Chasper Senn

The current immigration policies of the U.S. and the fortification of its border with Mexico puts the lives of people in transit through Mexico in exponential danger. The ideological pressure the U.S. exerts on Mexico has conditioned the southern neighbor to reform its immigration policies in favor of Washington. This circumstance forces migrants by law to remain in strategic locations in Mexico. Thus, legal immigration to the U.S. is becoming much more difficult, if not impossible.

A fictitious border, a frontera ficticia, is taking shape, which does not run horizontally, like conventional borders, but vertically; which means it is spinning a net in every direction. Migrants are trapped in southern Mexico by law enforcement. This rises concerns if these measurements facilitate violations of the human right to move freely as a refugee. The described phenomenon is most evident in the border town of Tapachula. The city and the state of Chiapas are covered by an invisible fishing net, built from paragraphs of immigration policies.

I wanted to understand better why the journey of migrants came to a halt exactly here, in this borderland with Guatemala. During my stay there, I was able to observe directly that government actions have decisive consequences for the people, who want to migrate from their homeland for various reasons. Each affected individual may feel too powerless to proceed the journey once they are exposed to the Mexican immigration law. I came to the understanding that the loss of identity is ubiquitous in the reality of migrants.

Fronteras Ficticias is an intent to show the migrant's identities in their dynamic of appearance and disappearance. The shadows and silhouettes of the people, who appear in this project, give to understand that identity is a projection of each history. However, it seems that identity can dissipate and adapt anew to any given circumstance, like a shadow on the wall.

Currently I'm looking to publish this project as a photobook, with around 70 photographs. The PDF below is a preview of my intended design:

fronterasFicticias.pdf

In January 2010, Haiti was struck by an earthquake. Because of this, Pierre fled from his home to Chile and was living there for about ten years. However, the racist environment and recent changes of Chile's immigration law led Pierre to migrate again. His journey took him through all of Central America, including the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama, one of the most dangerous areas for migrants in Latin America. He got stuck in Tapachula and now is trying to acquire a humanitarian visa so he can move freely in Mexico. Ultimately, he wants to go to the U.S., but for now he is thinking Tijuana, Baja California, in Mexico. October 2022.

Migrants, mostly from Haiti, are camping along a busy highway, known as Libramento Sur, a bypass of Tapachula. They want to apply for a humanitarian visa that will allow them to live and work in Mexico for a year. Since there are no sanitary facilities, they have to clean themselves in the river. Chiapas, Mexico. December 2021.

Authorities evacuated a camp near a public park in Tapachula, named Parque Ecológico, and promised the remaining migrants that they would provide relocation permits, which allows them to move to another state in Mexico. There they can continue the process for an humanitarian visa. As the names are called out, migrants hope that theirs will be included in the list. Chiapas, Mexico. December 29, 2021.

Under the leadership of Irineo Mujica, a migrant caravan was organized. Mujica wants the government to change the legal situation of immigrants. Under the overwhelming presence of the media, migrant caravans are just moments away from clashing with the Mexican National Guard. Chiapas, Mexico. October 23, 2021.