Reading and Discussion Questions
Ken Ellingwood, Hard Line: Life and Death on the U.S.-Mexico Border
1. Why does Ken Ellingwood begin his story with a funeral?
2. How does the author explain why the border has become deadlier since
the early 1990s?
3. “The border is now everywhere” (p. 8). What does the author
mean?
4. What is Operation Gatekeeper?
5. Ellingwood’s book tells the stories of border patrol agents,
anti-immigration and human rights activists, INS officials, desperate
migrants, religious humanitarians, and ordinary people who live on or
near the U.S.-Mexico border in places like Douglas, Arizona. What does
he gain by presenting a variety of narratives rather than concentrating
on one or two? Do you think this is an effective strategy? Why or why
not?
6. What point do you think is being made with the story of members of
the Tohono O’odham Indian tribe, whose reservation extends to both
sides of the border?
7. How did the attacks of September 11, 2001 alter the national debate
about immigration from Mexico? Did they change what was happening on the
border?
8. What do you think of the “hard line” border policy described
in this book in light of recent moves in the U.S. Congress toward comprehensive
immigration reform, including both border enforcement and a path toward
citizenship for undocumented workers already living in the United States?
|