This week on Fronteras:
A conversation with Francisco Cantú, former Border Patrol agent and author of “The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border.”
He begins by talking about becoming an agent in 2008 and what he witnessed in the harsh Arizona desert. Cantú also discusses the inspiration behind the title “The Line Becomes a River” (3:35), and why he felt he needed to join the Border Patrol to understand immigration issues (6:30).
From his first days as a field agent in the Tucson (11:19) to tales of the immigrants he encountered in the field (16:36) to Cantú's eventual transfer to El Paso, where he begins to see how U.S. immigration policy “weaponizes the landscape.”
Francisco Cantu served as an agent for the U.S. Border Patrol from 2008 to 2012, working in the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. A former Fulbright fellow, he is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize and a 2017 Whiting Award. His writing and translations have been featured in Best American Essays, Harper's, n+1, Orion, and Guernica, as well as on This American Life. He lives in Tucson.
Part two of the interview will air Feb. 23 on Fronteras.
Norma Martinez can be reached at norma@tpr.org or on Twitter @NormDog1
