Dear Ms. Silko

Ms. Silko:

First of all, I would like to thank you for addressing a topic as controversial as border control. As your essay showed, this is an issue that is easily and often swept under the rug by citizens and even government officials. Learning about the condoned behavior and actions of the Border Patrol was upsetting, but the sentiment in your words provided emotional insight into the border culture.

Your account of the Border Patrolmen and the dog was particularly unsettling and interesting. The anger of the Patrolmen was especially notable for how quickly they shifted their vexation from you and Gus to the dog. You later mention how politicians and media use dehumanizing and demonizing terms, and this is a perfect example of those in action. The Patrolmen did not see you and Gus as fellow humans, but as animals that are under the reign of the government and border. You did an impeccable job of representing this through the leash on the dog and the dog’s desire to not serve its masters. The patrolmen used the leash to restrict the dog’s freedom and to use it as means of control over the dog, but this did not keep the dog from rebelling in the only way she could. In the same way, the government and Border Patrol were trying to keep you and Gus, and millions of other people on the road, under their control. They use the border as means of restraint and limitation of liberty, but that does not keep people from doing what they feel they need to do. You mentioned you and the dog “exchanging looks.” I believe that you and the dog had a connection and understanding that night. You both know what it feels like to be restrained when all you want to do is “break loose.”

Thank you again for your informative and stirring words

Sincerely,

Samantha Welch