The population boom over the past decade and the influx of illegal entrant traffic since 1999 has transformed the Yuma border area, but its agricultural roots remain evident today.
From the farm fields that paint the desert landscape with deep hues of green and yellow to the daily sight of hundreds of Mexican workers who cross into the U.S. – both legally and illegally – to work in Yuma County’s fields, agriculture remains the heart of everyday life here.
On Sunday evening, four men who made their livelihoods in agriculture sat together at a picnic table at Friendship Park on the U.S. side of the San Luis, Arizona, international border. They talked about local town news and enjoyed the setting sun behind them that signaled the end of another swelteringly hot summer day. Each Sunday, people from both sides of the border meet like these men, many more when it isn’t 110 degrees, they said.
Friends Meño Soto (left), Jose Hernandez (center) and Florencio Barajas gathered on Sunday, July 23 in Friendship Park in the small agricultural border town of San Luis, AZ. Photo by Lindsay Miller.
Like so many who live near the U.S.-Mexico border, the men’s lives are a combination of San Luis, Arizona and San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico. Two lived in the U.S. Two lived in Mexico. All four come and go often. Each has family on both sides.
Jose Juarez, 74, and Meño Soto, 59, live in the United States while Jose Hernandez, 76, and Florencio Barajas, 38, live in San Luis de Colorado on the Mexican side. Soto has picked lemons for 18 years. Hernandez has worked in the fields for 60 years and plans to work one more year before retiring. Barajas works for a packing company in the U.S. Juarez worked in the fields until his health prevented him from continuing.
The group said the presence of Border Patrol has its advantages and disadvantages. The new agents sometimes give the locals problems because they don’t know yet who’s legal and illegal, the men said. But, they know that they help too.
“It’s positive when they rescue people in the desert,” Juarez said.
The Yuma area is quickly becoming the new hot spot for illegal entrant traffic and the epicenter for the Border Patrol’s efforts like El Paso, San Diego and Tucson before.
In July, a team of Arizona Daily Star journalists traveled from San Diego to Brownsville for a close-up look at what it would take to secure the border. They used this blog to chronicle their experiences and will present a 4-day series of their findings beginning Sunday, Sept. 24.
Current Location:The journey is over. Stay tuned for our special report on the border beginning September 24.
Meet the Team
James Gregg recently joined the staff of the Arizona Daily Star as a
photojournalist after beginning his career in Colorado. James has lived abroad in Ecuador and Costa Rica, and holds a degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies from the University of Kansas.
Stephanie Innes is the faith and values reporter for the Star. She has worked at the newspaper since 1999 and previously covered crime. She has also been a reporter for the Tucson Citizen and for the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff.
Border and Immigration reporter Brady McCombs has been with the Star since February. He recently co-authored the Star's four-part investigative series, "Illegal Labor Fix Falls Short." McCombs, who is bilingual, spent three years working in Costa Rica.
Photographer Lindsay Miller joined the Arizona Daily Star in April 2005, relocating toTucson after working at the Napa Valley Register. She has worked on several documentary projects as well as a variety of local news and features..
Online producer Andrew Satter has been with the Star for more than two years. He oversees online news content relating to the border and politics/elections, has produced dozens of videos and audio slide shows and is a co-creator of the award-winning Border Death Database.
Reader Polls
Week 3 Results
Question: Which border state has the most out-of-control border?
- California - 9%
- Arizona - 53%
- New Mexico - 10%
- Texas - 7%
- Minnesota - 21%
Total number of votes - 68
Week 2 Results
Question: What is the top reason the U.S. needs to secure its borders?
- Stop illegal immigrants from coming into the country - 48%
- Crack down on drug smuggling - 14%
- Stop terrorists from being able to get in - 28%
- An open border poses no immediate threat - 9%
- Protect against human sex slave trafficking - 1%
Total number of votes - 79
Week 1 Results
Question: What should be the first priority in solving the illegal immigration problem?
- Secure the border - 48%
- Workplace enforcement - 21%
- Visa enforcement - 3%
- Institute a guest worker program - 17%
- Take care of non-border-related issues first - 11%
Total number of votes - 150
Border gallery
What does the word 'border' mean to you? Be it the U.S./Mexico border, the Brazilian/Argentinian border or the border between you and your neighbor's house, we want to see your images of this ill-defined concept in our gallery. In the Photo Caption field please tell us the subject of the photo. Submit your photo »»
James Gregg recently joined the staff of the Arizona Daily Star as a
photojournalist after beginning his career in Colorado. James has lived abroad in Ecuador and Costa Rica, and holds a degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies from the University of Kansas.
Stephanie Innes is the faith and values reporter for the Star. She has worked at the newspaper since 1999 and previously covered crime. She has also been a reporter for the Tucson Citizen and for the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff.
Border and Immigration reporter Brady McCombs has been with the Star since February. He recently co-authored the Star's four-part investigative series, "Illegal Labor Fix Falls Short." McCombs, who is bilingual, spent three years working in Costa Rica.
Photographer Lindsay Miller joined the Arizona Daily Star in April 2005, relocating toTucson after working at the Napa Valley Register. She has worked on several documentary projects as well as a variety of local news and features..
Online producer Andrew Satter has been with the Star for more than two years. He oversees online news content relating to the border and politics/elections, has produced dozens of videos and audio slide shows and is a co-creator of the award-winning Border Death Database.