My experience at a US border town

Laredo, TX and Nuevo Laredo, MX  Foto: wikipedia commons

 ..or; my deportation from the US.

Due to a English langauge class in Toronto, Canada in 2005 I know Mexicans, even had a Mexican girlfriend, and when I visted the old spanish viceroy, I have always and due to many reasons  somehow had  a special realtionship with, my very last time I traveled until Monterrey and from there, as it is so close, decided to go to Texas, probably San Antonio, as I know the east and the west coast and some cities there but actually never had been to the, as I would call it, REAL United States.

 I deliberately chose an American bus to drive with and I was shocked in which terrible bad condition it was. Toatlly run-down and so much worse than all buses I traveled with in Mexico.When arriving in Nuevo Laredo which is the border -something that fascinates me too as I wrote a long essay at university about the borderland, know about the Rio Grande, the wetbacks etc- after announcing 18 Mexicans and one German we had to leave the bus, standing in row and they checked the passports. 

They asked me where I was heading to and I replied San Antonio, but the officer mentioned that I would need a permit (VISA). The word permit sounds odd to me anyway. I told him that normally I would not need it for the US and I have been there already three times. Maybe it was different when flying and those old days. I was surprised as our German page said, no VISA was needed. They brought me to an office, I had to see another officer, who finally found out, yes, I was right.I had to fill out a formular and so on. I am always very polite, in talking to the point too and diligent but as the spaces were on strange places on that sheet I wrote just one info in a wrong space, why he arrogantly asked if I had no gender or something like that and I had to fill it out again. I saw it as a harrasment. Before and while this second try I saw how my beloved Mexicans were treated, some had to take all out of their bags and present it, some were really begging to enter. Okay; now all was okay regarding the formular! However, a whole and unique-only in the States!- bunch of questions were asked: Where will you stay? I want to be honest, said I have no hotel yet and always when travelling in Mexico I ask the taxi driver. How long will you stay? I told him, maybe that was provocative too, that I did not know yet but I will stick to the time limit granted. How much money you have? Isn t it private? What is your job in Germany? Of course I could have answered this utmost politely and relaxed as I am always. But because I was so long in Mexico, I like the Mexicans, and the harassment before I got difficult too. I asked if I also need to pay entrance money (like in a zoo which I did not say of course) and he said yes, 7 USD. I spontaneusly told him I wanted to go back to Mexico. I had no real intention to go there anyway. 

He was surprised and another officer came and told me it was a privilige to enter the US. I then also got more difficult and told him, no, it was no privilige to enter or sit down on these benches all scratched open with a knife- how weird. I continued saying the States were bankrupt with about 200 % of what they produce in debt and it is so easy for me to enter even richer countries as Great Britain. I was strangely not allowed to go back to Mexico, they kept my pasport, but had to go to another room where another officer, showing authority but being nice and likeable the same way, checked me. When saying, but I want to go back to Mexico he was surprised as his collegue had apparently not told him. When they checked me, me standing at the wall, I said I was not criminal, he responded he did not claim this and I should be quiet now. I obeyed of course. When seeing they have teaser guns, which I know from documentaries on German TV, I got even afraid and I also apologized for my behaviour, which I seldom do, of course not when not doing anything wrong. Instead of allowing me going to Mexico they dealt longer with me and then, to make it short, officially deported me to Mexico after signing a some pages long document I could not read, something that worries me now and makes me even more afraid to come back. In the end I still had nice talks to all of them and really, later, I regret not entering the US but before was habby and relieved crossing finally the famous Rio Grande by bridge and being back in Mexico, where all was much more relaxed the Mexican border agent at the bridge and like in a movie of Mexico actually sleeping- it was after midnight-, as it seems at least, in his plastic chair.

By the way, I like the US and we also had rent of years appartments to American soldiers here in our house close to Bamberg- the most popular US base outside the US themselves- in Germany, celebrate even Christmas with them and still writing Christmas cards to Dan and Beth, living in Pennsylvania.

MJW