What follows is a report from antiracists in the bay area of california, who took part in a disruption of a talk promoting a new book by a former border patrol agent. Francisco cantu penguin random house speakers bureau. Mexico border, a place cantu first knew through memory as the grandson of a migrant, then through higher learning as he studied international relations in college, then through his profession as a border patrol agent and finally, through poetic recounting as a witness. The writer francisco cantu, who spent years as a border patrol agent, braced for the fury of antiimmigration figures and his former colleagues when he published a haunting memoir. A border patrol chief testifies that francisco galicia. Their supervisor ordered the agents to destroy the provisions. The border between the united states and mexico is in his blood. Francisco cantu never thought he would become a us border patrol agent. Dispatches from the border riverhead books, cantu recounts the physical and emotional toll the experience took on him. The truth about the border in francisco cantus the line. Being hispanic himself, francisco assumed he would learn more about the border and understand it better by working as an agent. Feb 08, 2018 francisco cantu pours conflicted feelings on border patrol job into memoir hell be discussing the line becomes a river twice in dallas. Former border patrol agent francisco cantu discusses. Francisco cantu served as an agent for the united states border patrol in the deserts of arizona, new mexico, and texas from 2008 to 2012.
Protest and controversy surround an exborder patrol agents. Border patrol memoir gets caught up in deportation fight. Descended from mexicans, francisco cantu worked for the border patrol, against his mothers wishes, from 2008 to 2012. No platform for border patrol agent turned book author. The line becomes a river chronicles life in the border patrol. What im saying is that we learn violence by watching others, by seeing it enshrined in institutions. A different perspective on the border the new york times. Customs and border patrol has encountered another group of over 80 unaccompanied minors after they illegally crossed into the united states with 50 other illegal immigrants, the agency.
Francisco cantu served as an agent for the united states border patrol in the. Dec 28, 2018 in the line becomes a river, an invaluable book by francisco cantu, an ex border patrol agent, he quotes his mother as they reflect on how his former job, centered on the bipartisan logic of border security, has affected him. Dispatches from the border, published by riverhead books, presents a firstperson narrative by author and former border patrol agent francisco cantu. Francisco cantu spent four years as a border patrol agent along the arizonamexico border region and the texasmexico border region. Border patrol agents from the santa teresa station in new mexico rescue two toddlers dropped over a border barrier on march 30, 2021. A thirdgeneration mexicanamerican raised in the southwest, his timely lectures on the human realities of the border and. The book bears witness and details his role in governmentsanctioned acts against migrants and explores the emotional toll it takes on him. Sisters dropped by smugglers over 14foot border barrier are. After controversy over his border patrol memoir, francisco. Feb 03, 2018 february 3, 2018 the best book on immigration you will read this year comes from a former border patrol agent francisco cantus the line becomes a river is honest, gripping, and wonderfully. Feb 23, 2018 at a february 19 event in san francisco, at green apple books on the park, roughly 12 activists disrupted cantus reading. When you set out to be a border patrol agent right out of. An autobiographical story told in first person and covering a roughly 10 year period from the authors college graduation with a political science degree through and beyond his four year stint in the u. It is a memoir about working as a us border patrol agent in our southern deserts from 2008 to 2012.
And i mean it just goes back to the same kinds of things, the same kind of dehumanizing language that exists, it permeates. Apr 08, 2018 in a memoir about his duties with the patrol, the line becomes a river. Feb 14, 2018 the line becomes a river has been out only a week, but francisco cantus book has already enraged immigration activists who say cantu exploits others stories of pain and profits. The line becomes a river chronicles life in the border. After two human smugglers dropped the young girls, identified as two ecuadorian sisters aged 3 and 5, over the u. Francisco cantu will be discussing his book the line becomes a river at green apples 1231 9th aveune location in san francisco on monday, february 19 at 7. A border patrol chief testifies that francisco galicia never.
Cantu spent years as a border patrol field agent and intelligence officer, working for a racist organization that has facilitated the deaths of over 7,000 people and the. In a memoir about his duties with the patrol, the line becomes a river. Hes scheduled to appear this weekend at the tucson festival of books. Activists call on bay area bookstores to cancel readings. In the border patrol, much like any military or law enforcement agency, you see your colleagues performing callousness or just making jokes. Sisters dropped by smugglers over 14foot border barrier. They entered the event, forming a circle at the front of the room and, for half an hour, peacefully took turns reading threeminute narratives about abuses committed by the border patrol. Border patrol agent from 2008 to 2012 and is the author of the line becomes a river.
Named a top 10 book of 2018 by npr and the washington post. Portraits of americas southwestern frontier armed authorities watch from a militarygrade surveillance tower as lines of people stream toward the security checkpoint, tickets in hand, anxious and excited to get through the. A former fulbright fellow, he is the recipient of a 2017 whiting award. Paco, the first part of your book is about your time as a border patrol agent. After controversy over his border patrol memoir, francisco cantu. Francisco cantu, a fulbright fellow and pushcart prize winner, joined the patrol in hopes of offering a small comfort to those desperate to cross the border. The line becomes a river is caught halfway between memoir and tone poem, as cantu offers snapshots of his life in and around the border patrol. Debate erupts over memoir by former border patrol agent.
Debate erupts over memoir by former border patrol agent francisco. Feb 14, 2018 francisco cantu never thought he would become a us border patrol agent. Former border patrol agent francisco cantu discusses controversial. Hipster border patrol agent book talk shut down filed under.
He talks about misconceptions about migrants and border agents, as well as. And unlikely pairing perhaps driven by his thirst to understand the issue from both sides of the fence, so. In the line becomes a river, an author looks back on his. The best books about the united states and mexico border. Out on foot takes place in the mysterious otay mountains just east of san diego, california. A new memoir addresses americas cruelest immigration. Agents from the houlton sector are among more than. Similar events across the us have also been disrupted and shut down.
The 32yearold arizonan chronicles his experiences in a new memoir, the line. The grandson of a mexican immigrant, cantu had been studying international relations in college, but became tired of reading. But over the past week, cantu has come under fire as he promotes the books publication. At a february 19 event in san francisco, at green apple books on the park, roughly 12 activists disrupted cantus reading. Francisco cantu is a former us border patrol agent and author of the line. Francisco cantus quietly heartbreaking memoir the line becomes a river explores the reckless contours of the u. Francisco cantu pours conflicted feelings on border patrol. Border patrol chief on thursday testified before the house judiciary committee that 18yearold francisco erwin galicia never claimed to be a u. And i was ignorant of their youth groups and the scale of such propaganda work.
Mar 11, 2018 francisco cantu talked about his book, the line becomes a river. February 3, 2018 the best book on immigration you will read this year comes from a former border patrol agent francisco cantus the line becomes a river is honest, gripping, and wonderfully. Francisco cantu is a third generation mexicanamerican and a former border patrol agent. May 01, 2004 urrea was surprised when he formed a tight bond with kenny smith, a big, softspoken 27year military and border patrol vet whom he calls a kind of patriarch of the wasteland. Feb 27, 2018 the line becomes a river dispatches from the border by francisco cantu 250 pp. Raised in the southwest, and a student of usmexico relations, francisco cantu wanted to see the realities of the border upclose. Border patrol agents are being sent to the southern boarder. Acclaimed border patrol memoir by tucson author francisco.
Border patrol agentturnedauthor meets protests in california. Former border patrol agent discusses misconceptions about. Mar 02, 2018 told in three progressively more soulsearching parts, francisco cantus memoir of his nearly four years as a border patrol agent describes the borderlands and his work there with a rawnerved. He enlisted as a us border patrol agent in 2008 and spent the next four years working in the deserts of arizona, new mexico, and texas. Activists call on bay area bookstores to cancel readings by. His memoir details his experiences as a border patrol agent and the things he learned about the u. Given how fraught the topic has become, its worth being crystalclear right away about. Francisco cantu, author of the line becomes a river. Todd millers book border patrol nation has some eye opening reporting, especially for those of us who live along the border and think we know the facts of the expanding police state. Francisco cantus the line becomes a river is honest, gripping. Feb 18, 2018 a border patrol memoir gets caught up in the deportation fight at age 23, francisco cantu signed up for the u.
Border patrol nation, city lights books description what jeremy scahill was to blackwater, todd miller is to the u. February 26, 2018 protest and controversy surround an ex border patrol agents memoir by ryan harrington. Mar 08, 2018 cantus grandparents migrated north from mexico, he grew up near the border in arizona, and he studied border politics as an undergraduate, but cantus closest relationship to the line in the title of his book was when he served as a border patrol agent in arizona, new mexico, and texas from 2008 to 2012. Dispatches from the border, published by riverhead books, presents a firstperson narrative by author and former border patrol. In a time of often illinformed or downright deceitful political rhetoric, this book is an. The best book on immigration you will read this year comes. Border patrol, telling himself he would be one of the good ones. Former border patrol agent author francisco cantu coming to. Former border patrol agent author francisco cantu coming. We are writing to report back on our action at ex border. The journalists discuss their debut books, writing about borderlands, and the people who. My book is about acknowledging that, its about thinking through the ways we normalize violence and dehumanize migrants as individuals and as. Toddler girls dropped from atop 14foot wall by smuggler.
Well, i didnt know the border patrol provided security for the superbowl. This is work that endangers the soul the exus border patrol agent tells ursula kenny about his first book, a powerful account of the horrors suffered by mexican migrants. Protest and controversy surround an exborder patrol agent. Dispatches from the border recounts his time as a u. The exus border patrol agent tells ursula kenny about his first book, a powerful account of the horrors suffered by mexican migrants.
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