Immigration is a big topic in every part of the country, especially as the midterm election nears.
President Trump’s promised wall is already starting to be built along the country’s border. The Race traveled to El Paso, Texas to talk to those who are dealing with the change in their backyards.
Marisa Limon has lived near the border for most of her life.
"To have a bi-national identity and a bi-cultural world, where you have family a lot of the time on both sides, in many ways, it's beautiful; it’s a true asset,” Limon says.
Her home is where part of Trump’s wall is being built.
"The challenges come in when it's also a highly regulated government enforced space that is your home," Limon says.
Limon says she likens the change to living in a militarized zone.
She now works for the Hope Border Institute, a social justice non-profit group that works with people on both sides.
Limon feels one of the things people in other parts of the country don’t understand is just how close her home in the U.S. is to the Mexico border.
"The idea that, I don't think that they understand or its more difficult to graph, is the true proximity. Kind of like any other state line or barrier from here to there,” she says. “It’s a neighborhood, these friends or families, businesses I have ties on both sides. It's literally in someone's backyard."
She says it’s so close, you can’t have one without the other.
With immigration getting so much attention, Limon is calling for people to think about the challenges those on the other side face.
“The way to get here is very difficult. When you're leaving, a lot of time you have people who are seeking asylum, not just trying to have a better life in terms of financial means,” she says. “But really, just trying to leave for the safety of their family or gangs have been harassing them."
Limon says she hopes Americans try to empathize.