Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 2014)
Z Â - ü i ■ I ■ J < '• ; jjjllli . ; ,sW .^> frWy* ; ' ® ■ - 1 ~r ms . ï R E U T ER S/JO S E LU IS G O N Z A L E Z A m an watches a U.S. border patrol helicopter from a fence a t the border between Mexico and the United States, in Ciudad Juarez. Author Todd Miller and the increasing militarization o f our borders Todd Miller will speak at the Rock Creek Event Center Portland Community College, noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23. BY JOANNE ZUHL STAFF W R IT E R , ear is big business, and managing that fear along our nation’s 5,000 border miles is a booming industry. Author Todd Miller has researched and written about immigration and border issues along our Canadian and Mexican boundaries for more than 15 years. His writings on the issue have appeared in the New York Times, TomDispatch, Mother Jones, The Nation, A1 Jazeera English, and Salon, among others. His latest book, “Border Patrol Nation,” released in March, delves into the militarization of our borders, a so-called border security industrial complex with expansive powers and an equally expansive budget This multi-billion dollar industry is a new marketplace for military corporations to ply their repurposed wares, according to Miller, who regularly attends trade shows and conferences where- companies market their latest in B surveillance and warfare technology. It’s done under the auspices of the war on terrorism, with, tremendous profits to be had by corporations, and considerable threats to civil and humanitarian rights of those caught in its sights. We start our conversation with a snapshot of what the border looks like today, and how has it has changed since 9/1T. Todd M illen You come to Nogales, for example, and the most prominent thing you’re going to see is this approximately 18-foot wall that bisects what looks like it should be one town. They call it Ambos Nogales in Spanish. It loosely means “both Nogales,” which means that it’s essentially one community that’s been bisected into two by the wall. This didn’t used to be the case; in fact it’s - very recent, relatively speaking. Twenty years ago this wall did not exist See BORDER, page 8 Inside When the safely net breaks An illustrated outcry The hum an fallout o f one o f the largest payee closures in the state Activist Regina Holliday talks about her unique approach to patients' rights Page 3 Page 10 "The kind of resources and tbe kind of teclmotef les they have and the amount of agents they have is unprecedented. Never before in tbe bistory of tbe United States bave we bad so many agents, so mncb technology, so mncb money just poured into this border enforcement apparatus/'
