Byline: John Davidson; 1977-10-01; Texas Monthly; pages p 125-127, 209-221
Report: Working with Migrants; Shadowing the Undocumented
Tags: border-crossing, illegal immigrants, mexico, shadowed, undocumented
Article Links"When I asked Javier what it was like to be a wetback, he smiled at the implausibility of summing up five years of experience, and then he looked thoughtfully at his hands. We had just met and were sitting on a shady curb next to a hamburger stand in West San Antonio; it was one of those first hot weeks toward the end of May when you know it won't be cool again till fall. Javier's hands, I noticed, looked too old for his 24 years. The fingers were squeezed out of shape from heavy labor and the skin so thick it was like permanent work gloves. He absently rubbed a scar on the back of his his left hand as if it might come off and said . . ."
Description:John Davidson followed and documented the life of Javier, an illegal immigrant on a journey from Texas to Mexico and back to pick up his younger brother.
Rights: Access to online material.