Storming through Bracketville
Your image is of a local migrant working hard
You say it's about a better life; he should get a green card.
But look at what happened in Brackettville
Whatever you believe, it should give you a chill.
Ranchers had cameras to detect hungry deer
But the cameras showed 30,000 people crossing the frontier.
What is so magnetic about this land?
Up to six drownings per day in the Rio Grande
Migrants trying to ride the trains often lost limbs
Doors would slide shut and the results were grim
Hospitals were overwhelmed, EMS was too.
Texans who needed treatment didn't know what to do.
Wanda carried a .38 for her protection
A patrolman said "don't do that, you'll face AK-47s
don't let bad guys know you carry a gun
Long walks down rural roads might stop being fun."
Ranchers kept fixing holes cut in their fences
Picking up trash, knowing there were no defenses.
They would black out windows, so light wouldn't attract danger
Hospitality's good, but you can’t always trust a stranger.
Migrants were coming to houses, backgrounds unknown
They'd demand food, or a charge for a cellphone
One rancher said “It was insane, like a city coming through
He’d pick up IDs they threw down, so they could start life anew.
They came from Iran, Afghanistan, China as well
I hope they didn’t come as sleepers to raise future hell.
School would lock down up to two times per day
Cars speeding through the streets, trying to get away.
High speed chases took ambulances far from town
Ambulances that were needed when a stroke struck grandma down.
Stolen trucks rode past miles of scrub brush and mesquite.
Maybe right through a fence, the special effects were neat.
When Trump came in, quiet was mostly restored
I have problems with some policies, but this one hits a chord.
Migrants are finding other ways, like through Vermont’s green
Or by visa overstays, maybe even a submarine.
You can’t stop the ocean - that’s plain to the eye:
But you can shape the shore to make the waves pass by.
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