By Rebekah Hinojosa, Rio Grande Valley Organizer
The Rio Grande River / Rio Bravo flowing between Ciudad Miguel Aleman, Mexico, and Roma, Texas
Those who grew up traversing the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge and experiencing its wonder know that keeping this sacred place free from the border wall is not a small win. Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge is a living reminder of our deep, deep history. By remaining a sanctuary, we preserve the remains of our indigenous people. It acts as a direct portal to the Rio Grande Valley's Pre-Columbian past. When I walk around Santa Ana, I can envision our ancestors there, where they fished for turtles, and I see the landscape that surrounded them. I can see how our lands were before mass agriculture and pesticide poison, and without the hulking presence of border militarization.
Last Friday, Trump was granted $444 million to build 33 miles of border wall in the Rio Grande Valley. While it’s true that Santa Ana was spared this time (as national media has focused on), the bill as a whole still sacrifices our region and continues to force families to live under threat of deportation.
Visiting my family's grave site where my grandmother and our ancestors are buried, I am forced to drive alongside the highway lined by the border wall. I am forced to see the metal pillars just a short walking distance away as I add new flowers around gravestone.
It's a deep hurt to see the place you know so intimately depicted as a violent place for news media ratings, used as a bargaining chip, and devalued by outsider elected officials.
Last year, my teenage cousin asked me for a list of all the green spaces under threat of border walls so that she and her high school friends can hike in them just in case the Trump administration takes away access to them.
Bekah in front of already existing border wall in the Rio Grande Valley
(Photo: Olka Forster)
If this new border wall construction happens, a majority of our borderlands region will be blocked off with just a few pockets without a wall, like Santa Ana. For now, our passionate community must hold on tight with each other, celebrate our wins, prioritize our partnerships, and keep pulling together to push back against the next wave of oppression from the Trump administration and Customs and Border Protection. Santa Ana was originally ground zero for new border wall construction, and thanks to organizing efforts, we can keep this for our people. It's proof that when we come together, we can win. And we will keep organizing and mobilizing.
We are land protectors for preserving our native lands from border walls. We are water protectors for demanding complete access to the Rio Grande River without militarization, the river that gives our region life. And we are rising up to defend our homes by taking a stand with migrant families.