Tales from the border

A single sea of lights forms between Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, as the sun sets over the adjacent border towns on Feb. 17, 2013. Some who live near the border say that at one time, the area felt like a single city, with both Americans and Mexicans crossing into each other's countries with relative ease. Now, some residents argue that enhanced border security has hurt the interconnected nature of the towns. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
An 18-foot tall fence bisects the desert in Sunland Park, N.M., just outside of El Paso, Texas. The United States Border Patrol monitors the area very closely, but they still concede that the fence has not made it impossible to enter the United States. Near the border, debate over the effectiveness of the fence and other security measures has been swirling. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
A United States Border Patrol agent surveys the U.S.-Mexico border on Feb. 19, 2013, in Sunland Park, N.M. Along the border there is little agreement over what security looks like, how effective it has been, if more is needed and if so, at what cost to the federal budget or to generations-old bonds between communities. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
Looking southwest from the no-mans-land between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a jogger is seen running along Ingeniero Bernardo Norzagaray Boulevard. In recent years Ciudad Juarez has devolved into a city with the dubious distinction as the murder capital of the world. After drug cartels battled for control of the drug trade in the city, most people living on the United States side of the fence are hesitant to travel to Juarez. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
Clothes hang to dry on the roof of Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, on Feb. 20, 2013. The facility provides shelter for migrants who are fleeing Central America. Along the border there is little agreement over what security looks like, how effective it has been, if more is needed and at what cost. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
Water flows through the American Canal in El Paso, Texas, on Feb. 18, 2013. Water diverted from the Rio Grande moves through the canal at a high rate of speed and according to the United States Border Patrol, it is not uncommon for immigrants to be swept away by its current. The canal runs alongside the Rio Grande in El Paso. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
A dust storm obscures visibility and sends tumbleweeds hurtling across Highway 9 on the outskirts of Columbus, New Mexico on Feb. 20, 2013. As the border in populated areas such as El Paso has become more secure, migrants are increasingly attempting to cross into the U.S. through rural areas by walking miles through the desert. Many make the attempt with inadequate clothing and supplies and die in the inhospitable climate. Minutes after this image was made the dust storm turned into a snow storm. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
Mariana Amaya, 45, works in the kitchen of Chope's Bar & Cafe in La Mesa, N.M. on Feb. 22, 2013. Amaya is in the United States legally, but her husband was not. He was deported and now she has to cross into nearby Ciudad Juarez every weekend to see him. Before enhanced border security, Mexicans in Juarez and Americans on the other side of the border would cross back and forth with ease. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
From left, Maria Hurtado, 45, a United States citizen, reaches for a bottle of water from her boyfriend, who would identify himself only as "Jose." The pair were having lunch outside of a McDonald's in downtown El Pasod, Texas, on Feb. 20, 2013. Jose says that he has made multiple illegal entries into the United States but that it is difficult to find work. Hurtado says that she follows him. "I stick with him," she says. "Wherever he goes, I go." Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
Van Jacobsen, 59, has lived in Deming, N.M., since 1978. He runs the Adobe Deli, a restaurant about a dozen miles outside of town. He says that the type of undocumented immigrants who came to the United States from Mexico has changed. "In the mid-1980's, people truly came to work," he says. "Every farmer around here hired them. Right around 9/11 you saw them shut down the border and the criminal aspect was coming over rather than the workers." Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
Bruce Phillips, seated, left, and his wife Susan Phillips have lunch at the L&J Cafe in El Paso, Texas, a popular restaurant and bar frequented by both people of Hispanic and Anglo heritage. Some border residents say that the enhanced security has ruined generations-old bonds between communities. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
Rep. Robert "Beto" O'Rourke attends a press conference on immigration rights at the El Paso Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 20, 2013. O'Rourke, a Democrat representing Texas' 16th Congressional District, gained notoriety as a member of the El Paso City Council, where he helped draft a resolution banning Minuteman organizations from patrolling the border around El Paso. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
Shoes and backpacks litter a low-lying area behind a truck stop near interstate 10 in San Simon, Ariz., on Feb. 21, 2013. Undocumented immigrants are known to use the area as a camp while waiting to be picked up. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
Farmer Kim Burton doesn't feel safe and thinks the border needs to be closed more tightly. The tire tracks through the field beside him were put there by a marijuana-filled van that careened through his field and overturned just behind his house in attempt to evade Border Patrol agents. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
Border Patrol agent Vennesa Martinez drives along the fence separating the United States from Mexico on Feb. 19, 2013. The Border Patrol says that the fence has helped deter people from crossing into the United States in populous areas such as El Paso, Texas. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
A man peers from the window of Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, on Feb. 20, 2013. The center offers a safe haven for undocumented immigrants as well as for those who are seeking asylum. The immigration debate tends to center around jobs and border security, but cross-border bonds between families and friends are often overlooked. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
An elderly student studies for his citizenship test in a history class taught by Arturo Benitez at a charity center in downtown El Paso on Feb. 23, 2013. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
Soledad Mendia, 55, is embraced during a celebration at her citizenship class in downtown El Paso. Mendia passed her test, becoming the 279th person whom teacher Arturo Benitez has helped. Mendia says that she has lived in the United States for 22 years and studied for the test for five months. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
Ruben Garcia, director of Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, sits for a portrait. Garcia feels strongly that the current United States border policy does nothing to serve the interests of the border region. "All of this border enforcement has been a strategy, a political strategy, to satisfy the political constituency in the northern part of the United States," he says. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times
Pedestrians exit the Paso del Norte bridge carrying shopping bags. The bridge serves as both a foot path and road connecting Mexico and the United States. The immigration debate tends to center around border security and jobs, but the families that are divided are often overlooked. Edmund D. Fountain / Tampa Bay Times