DOUGLAS, AZ — At the historic Gadsden Hotel in Douglas, Arizona, two veterans talked with ABC15 about their town and its rich military history.
"There's a lot of history here. A lot of history and Douglas is proud of its history," said Hector Fimbres Leon Jr.
He's the co-founder of the Wall of Faces Museum which shares the stories of hundreds of veterans who are from the town.
Home to more than 15,000 people, Douglas is a small town on the U.S. border with Mexico.
"When I was growing up, the fence there was just three or four strands of barbed wire. That's all it was," Leon Jr. explained.
But the rhetoric around "border towns" is frustrating for fellow Douglas native Felipe Bernal.
"It really bothers me to hear Washington talk about the 'border towns' you know. These politicians that say, 'Oh we need to control the border. We need to,' Hey, they have never ever lived close to a border. So, how can they know what's going on in the border?" asked Bernal.
The economy has changed for Douglas since the old copper smelter closed in the late 1980s.
All these years later, the community feels the town's try at tourism has been tainted by all the talk about illegal immigration.
"We even have people that have said Douglas is cocaine alley and among other things. That's a bunch of... I'm not gonna say the word. It's not true. Yes, we've had some issues but nothing that serious. Tourists have stopped coming but they had stopped coming here because they thought that once they hit Douglas they were going to see these Narcos and all these people running around with guns," said Bernal.
According to statistics from U.S. Border Patrol, in the first four months of 2024, there were more than 250,000 migrant apprehensions across the Tucson sector, which Douglas is a part of.
But because of the city's lack of resources, Douglas is only seen as an overflow area.
"Do you see the issue of immigration in the city of Douglas?" asked ABC15's Javier Soto.
"I was surprised when I heard that immigrants were here at one of the youth centers. I was surprised because I didn't even know they were here, and when I am about town I don't see them," Leon Jr. answered.
Leon Jr. and Bernal are asking candidates who come to use the border for photo ops to stay and learn from residents about what really happens at the border.
"I wish those gentlemen and ladies that are in Washington to come spend a good amount of time in our border town, especially along the Arizona border and see for themselves," said Leon Jr.
The men say they believe elected leaders might find that the people who live there are the ones who really need help.
"There's a lot of U.S. citizens, there's a lot of people here in the United States, here in town, you're close to the border, that need assistance, that need help. Okay, that need jobs. Where's our government?" Bernal added.
Javier Soto spoke to Bernal and Leon Jr. during ABC15's 48 Hours on the Border series. To see more in-depth stories of life along the U.S.-Mexico border, click here.
