More Border Crossing Books and Movies

After I tweeted about Johnny Rico’s book Border Crosser yesterday, @pdguymikeg noted that the book reminded him of Ted Conover’s classic, Coyotes.

In his 1987 book, Conover describes his experiences posing as an immigrant, crossing the border twice and learning first-hand about those who sneak Mexicans and other Latin Americans across the U.S. border.

He says he spent the year he devoted to this project “working, drinking, smoking, driving, sleeping, sweating and shivering with Mexicans.”

Other books about border illegal border crossers include:

• Enrique’s Journey (2007). Account of a 17-year-old boy’s harrowing attempt to find his mother in the U.S. Won two Pulitzer Prizes when it was first published in the Los Angeles Times.
• The Devil’s Highway (2005). The true story of 26 men who trekked across the U.S. border and into an area of the Arizona desert known as the Devil’s Highway. Only 12 made it safely across.
• Dead in Their Tracks (2003). Newsweek photo journalist chronicles the journey of four Mexican nationals determined to cross a 130-mile desert trail illegally to find work to feed their families.

Here are some movies about border crossers:

• Sin Nombre (2009). Indy-film about Central American perilous journey through Mexico to the U.S. Gets bogged down describing the evils of gangs.
• El Norte (1983). Depicts Guatemalan brother and sister’s passage into the U.S. via Mexico. Follows them as they endure hardships of adjusting to a new life. A bit made-for-TVish, but tells a good story.
• Under the Same Moon. Young Mexican boy sneaks into the U.S. to be with his mother in Los Angeles. Narrowly avoids disaster at every turn. A good movie to watch with relatively mature kids.