Live Blog: Margaret Regan Reads from her New Book Tonight at Antigone Books

Friday, 19 February 2010 22:41

Feb. 19, 2010, 8:15 p.m. Well, the event is just about over and I think it's safe to say that it was a success! Over 110 people showed up and the guests were really engaged in the discussion after the reading. I also hear people talking about how great they think the book is. If you are interested in border issues, I suggest you get a copy of Margaret's book. To read an excerpt from the book or to read some of Margaret's journalistic work, you can visit the Tucson Weekly web site.

8:07 p.m. There are no more questions from the audience, so Margaret thanked everyone for coming. Apparently the book is sold out here at Anigone. They had quite a few in stock, but they are all gone! A line formed quickly to have Margaret sign copies of the book. 

8:05 p.m. Mexico and the US are the only places where a  Third World country and a First World country share a border, and that makes the situation a lot more complicated someone said. Margaret said that's a really good point.

8:00 p.m. On Spanish-speaking TV networks there are ads about the seriousness and danger of illegal immigration, one guest said. Margaret said she didn't know about that, but it's important because she heard a story about a woman and her two young daughters who were walking through the desert and thought it would only be a two-hour walk, but it's a lot more than that! A lot of people walking or planning to walk across the border don't realize how far it is to Tucson or Phoenix and aren't informed about the risks.

7:58 p.m. One audience member said Border Action Network is a great resource for finding out more about laws and border issues. Of course Borderbeat.net is also a great resource!

7:55 p.m. Another person in the audience asked if Margaret will be doing a national book tour to spread awareness to other parts of the country. Margaret said, "I'm not Sarah Palin, I don't have someone to pay for me to tour," and everyone laughed. She said she might try to do some readings in cities where she has friends and family who she would visit anyway, but she said she wouldn't get an audience like this. There really was a great turnout! The whole bookstore is packed. Margaret appears to have a lot of fans.

7:51 p.m. Someone made a great comparison. He said, if a plane crashed at the Tucson airport each year and 200 people died, there would be an outcry. People would be aware and pay attention. But 200 immigrants are dying near Tucson each year and not much attention is being paid. The audience member praised Margaret for attempting to give this issue the attention it deserves.

7:48 p.m. She believes that you will not be arrested if you help and you inform authorities, but if you put them in your car or take them into your home without informing border patrol, you can be arrested if you're caught. She said she isn't too informed about the exact laws, but encourages people to find out, especially if they live in border towns. People seem interested in this topic.

7:45 p.m. One guest is explaining that he has been in a situaion where he encountered illegal immigrants who were in need of help and he wanted to help, but he felt worried about getting in trouble. He is asking Margaret if there are any resources or options for people who are in this type of situation.

7:41 p.m. Now she is talking about US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano's actions thus far regarding the border. She is also saying that Obama has addressed the border security issues, and she thinks that is extremely important.

7:39 p.m. Someone asked Margaret what she thinks the most disturbing thing about border issues is. Margaret said that in the 2008 fiscal year, nearly 200 immigrants died near Tucson. She said by writing the book, she is trying to bring attention to the high death rate.

7:35 p.m. Sometimes is was hard to come up with the words to describe the things she witnessed, Margaret said. She is telling some personal anecdotes, such as a time when she saw the border patrol agents put 11 immigrants in a cage! Yes, you read that correctly, a CAGE. She said this was one of the instances when she was speechless, but she let the journalist in her make her ask border patrol questions. She asked them about the cage, and they told her "Oh, there are swamp coolers in there," but when she looked in the cage later on, after the immigrants were taken out of the cage, she didn't see any coolers.

7:32 p.m.  When you are doing border reporting, every person you talk to has an amazing story, Margaret said. Someone asked her to explain the process of turning articles she wrote for the Tucson Weekly into a book. Margaret explained to the audience that the project started in 2000 when she would write individual articles about immigrants and border issues, and then about 2 or 3 years ago she decided to turn them into a book. The process was difficult, she said. She said one very interesting thing about having a 10-year long project is that you can see how things have evolved over the years, but, unfortunately things at the border haven't changed, she explained.

7:30 p.m. Margaret said that there aren't too many chapters that portray the Border Patrol search and rescue group in a positive light, but she does dedicate one chapter to them in which she writes sympathetically. She said that there were times where they saved people who would have otherwise died.

7:27 p.m. She said that most Mexican people who were caught trying to cross the boarder would waive their rights to a hearing before an immigration judge. She said Ishmael was transferred to a federal detention center in Florence, Ariz. Margaret said that almost every chapter includes a death, unfortunately, but that is the way it was.

7:23 p.m. Margaret continues reading from this passage and found out that one of the bodies she came across was of a man, a 23 year old, who had suffered a heart attack. This was common among those walking across the border because dehydration combined with the long walk led to such conditions.

7:20 p.m. "There was mucho calor, Ishmael said. A lot of heat...Ishmael began to have chest pains." Margaret read. She is describing the conditions that she and the undocumented immigrants endured at the border. She also read about some of the unclaimed bodies she encountered in the desert.

7:15 p.m. There are about 100 people in the audience, all of whom are listening vehemently as Margaret reads with her soothing voice. There is something exciting and comforting about listening to an author read their own work. Knowing that she experienced all of these things first-hand is pretty incredible.

7:12 p.m. Margaret is reading more excerpts from her book. She is telling some tragic stories from her ride-along's with the Border Patrol. Ishmael, an undocumented Guatemalan immigrant, is an important person in her story. He was one of the first people she encountered and she was able to learn the story of his epic journey. She is reading the section of her book that describes Ishmael's journey.

7:08 p.m. In the summer of 2000, when she was a full time employee at the Tucson Weekly,  Margaret noticed a story in the Arizona Daily Star almost every day about someone dying at the border. It caught her attention and she brought it up at a staff meeting and her editor said to her, "Okay, well why don't you go down to the border and find out what is going on." So that's is what she did. She came face to face with immigrants in Douglas, and those are the people in her book. That is how this project got started, she said.

7:05 p.m. Margaret said she wants to start by talking about a "real live hero" of hers. The gentleman, Mike, had helped Margaret throughout her journey of writing the book. She is reading a quote from Mike that is included in the book. People are clapping because the quote is inspirational. Margaret said she is honored to write about people like Mike in her book.

7:03 p.m. Debbie is introducing Margaret. She said she will read, take questions and then sign copies of the book. She said that Margaret has won about 50 journalism prizes throughout her career, about a dozen of which were for border reporting.

6:59 p.m. The woman of the hour, Margaret Regan, has arrived! In her hand she holds a copy of her book, The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona-Mexico Border, with a lot of pages marked with lime green post-it notes. One guest just said she went to go purchase a copy of the book and she could hardly get back to her seat because the store is so crowded. Margaret is about to begin!

6:49 p.m. In the past five minutes the number of guests nearly doubled! People are excited to hear Margaret read. Some people are securing seats while others mingle near the refreshments. The pastries look yummy and the punch is going quickly!

6:43 p.m. I just arrived at Antigone Books and about 15 people are here already. I overheard Debbie, the event coordinator of the bookstore, say that they are expecting a full house. About 30 seats are set up in front of the podium.

Join Border Beat staff reporter Jacquelyn Smith tonight, February 19 at 7:00 p.m., as she live blogs from Antigone Books, 411 N. 4th Ave., where Margaret Regan, a Tucson Weekly reporter and author of The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona-Mexico Border, will be reading from her new book and discussing her experiences reporting on the border.

Written by Jacquelyn Valerie Smith You are reading Live Blog: Margaret Regan Reads from her New Book Tonight at Antigone Books articles