This blog builds off of experiences from previous blogs. It may be helpful to read the previous ones: Week 1, Week 2, Week 2.5, Week 3, Week 4.

Arizona Government and the Borderlands

We have spent a lot of our time in the borderlands thus far learning through a mostly community-based lens. This week, we took a different approach and went to the Arizona Governor’s Office in Phoenix.

Through this experience, we met with the Governor’s Tribal Affairs Team, who spoke about the office’s engagement with indigenous communities in Arizona. In this meeting, we learned that there are 22 tribes and nations in Arizona, meaning Arizona has the third largest Native American population in the US. The land of the Tohono O’odham nation that we had previously visited is the size of Connecticut, leading to Tribal Affairs being an important part and priority of Governor Katie Hobbs. The department covers statutory responsibilities, leader-to-leader engagement, housing, water, broadband, infrastructure, Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, traditional healing, sober living crisis, and education. Through these areas, they work with tribes to build relationships of trust. Many of the people in the Tribal Affairs Office are themselves part of tribes, which influences their philosophy and understanding when interacting with tribes. It was interesting to learn about the topics we have been learning about since the beginning of our program from a new perspective. They discussed some of the programs they are working to implement to support tribes.

Additionally, we spoke to members of the Arizona-Mexico Commission (AMC). This organization works on advocacy, trade, information, and partnerships between Arizona and Sonora, MX. They have done a lot of work on trade and relations with Mexico when it comes to tariffs, but they also collaborate on projects like ports of entry, real estate, and health. Agribusiness is also very important to the AMC.

Produce

Throughout our time in the borderlands, we learned about the economic importance of this region. Last year, Northbound trade with Mexico and the US was around 800 billion dollars. This week, we met Jaime Chamberlain of Chamberlain Distributing in Nogales, AZ. The distributing company is a produce wholesaler that transports produce from Mexico into the US. Jaime said he had been part of the produce business since he was 8 years old and that his company was originally started by his parents. He grew up in the border region and finds dispelling myths about the border very important. He spends a lot of time not only running his business, but also being on the boards of several non-profit organizations. He was also the only republican put back onto the AMC when Governor Hobbs was elected to office.

Jaime held many interesting and nuanced views, having grown up in California during the era of Cesar Chavez’s activism. He expressed his frustration of having to identify as either Chicano or a Cowboy at the time. His family helped run the produce business they were a part of, which meant that he did not feel that he was entirely part of the workers who were central to Chavez’s movement. Additionally, although he spoke about sometimes having positive relationships with Customs and Border Protection Agents, he also expressed his frustration at how some individuals treated people trying to enter the country legally.

It was helpful to hear his perspective to gain a better understanding of priorities in the borderlands that do not directly pertain to migration. It is also important to understand how nuanced individuals’ views can be in the borderlands and how things are rarely black and white.

Voices from the Border

Voices from the Border is an organization I have mentioned before. This organization funds the apartments where asylum seekers stay in Nogales, Sonora. We met with India Aubrey, one of the founders of the organization. She explained that it began as a direct result of Trump’s first election. India spoke with her friends, and they started what is now known as Voices from the Border. They organized several events, including a cross-border Mother’s Day, which led to mothers holding hands through the border wall. This organization does everything it can to uplift voices from the borderlands and reshape the narrative around the borderlands.

As I finish up my time in the borderlands, I reflect on the incredibly impactful work of individuals and groups. When it comes to personal accountability, the people I met in the borderlands demonstrate it more than anyone I have met in my life. I am so inspired by people like India, who chose to take action when they saw an issue in the world. The work she and Voices from the Border have done has truly made an incredible impact on so many people. For it to begin so small and to have such an impact shows the power of taking action. If everyone took some lessons from these individuals with them and acted when they saw injustice, rather than hoping someone else will take action, I believe it could truly change the world for the better.