Thanks to the Angry Tías and Abuelas for shining a light in the darkness, and to London journalist Sarah Towle for sharing their story, and other tales of humanity and heroism from her 2,000-mile journey along the US-Mexico Border.

We landed in Brownsville on Jan. 3, 2020, with a car reservation, three nights pre-booked into a hotel, and a single contact. This was not the plan.

The plan was to have folks waiting for us all along the Tex/Mex border. From Labor Day to Thanksgiving, I emailed every organization I could find from Brownsville to El Paso. By Christmas, I’d heard back from none.

Jim was growing skeptical. “We’ll just show up. It’ll work out. You’ll see,” I told him.

“And if it doesn’t, we’ll have more time to spend in Big Bend.”