CZM Rewind: Title 42, Pt 2: Migrant Stories  ## Metadata - Author: [[It Could Happen Here]] - Full Title: CZM Rewind: Title 42, Pt 2: Migrant Stories - Category: #podcasts - URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/dfa6e27d-2d68-4814-9f29-c073f3db1bb0 ## Document Notes ## Highlights - **500 Held Between Two Fences** - Volunteers found roughly 500 migrants held between two border fences with no running water and minimal shelter. - Aid had to be passed through tiny gaps so no hot meals or tents could be delivered. Transcript: James Stout Out of El Paso does suggest that they saw their task as not looking bad in the right-wing media. Here's some audio recorded after a couple of hours walking around talking to people at San Ysidro, where Customs and Border Protection had detained around 500 people in between the Two 30-foot fences that make up the border between San Ysidro and Tijuana. I'm just, for people familiar with San Diego, like in the Tijuana River Valley Park by International Hill, where Border Patrol are holding people in between the two border fences. For those who thought we didn't have a border wall or weren't having a border wall, we have at least two, sometimes three, but right here we have two. People are being put in between these fences by Border Patrol. So I just spoke to some young Colombian women who had crossed about 15 miles east of here and then been relocated here and they're in between these border walls. They don't have running water. What food and water they have appears to be being supplied by volunteers on the northern side. They've just been given space blankets. A lot of people are literally sleeping under bin bags right now on blankets. It's pretty brief. There's one port-to sort of thing that we can see about 500 people so it kind of gives you an idea of the conditions. Obviously those don't live up to the detention conditions that Border Patrol are supposed to hold people under. But here we are, I guess. Border Patrol have just said that they're calling an ambulance. There have been a number of medical emergencies. They nearly always are in these situations because you're holding people. Old people, young people, sick people. And they're in the sun all day. They're in the cold all night. If it rains, they get wet. If it's hot, they get hot. If it's cold, they get cold. Their little children were just asking me for a blanket a minute ago, which is always a pretty bleak thing. If you've not been here, you'd be forgiven for not knowing that we have a double layer of walls separating us from our neighbours in Tijuana. Both sections are now of the Trump era design, but we're standing in a place where not so very long ago Nancy Reagan stood and said she hoped that there wouldn't be a fence here for very Long. Now there are two towering walls, and they're little children stuck sleeping in the dust between them. All the aid to these people had to go through the wall too, and that meant no hot meals because the gaps are smaller than a plate. Someone tried to bring tents, but they wouldn't fit. Everything from food to clothes to ([Time 0:04:40](https://share.snipd.com/snip/84fcb1a1-a807-438d-b82b-fc418718d38b)) - **Volunteer Describes Confused Migrants** - Hamara Yousefi described about 500 confused, under-equipped people asking if they'd be turned back. - Many lacked shoes, jackets, and were using trash bags or scarves for sun protection. Transcript: Hamara Yousefi I see about 500 beautiful, smiling faces of people who are desperately trying to get to safety, and they're confused. They don't know what's going on. They don't know how long it will take them um you know they they many of them are aware that something is happening today many of them are asking does this mean that i'll be turned back what Is going on i see i see um you know people who don't even have many kids don't have shoes they don't have i talked to individuals who lost everything on them they don't have jackets they're Trying to cover themselves with any kind of covering that they have some of them using um trash bags others using scarves and other types of things to cover themselves from the sun we Are in San Diego, so it's quite sunny here. James Stout The first thing I noticed on arrival was the dozens of hands sticking through the wall, holding phones and chargers. That's because people need to use the CBP One app to interact with border enforcement. But they've been detained by the same border enforcement in ([Time 0:07:14](https://share.snipd.com/snip/968d9ae3-b642-43fa-a4ae-07662c9453f7)) - **CBP One App Versus Reality** - CBP promoted the CBP One app as essential but detained people where they could not charge phones. - That mismatch prevented many migrants from accessing appointment-based entry or asylum scheduling. Transcript: James Stout The first thing I noticed on arrival was the dozens of hands sticking through the wall, holding phones and chargers. That's because people need to use the CBP One app to interact with border enforcement. But they've been detained by the same border enforcement in between two walls and an open field where there obviously isn't any electricity. They also need their phones to stay in touch with their families, to let them know they survived a difficult and dangerous journey, and that they're now technically inside the USA. Here's the advert a CBP broadcast in Spanish to encourage asylum seekers to download the app before they put them in a place they couldn't charge their phones. Speaker 6 Attention migrants in Mexico City or further north in the country. Why do you need to download CBP-1? It's a free and legal way to get an appointment guaranteed at a port of entry. It's a clear way to solicit asylum, and you have the possibility to work while your case is being processed. If you present without an appointment, you can be prohibited from entering the U.S. For five years. You will be subject to expedited deportation unless you comply with the strict requirements of the asylum process. In the majority of cases, it is assumed that migrants do not comply with the requirements for asylum, and you won't have the right to work unless you comply with the strict requirements. Again, if you are now in Mexico City or further north, download CBP-1. James Stout As we heard yesterday, CBP-1 has been an unmitigated disaster and has shown a very clear bias towards certain types of wealthy and white asylum seekers. Despite that, it seems to have been the only plan in place at the end of Title 42. ([Time 0:08:12](https://share.snipd.com/snip/fb3a6dc5-bb5a-4f83-8087-1fdcb29fe764)) - **Confusion Drove Last-Minute Crossings** - Confusion around Title 42's end pushed many to cross at the last moment believing penalties would be harsher later. - Misleading official rhetoric emphasized penalties for crossing between ports more than the right to claim asylum at a port of entry. Transcript: James Stout Confusion had reigned at the border. A lot of people I talked to mentioned that they thought they had to cross before the end of Title 42, or they would be ejected and not able to apply for five years under Title 8. This misunderstanding might, in part, be due to some of the misleading rhetoric put out by Mallorcas and others, which focused on the harsh penalties for crossing between ports of Entry in an attempt to appear strong on the border to their colleagues in DC. They didn't place as much emphasis on the right to present and claim asylum at a port of entry. But, as we saw yesterday, it's virtually impossible to actually do that, and Tijuana is already full of thousands of people trying to do that exact thing. Given a set of circumstances, it makes sense that many people took the days before the end of Title 42 at the final chance to cross. ([Time 0:12:28](https://share.snipd.com/snip/95db5dd0-1da9-4857-b26e-a50cc65cd420)) - **Colombian Journey And Hopes** - Diana Rodriguez recounted an eight-day journey from Colombia through multiple countries to reach the wall and be dropped into custody. - She hopes authorities will hear her asylum claim and consider dangers like extortion and kidnapping at home. Transcript: Diana Rodriguez Eight days, eight days more or less, walking from Colombia. From El Salvador to Guatemala, then Mexico to here. All that time, walking and taking the bus. There's a part 15 or 20 minutes from here where the wall ends, and we crossed there. There was a Mexican patrol, and when they changed shifts, we ran. And here we are on American soil. We arrived on foot, and the police brought us here. They opened the gate and dropped us here. James Stout Along the way, she said, they'd run into a lot of people. The migrant journey north is such a common trek that people living along the way have found a way to make a buck, but also a way to make a difference. It's not uncommon for migrants to be extorted, robbed, or threatened. It's also not uncommon for them to be fed by strangers, perhaps handing off bags with food in them to passing trains or buses, or perhaps given a place to sleep for the night by someone They might never see again. Diana Rodriguez There were parts where we were extorted. They took all the money we brought. They robbed us, they stole our passports, they stole our documents. So it's always quite dangerous. Let's say that it's dangerous to take this journey. Yes, just as we have met some bad people along the way, we have also met some very good people. People who have given us a hand, people who have helped us, people who have collaborated with us in ways you least expect. James Stout I asked Gianna what she hoped for, now she was technically inside the USA. Diana Rodriguez Yes, let's say the hope is that they will listen to our case, listen to our case and let us fight the case inside. Yes, because we want to be able to explain the conditions we are in and the reasons that those of us who are here came here. Things like extortion, kidnapping, and because our lives are in danger in Colombia. So we wish that they at least listen to our case and let us plead our cause. ([Time 0:16:04](https://share.snipd.com/snip/c1806a0a-e3fe-464c-b398-2229356eaa12)) - **African Migrants Face Isolation** - An Angolan man waited days in Tijuana hoping to plead asylum and described bandits and violence at home. - Many African migrants remain cautious with media and face added isolation due to language barriers. Transcript: James Stout I'll leave his name out, as he preferred for me not to share it. He'd been in Tijuana for three days, he said, and was waiting his chance to plead his case for asylum. Speaker 6 It's just me and my sister. We suffered a lot. There were bandits. We came here to be safe. It's no way to live. People broke into our house to violate women, to look for people, and I was injured then. Yeah, why did I leave to come here? Over there, they're not the means to live. James Stout We didn't get a chance to talk for long and some of the recording I got wasn't very good. He was waiting in line for food and to be quite honest, I don't like prodding people to share their trauma. But with so many journalists crowding the border, asking them to do just that, it tends to be what people offer. Lots of African migrants can be quite cautious of the media, because talking to the media at home could get them in trouble. I spoke to a friend of mine, himself a migrant from Africa. He said that if migrants don't speak English or Spanish, it can be very hard for them to get information. And there aren't as many non-profits set up to serve them as there are for Spanish-speaking people, for example. They can often end up isolated and alone. ([Time 0:24:11](https://share.snipd.com/snip/e0570dea-d82e-420c-9b9e-81c04f67ad2d)) - **Jamaican Father Seeking Safety** - Joseph, a Jamaican father, sang and spoke briefly about surviving violence and traveling with his five-year-old son. - He emphasized love for Jamaica while seeking a better life and safety for his child. Transcript: James Stout It's his singing you've heard at the start of this episode. Mostly, we talked about things in America, about how he lost his phone on his journey. We got him another one at Walmart. And about things like football and music. I didn't record all of that because sometimes it's nice to just talk to people. Hopefully it makes their day a bit brighter and gives them some information maybe that could help. He did let me record a bit of an interview and some of him singing. He was pretty guarded on the recording, but as you can can Hey, man grateful, man grateful. Joseph All when nothing in our go on, man a smile, yeah. Once there is life. You know it's a God alone give me everything for survive, yeah. Enough sacrifice. Pick up the drum maker. We've got to eat and come back home. See? Yeah, man. That's it. One love. Peace out. That was beautiful. Yeah, I'm Joseph. James Stout I asked him about some of the stuff we spoke about before, but he didn't want to share it. Joseph Yeah, yeah, that's the whole testimony. Me and you and God have to go into church for that. But I'm going to give you that the next time. Okay, buddy. All right. James Stout Joseph experienced a lot of personal harm from conflict back home in Jamaica. And had a difficult journey here with his five-year son. Joseph Yeah, it's rough. It's rough out there, man. You know, it's rough. How did you come? Like, you come... James Stout I asked him how his young son had dealt with the journey. It's not a safe or easy one for an adult, let alone for a little child. Joseph It's just kind of scary, but he pulled through. Yeah, that's good. Because he has my energy inside. That's good, yeah. James Stout How's he finding it here in the camp? Joseph Oh, here at the camp? I don't know, boy. That guy's just like me. We just don't make anything better. Yeah, but it's working here because you guys give us the strength and supporting us, you know? James Stout Joseph wanted me to know that he wasn't giving up his home. He loves Jamaica, but he also wants a better life for his son. Joseph It's not that. It's not that. It's not like I'm giving away my home. My home is a good place. James Stout It's a good island. Nice place to be. Of course, this perspective is very common, and it's one that often gets left out of reporting. Coming to the USA is a very hopeful act. It's not abandoning your family or your home. It's trying to make their lives better and your life livable. Joseph was quite guarded with his story, and that's fine. It's his to share as much or as little as he wants. ([Time 0:25:21](https://share.snipd.com/snip/2d71fe1f-7d33-49be-990c-c9f48b0de3a3)) - **Coordinate Volunteer Efforts** - Volunteers should coordinate to avoid overwhelming camps and focus on packaging and targeted distributions. - Provide translators and language-capable volunteers to improve distribution and communication. Transcript: James Stout Few days after the migrants arrived, I camped out in Hukumba. I was cold in my sleeping bag at night and dizzy in the sun in the day. It's not a place where you'd want to be stuck outside for long, but it's a place where 1,500 or so people were held for days, with little more than the shelters they built out of creosote And mesquite to protect their families from the elements. They slept on the dirt or in cardboard boxes left over from the food volunteers fed them, and under whatever folks in tiny desert town could find to give them. By the time I arrived, the migrants were gone and volunteers were cleaning up. The landscape was dotted with impressively constructed brush shelters. Volunteers from Hukumba set up tables to distribute food, blankets, water and clothing. Other volunteers stayed away from the camp itself and spent time packing things into individual sizes, perhaps combining hats and socks and maybe a toy for a child in one bag, or breaking Down Costco packages of snacks into individual portions. It's not necessarily the most rewarding task, but it's an important one. I asked Marissa, another volunteer who had previously worked in San Diego for the Forest Service, what she felt when we were cleaning out some of those shelters together a couple of Days later. Volunteer - Katie / Marissa I don't know the best way to say this, but What hit me deeper was when, this might seem strange, but when I saw women's sanitary napkins or the diapers or the babies, like it was kind of like A fabric padded crib bassinet type thing. That suddenly hit me on a deeper level. It would make me emotional. Diana Rodriguez Because it's like, then you start to realize like, wow, what if that was me and my child, or I'm not a mother, but I can only imagine what that must be like for them to be going through these Things as a, as a woman being on your, on your period and being out and not having anything, you know, going to the bathroom out there. What, what do you use when you don't have those supplies? So yeah, it just, that was when it hit me deeper. And, um, and I knew I was doing the right thing by being out there and helping in whatever way I could because I don't when it comes to the politics side of it when it comes to like legality And just different aspects of it in that way. I don't have necessarily an opinion one way or another. I'm not educated enough to feel like I can argue one way or another or defend one position or another. I went out there purely for my love of humanity. And I think being able to support in whatever way I can, that was the way that I felt like I could serve and be a support. James Stout Katie hadn't expected to meet migrants at the camp when she first showed up. She knew it was important not to flood the camp with volunteers, and their help was needed packaging and preparing aid drops, which she was happy to do. ([Time 0:35:43](https://share.snipd.com/snip/250c44fa-179d-451d-870e-ae9af5123214)) - **High Tech, Low Care** - The border wall and surveillance infrastructure cost millions, while migrants received one small water bottle a day in some camps. - Public spending priorities left detained people exposed despite expensive security investments. Transcript: James Stout The wall behind the people in Hukumba cost $25 million a mile on average. The Border Patrol agents drove around in F-150 Raptor trucks that start at $80,000, and each make a starting salary of over $60,000 in their first year. Surveillance towers that dot the desert, including one which provided a tiny scrap of shade to migrants resting under its solar panels, can cost a million dollars apiece, but people In Akumba received only one small water bottle each day, despite the punishing weather. Although Customs and Border Protection did not seem to make any plan to shelter migrants in Akumba, they did plan to have contractors paid $40 an hour to take them away. I found a job advert for a Southwest Border Transportation and Security Officer at ISS Action Security, the agency photographed transporting migrants in Hukumba. The job posting, which was posted two weeks before the end of Title 42, has a description that includes patting down all detainees and applying appropriate restraints prior to boarding Vehicles. The process through which migrants become detainees normally involves processing, which had not been done in Nucumba, but it seems the presumption of ineligibility announced on The day Title 42 ended came into effect here. This might seem a minor distinction, but it's important. It means that people have to file a defensive asylum claim and not an affirmative one. They have to plead why they shouldn't be deported, rather than why they have a right to stay. Many of the people will have been trying to cross before the end of Title 42, like Diana, because they felt they would face a less serious penalty. Many of them flew to Tijuana or walked from further south in Mexico, or even in Central America, and likely spent their entire savings on a trip to the gap in the wall near Hacumba that Ended with them being held by border patrol on the open desert with next to nothing in the way of shelter sanitation or sustenance. ([Time 0:43:29](https://share.snipd.com/snip/aac30d19-b278-40a7-9b05-47cbfaf09384)) - **Volunteers Kept People Alive** - A UCSD survey found Border Patrol often failed to provide adequate water, food, sanitation, shelter, or blankets. - Two-thirds of interviewed asylum seekers said volunteers were essential to their survival. Transcript: James Stout It apparently had some pretty problematic practices, but anyway, these are results from its survey. When asked whether Border Patrol gave them enough water for the day, over half of the asylum seekers that we interviewed, approximately 53%, said no. Border Patrol distributed one water bottle to each migrant in the morning. When asked whether Border Patrol gave them enough food for the day, all of the asylum seekers said no. Border Patrol did not distribute any food. When asked whether Border Patrol provided adequate sanitation, such as toilets, all of the asylum seekers that we interviewed, meaning 100%, said no. Border Patrol provided one port-a for the entire encampment. When asked whether Border Patrol provided adequate shelter, such as shade, to protect them from the sun, all of the asylum seekers that we interviewed said no. Border Patrol did not provide any shelter. When asked whether Border Patrol provided blankets to keep them warm at night, all but one of the asylum seekers we interviewed said no. Border Patrol provided blankets to some migrants, but the overwhelming majority did not receive blankets. Altogether, two-thirds of the asylum seekers we interviewed said that they agree or strongly agree with the statement, if I did not receive food and water from volunteers, I would Not get enough food and water from Border Patrol to survive. ([Time 0:45:28](https://share.snipd.com/snip/a53756a2-f82e-42d5-ae1c-2bbb0870cbe9)) - **Volunteers Handled Medical Crises** - Volunteers and street medics treated severe allergic reactions and other emergencies while waiting for ambulances. - Aid workers sometimes had to administer EpiPens and coordinate delayed emergency response. Transcript: James Stout Medical incidents in this kind of detention are far from uncommon. A lawsuit filed against Customs of Border Protection by the Southern Border Communities Coalition regarding their actions this week stated that, quote, Many migrants have fallen Into medical distress because of the conditions, and CBP has been slow to provide access to medical attention, often only responding at the insistence of advocates. As a result, one woman suffered life-threatening allergies, a child suffered an epileptic seizure, and a man suffered an unattended infection on his leg. Medical attention was slow to arrive, and when it did arrive, it was often insufficient. I'll let Caber describe the conditions they saw a couple of days after the end of Title 42. That's really the part that is hard to understate. The conditions there were not or sanitary. Kaba I guess this is sort of related to the medical issues, but there was, it's been, you know, to their credit, this aspect has been reported in the media, but there was a single portable toilet For anywhere from, I guess there's probably 200 to 400 people there. I heard a couple of different citations of how often this toilet is serviced and cleaned and the waste removed anywhere from once or twice a week to once every week or two weeks. Either way, that's not remotely sufficient for 400 people using the bathroom multiple times a day in this single portable like just a construction site toilet um it was right next to The phone charging station on the other side of the wall and my i would just feel sick if i got if i stood too close to it um it was really vile it was not safe um it is not a way for people to be Healthy. And I do know, I think a lot of, thankfully, people stopped using it, but then they don't have a privacy or that's still not, you know, a sanitary situation to be in since, I mean, they don't Have a future home space where they were. So that's definitely one of the ways that people are being neglected in terms of their health and safety. James Stout Here's Hamara, who will hear more from tomorrow, describing another medical incident. Hamara Yousefi And the call that I got this morning was of a woman who was rushed out because she had an emergency situation taken to the hospital. The hospital didn't know what to do with her. So they sent her right back here in the middle of the night in the middle of the night and they brought her here she doesn't have any documents CBP didn't get a chance to process her yet so She doesn't even have any proof that she actually came to the port of entry and tried to seek asylum and she was just sleeping right here and she has burns all over her body has an infection I read the the medications that they gave her. And she speaks daddy. She's from Afghanistan. Her husband got taken by the Taliban and she escaped running for her life. And she's here and she has sunburns all over her face and she has nowhere to go. She thought she was still detained. She actually thought she was still detained. She was just trying to get back to the other side of the border. She thought she was still in Mexico. No one explained anything to her. They brought her back here in the middle of the night, and she was freezing. And so that's why I came out here. I talked to her. The other folks who were out here didn't know why. She was just sleeping here. And I came out and tried and translated. And now we have her at a hotel. James Stout Kaba witnessed one of the emergencies described in the Southern Border Communities Coalition lawsuit when they visited the camp. Here's them describing it. Kaba In terms of, you know, medical care as well, like I said, one of the parts of the aid operation that was going on was people, I think it was a combination both of people who were in street Medicine as well as people who were like nurses volunteering their time and things like that. ([Time 0:50:13](https://share.snipd.com/snip/d06d9125-11d5-4956-90db-7d297e9f2d3f)) - **Child Died In Custody** - An eight-year-old girl from Panama died in CBP custody after reported medical needs were not addressed. - Her parents said staff dismissed worsening symptoms and delayed calling an ambulance. Transcript: James Stout In Texas, Anadis Tanay Reyes-Alvarez, an eight-year girl born in Panama to Honduran parents, died in CBP custody. Rosel Reyes, the girl's father, told NBC News that they gave authorities documents about the girl's medical conditions, congenital heart disease and sickle cell anemia, while they Were in immigration custody. They said that a doctor there examined Anadith and that she had contracted the flu. Alvarez, her mother, said she spoke to both detention authorities and medical personnel at the station multiple times to explain her daughter was complaining of pain and shortness Of breath and that she was getting worse. I'll quit the next part directly from the NBC story. They never listened to me, she said. Reyes said his daughter was in a lot of pain, a lot of pain. I begged them to call an ambulance, Alvarez said, adding that authorities told her the girl's condition wasn't serious enough to warrant calling an ambulance. Alvarez said her daughter begged authorities as well, telling them she could not breathe from her nose or mouth. Avarez says that eventually her daughter lost consciousness and died in my arms. She said authorities took the girl from her arms and put her on the floor, trying to revive her. My daughter died there, in the station, she said. ([Time 0:55:30](https://share.snipd.com/snip/93a6e277-60fe-410c-a0d1-be136c84644c)) - **Defensive Claims Create Long Road** - After Title 42's end, many crossings were treated as ineligible for affirmative asylum, forcing defensive claims and crowded, slow immigration courts. - Migrants face years-long backlogs and expensive legal costs that make winning asylum difficult without pro bono help. Transcript: James Stout From the 11th of May onwards, migrants at the border were assumed ineligible for asylum if they crossed between points of entry. They must enter the defensive asylum process to prevent themselves from being deported. What this means for people we heard from earlier is that they are now taken from whatever godforsaken holding area they're in and bus to a processing facility, where they're interviewed By an asylum officer to determine if they have a credible fear of persecution. They may need to provide a translator if there isn't an interviewing agent who speaks their language. And, if they're determined to have a credible fear, they're told to check in with the US Customs and Immigration Office, and sometimes given a notice, which may or may not be dated, to Appear in court. My colleague Joe tried to get into one of these hotels to talk to one of the people we'd spoken to at the border, but he was pretty quickly shut down. Speaker 5 Hey there, I'm a freelance journalist. I'm here reporting for my boss, James Stout. He's at iHeart Media. I'm wondering if you're letting media in here to see the conditions. Absolutely not. Okay. Joseph And also, we asked you guys not to constrict any of this area here. Okay. So if you're going to set up, it has to be on this side of the line because I'm a blind traffic. Yeah. And it's very dangerous for you. Okay. So like beyond here or past the coast? Yeah. From here, over. Okay, cool. I'll stay out of your way. Thank you, sir. James Stout One of the folks we'd met was able to stay in touch with our WhatsApp and share the hotel rules with us. They were pretty strict. Migrants are confined to their rooms, they can't have visitors, and they can't even order food delivery. From the hotel, where they're hosted by Catholic charities, migrants need to get to their sponsor in the United States if they have one. If they don't have one, they can be sent just about anywhere. I've heard of East African folks having ended up in Alaska, for example. Once they get to where they're going to be, they check in with US Customs and Immigration Services in their new location, and they're given a special phone which also tracks their movements. They may have a DNA sample taken in addition to fingerprints. Later, sometimes years later, they attend a court hearing or two to determine their eligibility to stay. I've heard of lawyers charging from $5,000 to $12,000 for these hearings, and non-profit legal assistant services are totally overwhelmed at the moment. ([Time 0:57:46](https://share.snipd.com/snip/89199ee2-2950-4487-a74c-caa52e70fbef)) - **Private Contractors Profit From Detention** - Private contractors profit from transporting and guarding migrants while earning low wages themselves. - The broader immigration system creates revenue streams for many corporations while detaining impoverished migrants. Transcript: James Stout Again, private security contractors, this time from Allied, were transporting migrants to the hotel and guarding it. Like CBP, the private contractors who guard, transport, and incarcerate migrants all rely on the broken immigration system to make money. Unlike CBP, the agents themselves aren't well paid. $19 an hour is the going rate for Allied, not much higher than San Diego's $16.30 minimum wage. But the company itself is huge. It's the third last year's private employer in North America, after Walmart and Amazon. Allied guards are at prisons, airports, and shopping malls across America, and it's alleged that some are underpaid, insufficiently trained and improperly vetted. The company grosses over $20 billion, and its affiliates are frequent political donors. All across this story you'll see this. Allied security, ISS action security, people smugglers, customs and border protection Contractors who build the wall pieces and contractors who install the wall pieces. General Atomics who sell CBP drones. And the Israeli and American companies who sell the surveillance technology to the government. All these people make money. But the poorest people in the world are the only ones losing money. ([Time 1:00:20](https://share.snipd.com/snip/1ce33038-63bd-4480-a2cb-7b6ae951898e))