I-Team Investigation: ‘Our Own Backyard’

The border debate is being watched very closely just south of the Coachella Valley.

Only 92 miles seperate Coachella and Calexico.

Crossing the border into Mexicali, Mexico, it doesn’t take long to see the suffering.

Casa de Ayuda Alfa y Omega is a shelter for migrants who are hoping to gain entry into the United States.

Two young men shared their stories with us, showing scars from attacks that they claim were carried out by MS-13 gang members in Honduras.

In Spanish, one of them told us he has proof that they want to kill him and will present that to U.S Customs and Border Protection when he seeks asylum.

Pastor Tomas Diosdado runs the shelter which was helping about 120 people on the day we visited.

They’ve had as many as 550 people staying there.

Their stories are just part of the debate right now.

In Calexico, we see the newly fortified fence in the downtown area angering some people, including immigration consultant and former mayor of Calexico Maritza Hurtado.

“It was shocking, depressing to see that,” Hurtado says.

She’s talking about the addition of miles of barbed wire at the top of the fence.

Meanwhile, the Calexico chief of police, Gonzalo Gerardo, says the fence has made a big difference in security in his city.

He says property crimes are down significantly since most of the current fencing was built in the late 1990s.

FBI statistics back up his argument, showing a steep decline in property crimes over the last 20 years.

“The fence has never created any friction between us,” says Gerardo.

Hurtado disagrees.

Last year, Calexico and Mexicali held a binational concert.

People in both cities enjoyed each other’s musical performances.

The mayors of both cities took pictures together on each side.

“We need a door, not a wall,” Hurtado says.

The door would be an expanded port of entry helping people from both sides who get caught in long lines re-entering the United States.

The day we traveled to Mexicali, the line was about 35 minutes long.

At times, that wait can be much longer.

Back at the shelter, a 5-year-old girl hopes she’ll get a chance to cross the border telling us in Spanish that she wants to speak English and go to college.