The Great Quarantine

The story of a displaced man and his family

It was a hot day, and as we approached the border, we prayed, and hoped for a quick uneventful crossing. Little did we know that this was going to be about a 6 hour process, involving quarantine, an interrogation, masks, gloves, handcuffs, a mug shot and time in a holding cell.  Amy, Judah, a friend of ours, and I, made it to the border at around 1 P.M.  The waiting line was actually very short, and within minutes, we were talking to the border officer.  He checked our documents, and asked who had recently had a medical test, we explained that as part of my visa process I had a medical test, whose results had recently come back negative and been sent directly to the consulate.  He waived us to a separate area, where they asked us for some paperwork and took around an hour to talk to the consulate, since it was Sunday, they were unable to reach the consulate (or at least someone who knew about our case, as it was probably buried on a desk somewhere), so, they didn’t have any update about my medical results.  We had called the consulate just a couple days before, and they assured us that there wouldn’t be a problem, if we tried to cross, and that we could travel on my tourist visa.

So,  after a half hour or so, of waiting in the truck, the whole thing went south, an officer approached us, and asked if we had any proof of the medical results, and we explained that the medical center had send it directly to the consulate.  He left and returned with a medical mask on, and all of a sudden, every officer that came near us, had a medical mask and gloves on.  They asked us to roll up the windows as we continued to wait while they tried to get a hold of someone at the consulate.  After awhile the truck was low on gas and it was so hot, they finally said we could lower the windows if we wore masks that they gave us, (fortunately, they didn’t ask us to put one on Judah).  After 4 hours waiting on the truck, they gave me gloves, and asked me to come inside the building. 

Inside of the building, they explained to me that we hadn’t done anything wrong, but they couldn’t just ignore what they had on the system, (that I possibly had tuberculosis, that my tourist visa was cancelled, and that I was trying to cross the border with an invalid/fake document, which happens to be a federal offense) they assured me that this kind of things happen all the time (really? Are you kidding me?) and that after due process I would be let go, without further consequences, except for losing my tourist visa.  The tourist visa was cancelled a couple days before (but after we had called the consulate), as part of the normal process of the resident visa (green card) that I am applying for.  However, we were not informed of that.

They proceeded to take my fingerprints, a mug shot, and then handcuffed me, and took me to a cell, and interrogated me for the space of an hour. Finally, after an hour and a half after entering, they took another short statement, and released me back to where Amy, Judah, and my friend, had been waiting.  We drove back to Juarez, with barely enough gas in the truck to make it, (we had been using the A/C in the truck, after the four hour drive, and that drained the gas tank).  We stopped for pizza (we had planned to eat lunch in El Paso, and that never happened), and then located an hotel in Juarez.

As hard as the whole day was we are very thankful to God for a few things.  The people who were dealing with us were very kind, and tried their best to help us and explain what was going on even though they, themselves, didn’t really understand.  They told us numerous times, they wished they could do it differently, but they had to follow procedure.  They offered us food and drinks (some of which I think was from their own lunches).  Judah did pretty well considering the circumstances.  We had all gone to the bathroom at the toll booth shortly before arriving at the border, and so we were able to survive the entire time in the truck.  We had some snacks that helped us.  These may not seem like much but with a 1 and a half year old and a 7 month pregnant wife, it is.

Conference