URGENT NEWS: Repression at the border: Border Patrol detains 2 people in Calexico/Mexicali

As the closing act of the No Borders Camp (www.noborderscamp.org), activists from the US, Mexico, and other countries organized a peaceful march on both sides of the border, covering the 4 miles between the camp and La Garita or border crossing.

Several feet from the crossing, both protests stopped to sing, shout slogans, play volleyball with a globe over the metal fence that separates the two sides, and block the flow of cars into the United States during 3-minute intervals with die-ins, symbolically protesting the thousands of migrants that die each year trying to cross the border.

After approximately 20 minutes, a large contingent of Border Patrol officials, armed with wooden and metal batons and pepper-gas guns, surrounded the protesters on the US side, attacking them violently and arresting several. According to reports from the legal representatives accompanying the march, several protesters were injured (none seriously), including a demonstrator in a wheelchair who was shot with pepper gas.

So far, two protestors remain in the hands of the Border Patrol. Legal representation is trying to negotiate their release.

We demand the immediate liberation of both of the arrested and the punishment of those responsible for this violent and unnecessary repression.

For more information, check www.noborderscamp.org or San Diego Indymedia. Video of the attack here.

8-minute audio documentary by Radio Zapatista here.