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1/ I went down to El Paso Monday & Tuesday to be part of #citizenpresence and get friends and family involved more in resisting the concentration camps there. The trip was disheartening on so many levels. I knew going during the week wouldn’t have as much of a turnout but the
2/ point of #citizenpresence is to keep constant pressure and let the BP and ICE know people are paying attention. Monday I attempted to see the camp under the Paso Del Norte bridge that they claimed had been shut down. Unfortunately, I only got so far walking around so I didn’t
3/ see anything. At night we went to the candlelight vigil that occurs every Monday at the Clint Concentration camp. Contrary to how it’s framed on national news, this camp isn’t on the outskirts of El Paso. It’s 20 minutes from the lower valley in EP, which is where I grew up.
4/ It’s surrounded by residents, business, and very out in the open. It doesn’t say detention center. It says it’s the Customs and Border Patrol building. So unsure, we check in with locals who verified that was in fact the camp. They said before it received so much media
5/ attention, it was easier to see inside. But now they’ve covered it up so the media can’t see in. At the vigil, there were 9 people. That’s it. 3 of us from out of town. All women, except for my husband and dad. We spoke of why we came, we sang for the kids, we hoped for hope.
6/ Lots of cars pass by because it’s not hidden. Lots of honk of what we assume is support. One or two shouts of disapproval. Finally a person stopped, a local, asking to help, but also telling us how much of the local population doesn’t know or believe that there are camps.
7/ In all this, I did post an invite to my local friends to join and nothing. The women told me it’s been a similar response city wide. They informed me that the Tornillo camp, the one that had all the children and was the first to make the news is being built again.
8/ Tuesday we went to the Hondo Pass concentration camp and this one is MUCH easier to see, but isn’t getting any media attention that I’m aware of. There was a BP vehicle at the entrance “patrolling” and guards at the entrance. Let me very clear about this: this camp is also not
9/ on the outskirts. It’s in Northeast El Paso. I would go frequent this area often enough to socialize and visit friends that it surprised me how unhidden it was from the public. Again, there are family homes across the street, and two churches. This camp also doesn’t say it’s
10/ a detention center, but Customs and Border Patrol. It’s at the base of the mountain on Hondo Pass. You just drive up or down that street and you can see the whole of the camp, that they are building MORE of. I looked around to see ANY signs of resistance. There was none. 
11/ Not one sign to let them know people care. A vehicle honked at my husband as he tried to take pictures, which is open to interpretation but seemed like us wanting to witness the concentration camp was more upsetting than the camp for them. That’s not surprising. On the other
12/ side of the highway is Ft. Bliss. Northeast El Paso is more of a militarized and patriotic section of EP. Clint is more Latinx. Support for these policies in EP are probably higher than we know and considering how non-existent the resistance is, I wouldn’t doubt it.
13/ Another thing that stood out in EP was the large amount of local police activity I saw around the city. Almost all day both days there was a lot of police activity. Nothing that stood out as excessive force, which makes sense why no one seemed to be phased by it, but for a
14/ “safe” city, and a red state with concentration camps, it stood out. We also noticed unmarked CBP vehicles only through the officers exiting the trucks.
15/ It was hard seeing how complacent the city is about this. It’s as if they don’t understand that they’re targets too. Locals told us again, no one believes the “dems” about the camps, the BP is just doing their job, the Dems just don’t have a candidate who can really rally
16/ the public, or that they’re not being informed locally about the camps. The extreme view was present in EP too though. In a fight with a relative, she “joked” let them all die since they’re taking all the jobs, as Fox played in the background. She’s Latinx.
17/ One local acquaintance said people were speaking up but that most support was by donating to local orgs. It was heartbreaking to see my hometown let such oppression happen while it’s so blatantly in their face.
18/ And honestly, I don’t think any one man can fix this or “save” us, it was clear @BetoORourke has A LOT of sway there amongst those who aren’t republican. I wish he’d step out of the presidential race and use that power to call attention and activism to these camps.
19/ Or stay in the race and STILL focus on getting local resistance to the concentration camps. If what the locals need to show up everyday to protest this is a leader, it seems Beto is the one they’ve rallied behind. It’s his responsibility now with such a fan base to focus
20/ on this cruelness. I repeat, they are building MORE camps without any real resistance. We need more #citizenpresence there because this city is swimming in complacency. END
