‘That Mexican thing’ lurking in the Arizona desert
Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez's face stares from a portrait hung on the cliff under the border fence in Nogales, Mexico. In 2012, a US border agent shot Jose Antonio through the fence.
(Season 2, Episode 5) In the burning heat of Arizona's vast, mostly empty Wild West desert, young Mexican American teenagers decide between working for the border guard or for the cartels smuggling drugs and people north. The kids that choose to be border agents face anger within their own families, as migrants desperate to come to the US die nameless deaths.
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. If you’ve been thinking about making a donation, this is the best time to do it. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. All donations between now and June 30 will be matched 2:1. Will you help keep our newsroom on strong footing by giving to The World?