ustxtxb_obs_2001_12_21_50_00008-00000_000.pdf

Paso every weekday to attend college or high school. They told me that they were working on that and that they were also trying to improvise some sort of impromptu emergency mass transit system. Adding to the delays caused by increased security measures was the confusion caused by the introduction of a new laser visa for frequent border crossers. “Technology should make the process smoother,” Manuel ChacOn told me, somewhat optimistically, when I ran into him waiting in line at the bridge. ChacOn was a reporter with the ABC affiliate in El Paso. On his way back from covering a story in Juarez, he found himself stuck in a seemingly endless line of cars. As time went on and the cars ahead didn’t move, he began to realize that his story might never air. The technology to which he referred had been used to design what was supposed to be a counterfeit-proof visa that would make the inspection process more efficient. But too many people were still showing up with their old border crossing cards. Moreover, INS had never bothered to install the machines required to read the new high-tech laser visas. “Technology” had failed. Meanwhile, the long lines of captive drivers \(and pedestristreet vendors than usual; a group of money changers in orange suits had flocked to the bridge, happy to accommodate those who couldn’t wait to change pesos into dollars. A team of paramedics from the El Paso Fire Department set up shop and was busy bicycling back and forth from one end of the bridge to the other, armed with oxygen and bandages. They mostly treated fainting spells and exhaustion, but assured me that if the need were to arise, they were ready to deliver any baby who couldn’t wait to reach El Paso. Unfortunately, the long delays had also taken a deadly toll. On October 21, Francisco and Laura Valenzuela were returning to their home in El Paso after a day in Juirez.The Valenzuelas are legal residents of the United States with family in Mexico. It was latearound 11 at nightand the A team of paramedics from the El Paso Fire Department set up shop and was busy bicycling back and forth from one end of the bridge to the other armed with oxygen and ‘bandages…if the need were to arise, they were ready to deliver any baby who couldn’t wait to reach El Paso. 8 THE TEXAS OBSERVER 12/21/01