol has installed emergency beacons in many of these ranches for migrants who get lost or dehydrated and want to turn themselves in. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
FN members patrol country roads looking for migrants. Most migrants who make it to Texas travel by night. During the day they either hide in designated safehouses (bodegas) or in the bush. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
Isaac, an infantryman in Iraq, was disappointed in national authorities for allowing parts of the country to fall into foreign criminal hands. “What you’ll see up here is what happens when a cartel takes over a town. Its really like a third world country. I never expected to see this in America. Especially Texas.” (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
A cemetery in Los Ebanos, TX. The town is surrounded by the Rio Grande, making it ideal for contraband to be smuggled without being detected. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
A recently-used safehouse in Los Ebanos is cleared by members of FN. Safehouses are filled with migrants in subhuman conditions waiting for an opportunity to continue their journey. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
Wet clothes strewn on the floor of the vacant safehouse. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
Migrants have described safehouses with hundreds of people grouped together in poorly ventilated houses with no access to food or water. Physical abuse and sexual violence are commonplace in the bodegas. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
An FN member finishes clearing a vacant safehouse close to the US-Mexico border. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
Isaac mentioned that while out on patrols he has picked up chatter on his radio scanner of individuals belonging to a Mexican organized crime group attempting to identify what law enforcement agency FN is. Shortly after, Isaac pointed out a group of men watching the FN patrol and claimed they were scouts for a trafficking group that operates in the area. Once the FN vehicle stopped, the men got into their trucks and aggressively drove off. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
A cemetery next to the Rio Grande. (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
Isaac looks towards Mexico at one of the many blind crossings into the US through the Rio Grande. “This section right here is pretty deep and pretty wide. They get in boats, inflatable rafts. Really anything. They’ll tie anything together they can get together that floats.” (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
The Rio Grande seen from the US side with Mexico to the left. Isaac explained why he started coming down to the border. “It needs a lot of manpower in order to shut this inflow of illegals, terrorists, drugs, weapons, you name it. Its coming across our border every single day, every single night. Nobody is doing anything about it.” (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
FN on their way to the next blind crossing on the border. Isaac was firm in saying that their ‘deployment’ was long term, “Since our President won’t do anything to stop it, we feel it’s our responsibility and our duty to come down here to stop these guys from continuing to murder our citizens and taking over our towns.” (Copyright © 2014 Tomas Ayuso – Noria Research. All rights reserved)
