In Ariz. Town, Main Street Is A Border Crossing : NPR - 0 views
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Just over the metal mesh border fence, it's San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico, city of about 150,000.
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Shehrina EWSIS on 15 Sep 09Wow, there are more in the city in Mexico than in the US.
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Jordan EWSIS on 22 Sep 09the 150,000 refers to the population
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It's what we sell the most - menudo
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We've got 40,000 to 50,000 on our peak time, people coming across.
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I grew up in - in Mexico. I love Mexico. I love San Luis, my town. Some friends, you know, I'm USA, yeah, I'm a USA citizen.
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I took a gander at this quote. The immigrant said that he loves his town,and his friends and he would like to stay in mexico. This is perfectly understandable. America makes it seem as though once your in,there is nothing else. There was nothing before and there wont be anything after. There are countries of equal significance or even more. All we have to do is look a bit further and we will see the truth.
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My name is Joel Silva. I'm born in the United States. I'm a USA citizen, but I live in Mexico all my life. When I'm 12 years old, my mom, she send me to buy, like, beans, like, potatoes that she pulled in the United States.
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But my purpose to learn English to testify who is God, who is Jesus Christ
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We've got 40,000 to 50,000 on our peak time, people coming across.
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I had no idea so many people legally crossed the borders in one day. I always thought by the stereotypical way people always talked about it, that only illegal immigrants could come in because it was so difficult for people to do it legally.
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Wow, 40000 to 50000 people a day during peak time along just to cross the border for work is more than said for. I can imagine a line of cars waiting to get through the border every morning and evening. Like an never ending line of people, thirsty, hungry and exhausted.
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HOSALIN: This my other home right here.
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But when I got out, back to work.
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Mayor ESCAMILLA: Right now, we're on Main Street and you can see that there's some farm workers right now.
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Tens of thousands of Mexicans legally cross every day. Many pick produce in southern Arizona's vast farm fields, and all of them cross the border on San Luis's Main Street.
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And usually at three o'clock in the morning you'll see the buses that park in the business parking lot. They'll just park there and wait for the workers.
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they really like it a lot. Unidentified Man #7: (Spanish spoken) Ms. ESCAMILLA: (Through translator) And with that, they go to the fields to work really happy. Mr. SILVA: I work in the farm before in Mexico, but I started to work in the United States (unintelligible) 17 years old. When 1986, my wife, she passed away. I lose my car, I lose my pickup, I lose my small beans I had. I lose everything. And now I feel like my life is over. I don't see a reason to live. And these guy, he offered me to cross his car, and he put 30 pounds of dope inside. When I'm coming to cross the borderline over here in San Luis, Arizona, the officer, he saw me nervous with the way I speak to him. So, when the guy opened the trunk, he (unintelligible). In prison, I'm going to the book library and I find the bible and I start to read it. I never speak English the way I'm speaking to you now, never.
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You've got thousands of people coming across every single day just to commute to work.
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Yeah, because you're working 14, 16 hours a day.
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I agree with Nicole, that is more than a normal working day of a 9-5 job. 14 to 16 hours a day is intense work. I'd be tired, hungry and bored.
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Wow that's like going to work at 6 am and coming back at 10 pm.. I don't think I could handle that.
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Those people are working really hard just so they can have food on their tables and be able to live. Working 14-16 hours is insane. It's way more than a normal day. I think I can work for that long, maybe. I wouldn't mind as long as I get a good paycheck.
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Unidentified Man #4: No.
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You've got thousands of people coming across every single day just to commute to work.
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Tens of thousands of Mexicans legally cross every day.
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My name is Hosalin. We don't know each yet. He knows me because we've met each other in the different jobs here. Lettuce, melons, watermelons, (unintelligible). Like a big family, all of us.
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Mr. SILVA: We are now in the parking lot of Sol Supermarket. This is the area where the buses parking. You can see buses from there to here. No cars. Morning, coffee.
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You can see buses from there to here. No cars. Morning, coffee.
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: (unintelligible) is different here. (unintelligible) across the line and go to work and come back, five, six, seven p.m. So tired.
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Like a big family, all of us.
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I'm buying a whole meal to everyone here and the best is the Panchita
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I'm going to the book library and I find the bible and I start to read it. I never speak English the way I'm speaking to you now, never.
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You can see buses from there to here. No cars. Morning, coffee.
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So, this is my job to pick up the beans, to carry the boxes to them. You can put the melons in here. These are two small ones. The (unintelligible) is more big ones.
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And usually at three o'clock in the morning you'll see the buses that park in the business parking lot. They'll just park there and wait for the workers.
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Right now, we're on Main Street and you can see that there's some farm workers right now.
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Tens of thousands of Mexicans legally cross every day. Many pick produce in southern Arizona's vast farm fields, and all of them cross the border on San Luis's Main Street.
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But the four-lane road also serves as a border station between the U.S. and Mexico.
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Tens of thousands of Mexicans legally cross every day. Many pick produce in southern Arizona's vast farm fields, and all of them cross the border on San Luis's Main Street.
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Yeah, because you're working 14, 16 hours a day.
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We come very early every day to sell food to the guys. They don't have time to eat at home because they leave very early. We are working from two in the morning until four in the afternoon.
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We come very early every day to sell food to the guys. They don't have time to eat at home because they leave very early. We are working from two in the morning until four in the afternoon.
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Sometimes we not take a break. Sometimes we not taking no lunch. We're working straight.
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Unidentified Man #2: Hello, sir. How are you doing? (Spanish spoken)