The Rio Grande Valley is a community of communities, located just north of the U.S.-Mexico border and bursting with life. The residents here are primarily Hispanic, Democratic and RGV born-and-bred. Ahead of President Trump’s first visit to the area since he took office, and amid his continued push for $5.7 billion border wall fortifications and an ongoing federal government shutdown, I visited the area to get to know it and its population.
Here at the McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge talking to local folks who regularly cross the border. In the event a wall is constructed, they say for them it’ll still be business as usual. #kens5eyewitness pic.twitter.com/cohH9K4f8X
— David Lynch (@RealDavidLynch) January 9, 2019
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Gelacio Martínez says she’s lived in Reynosa, Mexico, for about 12 years. “The President has the liberty to decide how to protect his country. Those of us who have our visas will still pass when we want,” she said. #kens5eyewitness pic.twitter.com/cM9jIO9aBa
— David Lynch (@RealDavidLynch) January 9, 2019
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Here, just a few miles north of the border, immigration of the legal and illegal variety is a way of life. Stores rely on Mexicans crossing the McAllen Hidalgo International Bridge for business, you’ll see as many signs in Spanish as in English and the residents of Hidalgo are just a few minutes’ walk from the border itself.
Amid the Trump administration’s calling the situation along the border a “crisis,” most of the people who live here say there is none. Others on the opposite side of the political spectrum insist there is a crisis, and it’s been ongoing for years.
Bert Guerra owns Cine El Rey in the heart of McAllen, and said he put this message up on the marquee to start a dialogue ahead of Trump’s arrival. Whether or not the city is definitely the seventh safest, crime here has gone down drastically. More in story later. #kens5eyewitness pic.twitter.com/sqVU2wlsPI
— David Lynch (@RealDavidLynch) January 9, 2019
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Candid life in McAllen and the Reynosa-Hidalgo gate today. #kens5eyewitness pic.twitter.com/f6w8A0zzR5
— David Lynch (@RealDavidLynch) January 9, 2019
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On Thursday, January 10, as President Donald Trump was flying toward the McAllen International Airport, protesters and supporters alike began to line the blocks just across the street where he would land. Hidalgo County is deeply blue, but the dueling rallies proved there is still a strong contingent of Republicans here.
Dozens of folks here in McAllen in support of Donald Trump and his border wall proposal… #kens5eyewitness #kens5 #txborder pic.twitter.com/ix8RpdpiWp
— David Lynch (@RealDavidLynch) January 10, 2019
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…and dozens of folks in protest, just yards away. Both contingents out in force today. #kens5eyewitness @kens5 #txborder pic.twitter.com/wJiNdfjepl
— David Lynch (@RealDavidLynch) January 10, 2019
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What began as a pair of groups attempting to out-chant each other on the same block soon took over all four corners of the nearby intersection where the airport is located.
Dueling rallies have moved to opposite sides of 10th Street, just across the street where Trump is expected to land very soon. #kens5eyewitness @kens5 #txborder #txpol pic.twitter.com/5NMtFiss5M
— David Lynch (@RealDavidLynch) January 10, 2019
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Victor Valdez says he used to live in NYC in one of Trump’s buildings; has now lived here for about 25 years. “There’s no crisis,” he says. #kens5eyewitness @kens5 pic.twitter.com/0nHqSyHdus
— David Lynch (@RealDavidLynch) January 10, 2019
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Later, as news that Trump landed and was at a roundtable at a nearby Border Patrol station, the crowd began to migrate there.
Now standing across the street from Border Patrol station where Trump is holding a roundtable with local officials and authorities. This group is made up intermittently of protesters and supporters, *all* the way down this block. #kens5eyewitness @kens5 pic.twitter.com/gbE8vsRHtG
— David Lynch (@RealDavidLynch) January 10, 2019
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Later, back at the airport a few hours after he landed, the president prepared to depart once again. Across the street in the parking lot of the La Plaza Mall, supporters waited eagerly to get a last look.
Folks here in the mall lot across the street from airport and waiting for Trump to depart McAllen after visit. #kens5eyewitness @kens5 pic.twitter.com/bSMyw5p6gD
— David Lynch (@RealDavidLynch) January 10, 2019
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The president has left #McAllen. #border #kens5eyewitness @kens5 pic.twitter.com/P2kMSKDizn
— David Lynch (@RealDavidLynch) January 10, 2019
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#kens5eyewitness #bordervisit @kens5 pic.twitter.com/uB0QwYACiQ
— David Lynch (@RealDavidLynch) January 10, 2019
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The next day, before returning to San Antonio, I headed to Hidalgo. While McAllen is indeed a border community, the much smaller city of Hidalgo is the doormat to the United States, where houses sit one to two miles away from the border. Bollards and fencing run alongside some of this community’s busiest roads.
For the most part, the people here say they feel completely safe. To them, it’s just like living anywhere else.
Before returning to SA today, I wanted to get to know the folks a bit in Hidalgo—which sits just a mile or two from the border (McAllen is 9 or 10 miles north).
Gilda Bargaz has lived here for ~25 years. “We don’t need a wall, we need another bridge for the long lines.” pic.twitter.com/amAo6GOJZS
— David Lynch (@RealDavidLynch) January 11, 2019
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Hidalgo, Texas, the final U.S. community here before hitting the border. #kens5eyewitness @kens5 #txborder pic.twitter.com/Qccx0qZBoP
— David Lynch (@RealDavidLynch) January 11, 2019
