San Diego, California Hatred, Fear and Vigilance

A flood of illegal Mexican immigrants fuels a wave of nativism and a tense face-off on the Tijuana border

Just as the sun slips toward the Pacific, they gather along Latin America's northernmost fringe. Several hundred white, mainly lower-middle-class Southern Californians arrive in dusty pickups and weathered sedans to confront what they say is a criminal invasion of America. They park single file along a marshy field on the San Diego-Tijuana border. Soon the men and women are engaged in chitchat typical of a social event. Their crimson bumper stickers proclaim WE WANT ORDER ON OUR BORDER, a demand that nearby U.S. Border Patrol agents work hard to enforce. Some of the 800 officers, who nightly nab upwards of 1,500...

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