Crossing the Wire

Victor asks a woman where the bus is going, and she tells him Agua Prieta, which is on the border across from Douglas, Arizona. The bus arrives in Agua Prieta, but Miguel doesn’t get off. The border here is lined only with barbed-wire fence, not a wall, though Border Patrol agents are everywhere.

Miguel pays the bus driver for an unscheduled stop, and Victor follows him off the bus. Displeased, Miguel ignores Victor as they walk toward the mouth of a narrow canyon. Finally, when they reach the border, Miguel motions for Victor to join him and finally recognizes him from their previous encounters.

Miguel reveals that he has already been across the border once. He was caught and beaten by vigilantes, who dumped him on the side of the road. There, he was found by Border Patrol agents and deported.

Miguel tries to get Victor to go on ahead, saying that he can’t afford any mistakes with his wife and four children back home. Victor refuses, as he doesn’t know the way, and Miguel relents, allowing Victor to join him on his journey. Miguel says they will go high into the mountains, on their route, so they won’t get caught.