The creator of an image can serve as that audience; the audience need not be external to the rhetor. - Sonja K Foss, Theory of Basic Rhetoric
MEMO:
Re: Jacumba, CA Open Air Detention Sites Portrayed by the Media (September 2023-March 2024)
With this memorandum I intend to discuss the visual rhetoric used by the media as they attempt to report on the current humanitarian crises at the Jacumba, CA open air detention sites setup by US Border Patrol near the US/MX border.
INTENTION: Using images selected from Left and Right leaning media organizations I intend to show that none represent the facts accurately, and both tend to amplify fears and dangerous rhetoric from the right-wing fringe end of the political spectrum.
CHALLENGES: As a humanitarian aid volunteer who's been active since the beginning of the current crises, September 2023, I find it hard to not be hyper biased and critical towards all forms of media portrayal of the man-made crises at the US/MX border.
"Makeshift camp", "hastily erected shelters", two misleading statements in the caption to this photo of asylum seekers at the Moon OADS (open air detention site created by US Border Patrol).
What messages are we supposed to be receiving from this? If we just look at the photo and ignore the text, in the foreground. Chaos? In the background we see order, and people waiting. For what? The appear cold as they wait. Meanwhile those in the foreground are wearing jackets and back packs.
OADS exist at the behest of US Border Patrol as asylum seekers voluntarily give themselves up to legally begin the process of seeking official asylum in the US.
Border Patrol takes issue with the term OADS and prefer to use the term "staging area" while the media continue to use "makeshift camp" and "camps" in their stories and headlines.
The shelters in the photos were built by volunteer aid workers after careful planning and construction at each of the three OADS in Jacumba, CA. "Hastily built" they were not.
According to Barthe, "it is now the words which structurally are parasitic on the image. And, "formerly the image illustrated the text, today, the text loads the image, burdening it with a culture, a moral, an imagination.
In the image above we see:
Approximately 30 adults standing in a line parallel with the top of the photo's frame. These asylum seekers were more than likely told by the Border Patrol agents to stand in a line to wait for a BP van that would pick them up and transport them to a processing station somewhere in San Diego County. They are also told to remove all shoelaces, strip down to single layers of shirts and pants, and to put everything in their backpacks that need to have their "tags" attached to them, so that they can be returned to them after detention.
The other asylum seekers that remain in the foreground were probably told to wait for another van or bus to arrive, and therefore are wandering about near the humanitarian aid volunteer-built shelters.
On one of the sides of the shelters that faces the camera shows signs of fire damage as it is thought that some of the migrants probably tried to stay warm by building fires that were too close to the structures which have plastic tarp attached to them to create a water and wind tight shelter.
Looking towards the top of the fire-damaged shelter we see a bundle of blue tarps and rocks. This is migrant intervention, as they linked two single standing shelters with additional tarp to create more shelter.
In the middle of the scene we see a man facing the camera holding a cooler in front of him as he walks to the right frame of the image. This is Sam Schultz, one of the Jacumba locals, and a fixture of the humanitarian aid volunteer scene. Sam is probably either feeding or has already asked all of the asylum seekers present if they were hungry and offered them a sandwich, fruit and water.
Just toward the bottom right corner of the frame, and above the shelter in the foreground, is another volunteer standing nearby.
Migrants wait here in this space because Border Patrol tells them to, not because they decided to stop here and wait. Our broken immigration system has created this mess as this is the only means or option for a majority of people trying to escape danger, and a better life. The process for asylum into the US is plagued with apps that only work for a handful of languages, appointments that are months away.
According to Al Otro Lado, whom I consulted in this analysis, "migrants are forced to wait in dangerous border cities where thousands have been assaulted, robbed, kidnapped or killed. People seeking safety are forced to cross between ports of entry and corralled into OADS," making the act of seeking protection in the U.S. improvised, disorganized and dangerous option for people.
Organized crime has benefited immensely from the US Government's failure to tackle the issue of migration in a honest manner. Most of the migrants in the photo probably endured a variety of journeys, some less than dangerous than others, and some less comfortable than others. On top of the huge fee, sometimes over $10k per person, migrants face sexual abuse, physical violence, robbery, and sometimes death, or severe injury from falls from the 30' walls or from the dangerous landscape that Jacumba, CA can be.
Source: Migrants continue to flock into unofficial border camp near remote California town by the hundreds - By Andy Tillett - Published Feb. 19, 2024, 5:45 p.m. ET
https://nypost.com/2024/02/19/us-news/migrants-continue-to-flock-to-jacumba-hot-springs-california/
Formerly, the image illustrated text (made it clearer); today, the text loads the image, burdening it with a culture, a moral, an imagination. - A Barthes Reader , The Photographic Message
Another view of the Moon OADS, but when empty. The caption leads the reader to think that this "camp" is only used by Chinese, when in fact it is used by asylum seekers who's country of origin could be from any of the 20+ known countries that have been represented at these OADS since September 2023.
Why did the Daily Mail choose this as part of their story. Is it because it looks like trash is everywhere and because it closely resembles a homeless encampment? Do they want us to have the same feelings towards asylum seekers that we have for the homeless? Are we supposed to think that these people are messy, and poor, and not wanted?
There is a lot of trash and burned out campfires shown in the photo. The additional tarps and tents in the pic were brought to Moon by volunteers to help shield the vulnerable population from the harsh winter elements of Jacumba. The same with the seemingly discarded stacks of cardboard visible in the lower right corner of the frame. These pieces of cardboard were dropped off to give the migrants something cleaner softer for people to sit or lay on while awaiting transport to processing by Border patrol
The Daily Mail article that this photo accompanies focuses on the fact that the number of asylum seekers has plumeted since the arrival of Mexican National Guard on the other side of the border wall at the the specific site that allows people to cross easily.
The article's use of the word "camps" gives the impression that these sites are a leisure endeavor, or a choice for the migrants. The truth is a lot harsher. They cannot leave, or will suffer severe consequences. Border Patrol does not provide any shelter, food, electrical outlets, or first aid, unless an emergency presents itself. The list of things that deem the word "camps" a joke is long.
Source: What took you so long? Mexican military finally cracks down on border crisis at flashpoint Jacumba ahead of Biden and Trump visits - By MARYANN MARTINEZ, TEXAS BUREAU CHIEF, IN JACUMBA, CALIF., FOR DAILYMAIL.COM, PUBLISHED: 09:03 EDT, 29 February 2024 | UPDATED: 10:11 EDT, 29 February 2024
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/us-border-crisis/article-13136481/Mexican-military-border-crisis-flashpoint-Jacumba-Calif-Chinese-migrants-flooding-border-ahead-Biden-Trump-visits.html
We see three signs seemingly made from wood with English and Chinese words painted on them that say "Asylum" along with an arrow pointing in the right-hand direction. Behind the signs is a large electrical tower, 6 portapotties, a dumpster and a solar powered light system.
The photographer or editor manipulated the scene to show only three of the four signs we created and erected around the Tower 177 OADS. What you do not see here is the "Asilo" sign, for the other population of asylum seekers who predominantly speak Spanish.
This OADS is named Tower 177, and along with the OADS Willow is not actively being used by "travel agents" or smugglers as they are referred to in a lot of spaces, to drop off SUV loads of asylum seekers.
The change is due to a strong presence of Mexican National Guard along two of the main border openings in the Jacumba/Boulevard, CA area in Eastern San Diego County.
There are two issues with this photo. One is the emphasis, again on Chinese being the asylum seekers, when there are multiple countries of origin repressented in the asylum seeking population that have been documented along the US/MX border.
The second issue is with the implication that these signs lead to a guaranteed new life in America. The fact is that yes, these signs were placed in the area around Tower 177 to help migrants find their way, but for more pragmatic reasons.
These signs were created after it was learned that the old means of crossing the US/MX border was disrupted by the presence of the Mexican National Guard, which lead to asylum seekers being dropped off in even more remote areas by the "travel agents" (aka human smugglers). This change lead to migrants walking sometimes many hours in the cold, wet, and windy desert at night.
Once we discovered this new danger a volunteer came up with the idea of placing guiding signs to help prevent possible death and help migrants find a safe way to the Border Patrol mandated Open Air Detention Sites. And yes we choses Chinese as one of the languages because like everyone else we noticed high numbers of Chinese passing through.
Asylum seekers have a very uncertain future once they give themselves up to Border Patrol. Those who have sponsors are released and face a complex system and years of court proceedings, a complex system and other obstacles as they seek to win protection. Other not so fortunate people are deported to their place of origin or expelled back to Mexico after they are detained.
The chances of an asylum seekers making it through the initial processing is very low, somewhere in the low 20%'s. So, the notion that these signs lead to a "new life" is very misleading. These signs provide safe passage from near death, that is all.
Source: What took you so long? Mexican military finally cracks down on border crisis at flashpoint Jacumba ahead of Biden and Trump visits - By MARYANN MARTINEZ, TEXAS BUREAU CHIEF, IN JACUMBA, CALIF., FOR DAILYMAIL.COM, PUBLISHED: 09:03 EDT, 29 February 2024 | UPDATED: 10:11 EDT, 29 February 2024
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/us-border-crisis/article-13136481/Mexican-military-border-crisis-flashpoint-Jacumba-Calif-Chinese-migrants-flooding-border-ahead-Biden-Trump-visits.html
This image taken from the JLR Investigates YouTube Channel, is called a "thumbnail" that is created to entice prospective viewers to click on the graphic to see what the video portends to be about. In this graphic we see 8 male asylum seekers with their backs towards the camera, hands behind their heads, with one looking back as an "agent" seems to be looking at their documents that were just handed to them. Along the bottom foreground we see exaggerated text that screams “MIGRANT MEN ARRESTED” in red white and blue highlights surrounding the all caps white text.
We don’t need to think about what we are seeing here. The text screams it. We don’t need to wonder what the video will be about, the text screams it.
But if you were to be someone like me who has been part of the humanitarian crisis since September 9, 2023, you would know that asyslum seekers don't ever try to evade arrest. They are almost beyond obedient. They go out of their way to give themselves up to Border Patrol and seek asylum, which is an internationally recognized human right. The action of staying within the OADS is a form of following instructions given by Border Patrol agents.
What we see in the graphic and in the video is not what we are led to believe.
The law enforcement characters that we see are in fact not Border Patrol agents, but ISS Action “SW Border Transportation & Security Officers” hired by Border Patrol to help with the surge in processing demands.
These “temporary agents” are notorious for dramatizing the arresting of migrants by handcuffing them, despite migrants wanting to be detained while posing no proven danger to anyone. When full-time agents come to transport asylum seekers, they do not follow the same protocol that ISS agents practice consistently at all the OADS, from San Ysidro to Jacumba.
What is really going on is an abuse of power on a vulnerable population.
Conclusion:
When the humanitarian crisis began for me on 9/9/2023 there was no thought about how right-wing, conservative, or mainstream media would misconstrue the crisis at the US/MX border. Back then, the main concern we had as a collective of volunteers was, “Why isn’t anyone paying attention to this story, this tragedy?”
We tried getting the word out for weeks, yet no news organization would pay attention to our pleas. I even started to live stream from the OADS Whiskey 8 on a regular basis. We used social media, sent direct emails to local, state, and federal officials seeking help and financial aid.
It wasn’t until mid to late October that some media outlets began to pick up the story.
Today, the story has gone viral, worldwide, and like other topics that go worldwide, this story isn’t portrayed accurately as much as we the people with boots on the ground would like.
Accuracy is important because this is a life or death situation to begin with, and now with so much disinformation about who asylum seekers are, the legality of humanitarian volunteers assisting said seekers and the hyper sensationalisitic voyeuristic methodology of right-wing YouTubers, the lives and safety of migrants AND volunteers are now in danger.
There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight to this man-made crisis, nor to the misinformation campaigns that are being amplified by the current 2024 presidential campaign. All I can hope for as a humanitarian aid volunteer is that eventually the rhetoric will die down and that we can continue to do the work within a safe environment.