THE BORDER WALL - The Campaign Promise and the Executive Order

Everyone's heard the intentions of President Trump to "build a wall and have Mexico pay for it."

The following excerpts and links offer background on the impact of accomplishing that intention on the federal budget with commentary on the effectiveness of such a feat.

ABC News 1/26/2017

http://abcnews.go.com/US/700-miles-fencing-us-mexico-border-exist/story?id=45045054

Trump has said he wants a concrete barrier as high as 55 feet tall and has described his proposed wall as "impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful."
Under the Secure Fence Act, the pedestrian border fencing completed in fiscal year 2007 was estimated to cost about $2.8 million per mile, according to a 2009 report from the Government Accountability Office. It was constructed using mostly the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Guard, according to the Congressional Research Service. The 2009 report also found that fencing constructed in fiscal year 2008, which mostly used private contractors, cost about $3.9 million per mile.

But some 700 miles of border fencing had already been completed along the country's nearly 2,000-mile border with Mexico, much of it during Barack Obama's presidency, as part of the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which was signed by George W. Bush.

“Beginning today, the United States of America gets back control of its borders, gets back its borders,” Trump said Wednesday at the Department of Homeland Security after signing two executive orders related to immigration. The executive order calls for the immediate construction of a physical wall on the southern border to achieve "operational control," which it defines as "the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband.”
Building a new 1,000-mile wall could cost as much as $40 billion, according to an analysis published in the MIT Technology Review. Maintenance of barriers along the southern border will also be costly. The Congressional Research Service estimated in 2009 that double layer fencing would cost an estimated $16.4 million to $70 million per mile over 25 years, depending on the amount of damage sustained.

During his confirmation hearing earlier this month, newly-minted DHS Secretary Gen. John Kelly said that "a physical barrier in and of itself will not do the job."

"It has to be a layered defense," he said, adding that even with a wall extending from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, you would still have to back that wall up with patrolling by human beings, sensors and observation devices, he said.

Border Patrol already employs a "digital wall" composed of about 8,000 cameras, which monitor the southern fence and ports of entry. Its resources also include more than 11,000 underground senors, 107 aircraft, eight drones, 175 mobile surveillance units and 84 boats.

“We can spend billions of dollars to build a 10-foot wall on top of a 10,000-foot mountain,” former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said in November, “but if you’ve come all the way from Central America, it’s not going to stop you.”

The president predicted Wednesday that his executive orders will "save thousands of lives, millions of jobs, and billions and billions of dollars."

A photo accompanying an NWO Report article dateline January 18, 2017 

https://nworeport.me/2017/01/18/ahead-of-schedule-and-under-budget-army-engineers-begin-work-on-trumps-border-wall/

SOME BORDER FACTS

ACCORDING TO NATGEO

http://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/tijuana-border-fence/

The border between the United States and Mexico stretches 3,145 kilometers (1,954 miles), from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. In some places, the border is only marked by a sign or a fence. In other places, the border is reinforced with barbed wire or tall steel barriers.

ACCORDING TO THE GUARDIAN

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/01/unfinished-us-mexico-border-wall-texas-secure-fence-act

Finishing the some 1,300 miles of fencing proposed in the state [Texas] is daunting since most border land is privately owned and materials could cost $10bn

There are miles of gaps between segments and openings in the fence itself. As a result of the Secure Fence Act passed in 2006, the government built some 650 miles of wall along the 1,954-mile US-Mexico boundary. While 1,254 miles of that border is in Texas, the state has only some 100 miles of wall.

Finishing the some 1,300 miles of border fencing would also be costly. According to a 2009 government accountability report, pedestrian fencing, meant to keep out smugglers and migrants crossing on foot, has run anywhere from $400,000 to $15.1m per mile, averaging $3.9m.

SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT THE STATES THAT FORM THE U.S. BORDER and IMMIGRATION LAW

200,000,000 People affected by Border laws.

ACCORDING TO WIKIPEDIA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico%E2%80%93United_States_barrier

As of January 2009, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that it had more than 580 miles (930 km) of barriers in place.

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico%E2%80%93United_States_border#100-mile_border_zone}

The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects against unreasonable search and seizure; however, according to the government this Amendment does not fully apply at borders or border crossings (also known as ports of entry). This means that much of the U.S. population is subject to CBP regulations for stop and search. The 100 Mile Border Zone includes two thirds of the population, a majority of the largest cities in the U.S. and several entire states (namely Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, and New Jersey).

John P. Wentland/ANCLA Image

From the Mexico side, a view of the border wall running through the city of Nogales between Mexico and the U.S in Sonora state, Mexico on November 10, 2016 

^{AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION}

https://www.aclu.org/other/constitution-100-mile-border-zone?redirect=immigrants-rights/constitution-100-mile-border-zone

The border around the contiguous US extends 100 miles within the U.S. This means:

 ·  Roughly two-thirds of the United States' population lives within the 100-mile zone—that is, within 100 miles of a U.S. land or coastal border. That's about 200 million people.

·  Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont lie entirely or almost entirely within this area.

·  Nine of the ten largest U.S. metropolitan areas, as determined by the 2010 Census, also fall within this zone: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego and San Jose. 

RELATED MATTERS: PROTEST LEGISLATION 

https://theintercept.com/2017/01/23/lawmakers-in-eight-states-have-proposed-laws-criminalizing-peaceful-protest/ 

If passed, legislation pending in five state—Minnesota, Washington state, Michigan, and Iowa Virginia and Colorado—would make protests illegal. Though not practically feasible, if legislation like were enacted in all 50 of the states, the StarTrek injunction by the fictional Borg would be fulfilled:

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!

Words Matter

A friend of mine forwarded an email to me today with this summary of a news report:

Pope orders fresh review of liturgical translations

January 27, 2017

Pope Francis has ordered a new review of the principles that guide translations of the liturgy, America magazine has confirmed.The Pope reportedly formed a commission to review Liturgiam Authenticam, the document issued by the Vatican in 2001 that called for liturgical translations that adhered closely to the Latin of the Roman Missal. That document, which led to a new and more accurate English translation of liturgy, has continued to draw criticism from liturgists who favor a more “creative” interpretation of the language of the Mass.The Pope’s decision to launch such a review has been widely rumored, but never officially announced. The commission has not yet met, America reports, nor has the list of its members been made public. However, it will be chaired by Archbishop Arthur Roche, the secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship—rather than by that congregation’s prefect, Cardinal Robert Sarah, who is known to favor a more conservative approach.But some would say, "With all the important issues facing the Church, why this concern about liturgical translations?"
When the reform of the translations came out in 2001, the same question was raised.
The response of reform organizations was, "Yes, there are other important issues. And the words we use in worship is as important now as it was in the consideration of Vatican II which directed its first attention to liturgical reform. “The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the church is directed, it is also the source from which all its power flows.” (SC, 10)
Someone translated this sentence as:
It is at worship that the people of God find the significance of their work of bringing about the reign of God and at the same time express their need to be reinforced in carrying out this “reign of God” work in the world.
The 2001 reform created havoc on a number of points, going from, —among other atrocities—"one in substance with the Father" to "consubstantial with the Father" and from "And also with you" to "And with your spirit."
Commentary from liturgical experts as well as from people in the pews lambasted this "latinization" of worship as widening the divide between priest and people and re-promulgating the dualistic approach to the human person adopted by the councils of past centuries as preferable to seeing the whole person. The America article summarized at the head of this blog states clearly the distinction of principles used in determining these translations:
Archbishop Roche, who was for 10 years chairman of the International Commission for English Language in the Liturgy, addressing the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in September 2014, said the major difference between “Comme le Prévoit” (1969), which governed translation for the first liturgical books after the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), and “Liturgiam Authenticam,” which has since determined the translation of the Roman Missal in English, French and some Spanish-speaking countries, “was that the Holy See in its directives opted for a shift of the guiding principle of translation from that of ‘dynamic or functional equivalence’ in 1969 to the principle of ‘formal equivalence’ in 2001.”Full article at http://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/01/26/pope-francis-has-ordered-review-new-mass-translation
So there we have it, “dynamic or functional equivalence” in 1969; “formal equivalence” in 2001.
How comforting to know that Pope Francis is so in tune with liturgical scholars as well as experts in the English language to recognize that the formal equivalence of the words gets in the way of our being “Church,” Taking the cue from that other great Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes, we know what the “activity of the Church" is:
The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. (GS 1)

This sentence summarizes what we are about as Church. Imposing the formal equivalent on people prevents the people’s reign of God work from being expressed and at the same time creates an obstacle to the People of God gaining that power to do that work.
Indeed, words do matter.

Bannon on the World

A friend just emailed me a link to a report about how Stephan Bannon sees the world. I found intriguing—and scary—the reading of his presentation, part of a 50-minute Q&A during a conference focused on poverty hosted at the Vatican by the Human Dignity Institute. This is how the new chief strategist of the Trump administration, after describing various forms of capitalism, makes his case for "Christian capitalism" reinvesting wealth into fighting the world crisis.It may sound, at first, like noble thoughts counseling the "use of wealth for good," but then, his message turns into fear-mongering words one might imagine being from the call of Urban II at the Council of Clermont in 1095 to mount a crusade:

So I think the discussion of, should we put a cap on wealth creation and distribution? It’s something that should be at the heart of every Christian that is a capitalist — “What is the purpose of whatever I’m doing with this wealth? What is the purpose of what I’m doing with the ability that God has given us, that divine providence has given us to actually be a creator of jobs and a creator of wealth?”

I think it really behooves all of us to really take a hard look and make sure that we are reinvesting that back into positive things. But also to make sure that we understand that we’re at the very beginning stages of a global conflict, and if we do not bind together as partners with others in other countries that this conflict is only going to metastasize.

They have a Twitter account up today, ISIS does, about turning the United States into a “river of blood” if it comes in and tries to defend the city of Baghdad. And trust me, that is going to come to Europe. That is going to come to Central Europe, it’s going to come to Western Europe, it’s going to come to the United Kingdom. And so I think we are in a crisis of the underpinnings of capitalism, and on top of that we’re now, I believe, at the beginning stages of a global war against Islamic fascism.

Full text at the DHI website: http://www.dignitatishumanae.com/index.php/this-is-how-steve-bannon-sees-the-entire-world/

Bannon uses the traditional reference of "militant" Church as the basis for countering the effects of this wary world view. Geez, and I thought all that "militant" church phraseology was renewed by the recognition of church as "pilgrim" by Lumen Gentium [§ 49] and the Catechism of the Catholic Faith [§954] . . . proof that the refusal of CUF and EWTN and Msgr. Mannion of Our Sunday Visitor to embrace the present by tenaciously grasping the past really does promote re-entrenchment. As if we doubted it.

Just Google "Pilgrim Church, Church Militant" to see the variety of commentary that keeps this mistaken attitude going. It really is warlike.
And now with Bannon in the driver's seat of a new administration, not only has this church militarism reinforced re-entrenchment. It's "breitbarted" us right into a new world vision based on a twitterdom of narcissistic browbeating.

Progressive Catholic Coalition Brings a Justice Message to the SOA Watch Convergence at the Border

Manuel had traveled from El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico to the U.S. Border at Nogales because he wanted to get away from the militaristic repressive reaction to gang violence in his country and planned to help support his family In 2015, 6,656 people were killed in El Salvador, a murder rate more than 17 times the global average, according to the government organization Instituto de Medicina Legal. Just 21 years old, he’d crossed into the U.S and survived in the lethal heat of the Sonoran Desert. But shortly after crossing the border, something happened to end his plans.

“I heard the ‘Migra,’ he told me, the pejorative Spanish word used to refer to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or any of its law enforcement arms, “so I hid under a fallen tree. After they’d left the area it was daylight, and I had to stay hidden there until nightfall. And I’d run out of water. It was a long hot day under that tree. When I finally felt it was safe to move at nightfall, I was on my way to a home of friends I knew I could trust. But just as I was approaching their house, the Migra came speeding up in their patrol, and grabbed me, forcing me to the ground. My friends had to disavow knowing me because of the legal implications they’d face being suspected of harboring border crossers. I was coughing and vomiting, suffering so much from dehydration and fatigue that, once I was in their Chevy Tahoe, they had to take me to emergency. Once I recovered a couple days later, they asked me questions and filled out papers and then took me to drop me off back in Mexico.” As a “first-time border-crosser” Manuel was held 72 hours to complete processing before being transferred over to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations. 

After his helping clean up following the breakfast and before  he was
 leaving, Manuel and I exchanged blessings and he gave me the cross he
wore  around his neck during his crossing, a gift I treasure

My encounter with Manuel happened at “El Comedor” in Nogales, Mexico, just over the border. El Comedor is a cooperative service for stranded immigrants run under the Jesuit Refugee Services program, Kino Border Initiative. The morning I met him there, invited to come see the center by MaryJoan PIcone, he was among 65 men, women and children who were being served breakfast. MaryJoan, a parishioner of St.Patrick-St. Anthony in Hartford, has been volunteering annually at this center for a number of years, having heard of it through her work among the farm workers who travel across the border to work in Connecticut orchards through the growing season each year. In addition to a nutritious meal every day, the service center offers border-crossers the kindly and encouraging care of other services—including everything from medical attention to civil rights education—aimed at recognizing dignity and political empowerment against possible abuse by law enforcement.  Manuel, like the others at breakfast that day—some of whom had come from as far away as Colombia—had spent all his money for travel to the border. Most pay for the services of a “coyote” who gets them across the border, but from there they were on their own. But then, when they get picked up by Border Patrol, agents drop them back across the border in Mexico. When I asked if he’d try to cross again, his forlorn expression accompanied his response: “I don’t think so.” Manuel has probably heard from others that if he gets picked up crossing again, the offense is no longer a misdemeanor, but a felony, which entails a fine and imprisonment. But now he still faces the uncertainty of how he’ll be able to get the money to make the more than 600 mile return trip home.

A map of the Nogales border area gives a sense of the extent  of the activities of the weekend of
the SOAW Convergence. Phoenix is at the top left of the map. Driving distance from Nogales
 to Eloy in the upper left section of the map is 114 miles. 

Why Did SOAW go to the Border this year?

The story of Manuel and the constant flow of hundreds of other "border-crossers" caught and "dumped" back across the border by U.S. Border Patrol and being served everyday at El Comedor and other such charitable service centers along the border is at the heart of why there was a 2016 School of the Americas Watch Bi-National Encuentro, October 7-10 in Nogales—on both the U.S. and Mexico side of the border wall. During three days before meeting Manuel, I was one of a five member-delegation of Progressive Catholic Coalition taking part with over a thousand activists from the US and Mexico in the event organized by SOAW. The plight of Manuel, and thousands of others suffering worse conditions as border-crossers forced to leave their countries by horrific conditons, is the reason SOAW had chosen to hold this event to increase awareness of the militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border and Latin America, as well as the criminalization of immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees and people of color. This is the first time SOA Watch is turning all eyes onto the borderlands and the way this country has responded to the mass migration coming from our neighbors to the south.

Most importantly, this year’s annual gathering aimed at reinforcing solidarity during times when xenophobia, racism and imprisoning humans for profit seem to be at all-time high. Workshops on Saturday included talks on how the US has spread mass incarceration in Mexico; the human rights crisis faced on the border; the deportation of veterans; and indigenous resistance: from the Tohono O’odham Nation to the Lenca peoples of Honduras fighting against military repression, as they struggle with the detrimental effects capitalism has had on their environment and livelihoods.

Why the vigil at Eloy Detention Center?

For several years SOAW has held a rally at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, in conjunction with the convergence at the gates of Ft. Benning. Those rallies served as a prelude to the weekend at the border which  began with a gathering of hundreds on Friday evening at the Eloy Detention Center, where a capacity for 1500 men, women and children are housed here, an almost two hour drive from Nogales. This Eloy detention center and the one in Lumpkin are just two of a number of such for-profit facilities around the country run by CCA [Corrections Corporation of America]. Operating since 1983, CCA is the fifth-largest corrections system in the nation, behind only the federal government and three states. CCA houses nearly 70,000 inmates in more than 70 facilities, the majority of which are company-owned, with a total bed capacity of more than 80,000. The vigil at Eloy drew “more people than had ever gathered before” according to one comment and aimed at drawing attention to the abuses in such facilities that depend on keeping detention levels at capacity to justify their existence and to maintain profitability. An interesting side note: on the day following the November election, the stock in Corecivic Inc., which operates CCA, rose sharply by 6 points and has remained at about that level since then.

As names of missing border-crossers are intoned, a participant
 respectfully tips his hat as he joins vigilers in responding “Presente”
—indicating that they are not forgotten by those who continue to
 work for justice.  

Highlighting the militarization present on the south border of our country, the figures tell the story of statistics, not the human cost. The U.S. Border Patrol keeps track of only those apprehended at the border, not of those who die or “disappear” crossing the border. The U.S. CBP reports that “in Fiscal Year 2016, total apprehensions by the Border Patrol on our southwest border, between ports of entry, numbered 408,870. This represents an increase over FY15.” 

Relatives of detainees hold a poster
proclaiming their sentiments about 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics.

Through the first six months of fiscal 2016, which ended on March 31, border officials apprehended 27,754 unaccompanied children, the CBP reported—a 78 percent jump from the 15,616 apprehended in 2015, and just shy of the 28,579 apprehended in 2014. 

A year ago the LA Times reported that “even more people died attempting the perilous crossing: 117 bodies have been recovered along migration routes in southern Arizona since Jan. 1, (2015) compared with 108 bodies during the same period last year” and that “most of the migrants who crossed the U.S. border last year were from violence-ridden countries in Central America.” The majority comes from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, where violence and repressive regimes hold sway, and the only Central American countries, incidentally, which send officers for training at the U.S. Army School at Ft. Benning.
Meeting Manuel, as well as hearing so many of the relatives describing situations faced by detainees at the Eloy Rally, made the justice issues around these facts and figures very humanly alive.

More pictures of the other activities of the weekend are at

https://www.facebook.com/pcc4churchjustice/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1193364074043055

Eloy Deetention Center off in the distance, the closest anyone in the vigil was allowed to approach, appears deceptively harmless against the picturesque desert sunset as the rally goes on.

The semi-trailer portable stage serves as the platform of the rally. In the background, beyond the stage, is the detention center.

Performers adding spirit to the Vigil include Pablo Peregirna, Olmeca, Charlie King Collen Kattau and Emma's Revolution.

Expressing one of the themes of the vigil, the placard held by a member of El Pueblo Unido proclaims it message against the backdrop of the detention center. 

Why this SOAW Convergence in October?

Since 1991, SOAW has held the annual convergence in Columbus, Georgia at Ft. Benning in November to commemorate the massacre of the six Jesuits and their coworkers in 1989 by forces under the command of SOA graduates. While a smaller observance at Ft. Benning was held in November this year, the date chosen for this year’s large gathering coincides with the 4^th anniversary of the death of 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez who was killed on Mexican soil by a U.S. Border Patrol agent shooting through the border wall. Autopsy reports show that Jose Antonio was hit from behind by ten shots. The wall of the building on Calle International still shows bullet holes, some outlined in red marker.  During an incident at the border wall in which he was not involved, he was throwing rocks at the wall. Shooting by Border Patrol agents through the border wall was such a common occurrence that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioned The Police Executive Research Forum to address border protection use of force review cases and policies in a position paper in 2013. The recommendations by PERF concluded  that “review of shooting cases involving rock throwers revealed that in some cases agents put themselves in harm’s way by remaining in close proximity to the rock throwers when moving out of range was a reasonable option.” It took until September 2015 for an indictment by a Federal Grand Jury to bring a charge of second-degree murder against Border Patrol agent Lonnie Ray Swartz.  The trial began just this past November 7^th.

Jose Antonio is memorialized in a portrait on the Mexico side just below the slotted border wall through which he was shot

and killed October 10, 2012. 

On Saturday morning, over 1,000 participants marched the two miles from the hotel headquarters to U.S./Mexico border, ending at Ambos Nogales, the city on both sides of the border created by the 1853 Gadsden Purchase—Nogales Arizona, U.S.A. and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. The program included testimony from those detained and deported, including U.S. veterans, interspersed with music from nationally-known folk artists who led songs of protest. Later in the day there were various educational workshops, including how to build a grassroots organization, how trade agreements cause economic and labor abuse, and how to refuse to pay taxes so as not to support a war; concerts at the border; and a prayer vigil for young Jose Antonio.

Father Roy Bourgeois joins in the march preparations as he speaks with Jeff and Margaret Murphy Sweetland.

THE MARCH TO THE BORDER 

Carrying the PCC Banner, Jack Wentland walks with the over-a-thousand who walked the 2 miles to the locations on each 

side of at the border wall where stages were set up for thepresentations and music.

A couple recruited by Janice Sevre-Duszynska carry the  ARCWP Banner

The March makes its way along the U.S. side of the border wall to one stage while others are marching on the Mexico side

 to another stage.

On Saturday afternoon participants joined the Anniversary Vigil for Jose Antonio in Nogales, Sonora: starting with a march from the Plaza de las Palomas in Nogales, Sonora to the site where Jose Antonio was killed by Border Patrol and a mass with the Bishop José Leopoldo González González, whose has served only a year and a half in the new Mexican diocese.
Following that vigil, an interfaith candlelight vigil at the border wall—planned by a national committee which included PCC members Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Silvia Brandon-Perez and Jack Wentland—was held. Various religious groups—including the local indigenous 
indigenous Tohono O’odham Nation, Muslim, Jewish and Christian—offered prayers for people striving to overcome border injustices across the globe.
https://www.facebook.com/pcc4churchjustice/posts/1205059539540175

The full text of the Interfaith Candlelight Service, including the PCC message and prayer led by Janice Sevre-Duszynka and Jack Wentland is at:
https://www.facebook.com/pcc4churchjustice/posts/1205059539540175

The complete service was translated and interpreted in Spanish by PCC member Silvia Brandon-Perez. 
More pictures of the service are at
https://www.facebook.com/pcc4churchjustice/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1205041056208690

The SOA Watch full coverage of the weekend is at
http://soaw.org/news/organizing-updates/4396-border-convergence

On Sunday more than 200 activists, including Father Roy, continued their demonstration in a march to the US Border Patrol interior vehicle checkpoint on the I-19 highway 20 minutes north of Nogales. Taking part in the direct action was Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP and representing that

organization in PCC. She reported that she "stayed here from 2 p.m.- 8 pm. taking part in a continued witness as cars slowed down at the Checkpoint. The Border Patrol attempted to intimidate us with dogs and pepper spray and (according to our legal team) they also threatened us with various charges from a Federal Felony to State charges and a misdemeanor traffic violation. They did not arrest us even during our die-in which was truly a Eucharist."
Challenging the legitimacy of such checkpoints, which are not only notorious for rampant human rights abuses towards Arizona residents but also directly responsible for the deaths of more than 3,000 human beings forced to traverse the desert to avoid them, we lifted up Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which guarantees all human beings freedom of movement, the right to leave and the right to return to their countries. Calling out, "we remember all the people these checkpoints kill, we can feel their spirits, they are with us still," a large number of the demonstrators staged a nonviolent die-in.

Video of the direct action at the checkpoint is at
 http://www.soaw.org/border/livestream/

The Progressive Catholic Coalition 

This Catholic reform presence by Progressive Catholic Coalition is made possible by the funding provided by organization representatives of each the organizations: Kay Akers (WOC), Sophie Vodvarka and Rosa Manriquez (CTA), Janice Sevre-Duszynska and Silvia Brandon-Perez (ARCWP), and Jack Wentland (CORPUS, FCM and CITI Ministries, Inc.; funded also by a personal donation by Roll Away The Stone). This representation as well as the funding provided by the coalition-member organizations makes possible the PCC's valuable message for justice.

Sophie Vodvarka of Call to Action has created videos covering highlights of the two days: 

Part 1 - Introduction, Background and Rally at the Eloy Detention Center

Part 2 - Crossing the Border with Background on Why "SOAW to the Border"

See the videos posted at http://cta-usa.org/video-ministry/

/

The Bottom Line

Many may wonder if there’s a point to SOA Watch’s activities over the years. The point is the consistent effort of SOAW to draw attention to the impact of U.S. militarism, both that exported to Latin America through training of officers from those countries and that implemented at our southern border by Border Patrol policies and abuses . Such exercise of military repression in their countries has forced people from their homes to save their lives up North only to meet with military abuses at the border.

In recent years, SOA Watch has been focusing attention on legislation in congress that would close the SOA/WHINSEC allowing for review of the records of the graduates. Most recently the efforts of SOAW have gained the most bi-partisan co-sponsorship for HR 5474, the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act. The bill is named for a Honduran indigenous activist gunned down in March by forces of the regime set up in a coup by military who are graduates of the SOA. More about Berta Caceres

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/04/world/americas/berta-caceres-indigenous-activist-is-killed-in-honduras.html?_r=0

                                                                                      Credit Orlando Sierra/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Mourning Berta Cáceres, the assassinated indigenous activist, in La Esperanza, Honduras on

March 3, 2016 

Those who are advocates for justice have contacted their congress persons asking them to sign on as co-sponsors of this legislative proposal or thanking them for having already done so,. You can see if your congressperson has signed on at

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5474/cosponsors

The “Manuels” and “Jose Antonios” and thousands of others detainees in a militaristic labyrinth of immigration policy appreciate our taking this action in advocacy. 

More pictures of the weekend are at http://stevepavey.photoshelter.com/gallery/Convergence-At-the-Border/G0000YdaPoYtRuSw/C0000L5ug8V_j7lw

What is the School of the Americas Watch and what is the purpose of this movement? www.soaw.org

The back cover of the SOAW Program indicates those organizations sponsoring the Border Convergence. PCC has sponsored the SOAW annual gatherings at Ft. Benning, Georgia, since 2004. Individual sponsoring organizations of PCC are listed in the fine print at the bottom of the page.