Border Patrol Attacks Demonstrators as No Borders Camp Closes

Border Patrol Attacks Demonstrators as No Borders Camp Closes
Hundreds Gather in Calexico / Mexicali to Advocate a World Without Borders
By Geoff & Panagioti

On the evening of November 11th, participants in the first No Border Camp
international solidarity action to take place on both sides of a border,
dismantled the camp and marched west on either side of what has become a
15 foot wall dividing Mexicali (Mexico) and Calexico (United States),
converging on the port of entry to protest the militarized border. The
demonstration was peaceful until the US Border Patrol, without giving an
order to disperse or other warning, brutally attacked those on the US side
with point-blank rounds of pepper-spray pellets, batons, and swarm
tactics, leaving several badly injured. This event was the final action of
the No Borders Camp, and came after a week of peaceful confrontation and
resistance to the border system.

The Border Patrol made three arrests: Steve Murphy, Erik Wackernagel and
Juan Ruiz. The three arrestees are being held in the Imperial County Jail
in El Centro, California. All three have been charged with impeding a
federal officer and will appeared before a federal magistrate judge on
Tuesday, November 13. Ruiz, a Colombian citizen, will likely be held
pending immigration issues related to his charges. If you would like to
donate to the legal support fun, visit www.noborderscamp.org Further
support and solidarity information will be available soon.

More than 500 people participated on both sides of the wall in the No
Borders Camp during the week of November 7-11. Actions during the camp
included a rally and march on November 9 at the U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement detention facility in El Centro, CA and a memorial
service on November 10 at a cemetery in Holtville, CA where the remains of
about 600 migrants who have died crossing the border are buried. All
activities during the camp were peaceful and intended to build connections
across borders.