When one student asked why unauthorized immigrants would try to come back, given that crossing is risky and the economic situation is improving below the border, Ramsey said that many have built lives in America, complete with families, homes and jobs.
Most of the asylum-seekers who cross the border have crossed before and are attempting to re-enter after being deported, she said. She recalled that the highest number of deportations were under the Obama administration in 2013. 10 years later, many are still trying to return.
“Hostile Terrain 94” being finished near the holidays is well-timed, Ramsey said. During Thanksgiving and winter break, many go home and see relatives, so Ramsey encourages students to start a conversation with those in their family unaware of the degree of brutality at the border.
“It’s been a lot of work,” Sara Grelak, senior anthropology major and one of Ramsey’s assistants on the project, said. “So now I kind of get to breathe and let other people [hang the tags], and so that’s good.”
The U.S. is not the only nation facing similar migration law issues and violence. Ramsey pointed out that the problem is global. For instance, Australia, where she was born, has mandatory detention centers where immigrants stay until they receive a visa or are removed from the country.
The exhibit is not the first of its kind. It is based on the work of Jason De Leon, a renowned anthropology researcher and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“Given that Georgina and the students and other faculty certainly have been working on it for several years, the fact that it’s up there and that we can have it be part of this center – where we teach and we have our meetings – is really great,” Benson said. “I hope it can be up here for years.”
By Tabitha Reeves