Luis Garcia

Portrait by: Leopoldo Peña

32. Rising with Strength to Help

“I had to go before the judge, who told me he wouldn’t offer me equal treatment, that they would treat me differently, that they would make an example out of me for trying to cross back over in less than fifteen days when I had been deported for life. They had me handcuffed day and night by my hands and feet, only uncuffing me for short periods of time to drink water or to eat. They treated me very poorly, it was this reality that made me decide to stay here Tijuana. I got into drugs, I lived in the canal, a place where the majority of immigrants feel safe because in the streets they look at us like we’re wild animals, especially the authorities. They don’t leave us in peace..”

32. Rising with Strength to Help