84 pages • 2 hours read
Crossing the Wire
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Chapters 12-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 12 Summary: “Miguel”
Victor asks a woman where the bus is going, and she tells him Agua Prieta, which is on the border across from Douglas, Arizona. The bus arrives in Agua Prieta, but Miguel doesn’t get off. The border here is lined only with barbed-wire fence, not a wall, though Border Patrol agents are everywhere.
Miguel pays the bus driver for an unscheduled stop, and Victor follows him off the bus. Displeased, Miguel ignores Victor as they walk toward the mouth of a narrow canyon. Finally, when they reach the border, Miguel motions for Victor to join him and finally recognizes him from their previous encounters.
Miguel reveals that he has already been across the border once. He was caught and beaten by vigilantes, who dumped him on the side of the road. There, he was found by Border Patrol agents and deported.
Miguel tries to get Victor to go on ahead, saying that he can’t afford any mistakes with his wife and four children back home. Victor refuses, as he doesn’t know the way, and Miguel relents, allowing Victor to join him on his journey. Miguel says they will go high into the mountains, on their route, so they won’t get caught.
Miguel approves of Victor making the crossing to support his own family, as opposed to doing it merely for adventure. Like Victor, Miguel used to raise corn but has been working in El Norte for eight years. He used to cross with coyotes, but he quit doing so after one abandoned him. This is his third time crossing on his own. Miguel tells Victor that coyotes call their customers “pollos,” chickens, and those who lead them across “polleros,” or chicken wranglers.
Chapter 13 Summary: “Land of Opportunity”
Victor and Miguel continue walking, sticking to high, rugged terrain where they won’t be easily seen. Miguel consults his map repeatedly to make sure they are on the right path and shows Victor how to read it, in case they are separated. Their destination is a spot near the town of Willcox called La Perra Flaca, “The Skinny Dog,” where illegal immigrants lived in trailers and were met by labor contractors who took them to work in the onion and chili fields.
The two discuss their families. Victor tells Miguel about his father’s death and Rico leaving despite his parents’ wishes. Victor is excited to arriveto The Skinny Dog with Miguel. They need to get across the interstate, after which Miguel says the Border Patrol will leave them alone because they need workers. There are more Border Patrol here than Miguel expected, which means they will need to go higher up the mountain to cross.
Chapter 14 Summary: “You’ll Need These”
Miguel leads Victor across an open valley toward the mountains. They find momentary cover in some mesquite bushes along a dry creekbed, but they are forced back into the open by logs and rocks, where they are spotted by the Border Patrol. They run, trying to escape in the dark, but the Border Patrol or “Migra,” use night-vision goggles to see.
Miguel, still injured from his beating, cannot run very fast using his stick, and he opens his bag to give Victor his map and supplies. As the patrolmen approach, Miguel tells Victor to run as fast as he can, and that if he will meet Victor at La Perra Flaca. Victor runs and escapes the Migra by hiding in a thicket of mesquite.
Chapter 15 Summary: “Too High Up”
Victor continues on Miguel’s planned path upthe mountains. It is cold, and he passes snowbanks and worries about getting caught in a storm. As clouds approach, he realizes he needs to move down on the mountain and away from the wind.
On the protected side of the mount, Victor makes a lean-to and starts a fire. Soon, it begins snowing, and his shoes are soaked from going out to get more firewood. He waits for two more days in the lean-to until the snow starts to melt and then sets out to continue his journey.
As Victor walks, he gets the feeling he is being watched. He turns around and sees a puma, a huge brown cat that has been stalking him. To defend himself, he screams that he is a jaguar and throws rocks and sticks. The puma leaves him alone.
Chapter 16 Summary: “What Might Have Been”
Victor is almost out of food and not as far along on his journey as he should be, so he looks for a shortcut. As he cuts down the mountain, he runs into a group of other immigrants and their coyote. He debates talking to them, then follows them to a nearby road. The group steals food from a cabin, but Victor doesn’t.
Looking around, Victor sees a man fishing at a nearby lake and considers talking to him, but decides it would be too risky. Instead, he decides to hide inside the truck-bed toolbox in the fisherman’s truck. The man finishes fishing and drives home, where he discovers Victor in the box and calls the Border Patrol to take Victor away. While talking to the patrolman, Victor realizes he was in Willcox, Arizona, the town near La Perra Flaca on Miguel’s map. The patrolman is taking Victor to Tucson, where he will go to the Pima County detention center for juveniles.
Chapters 12-16 Analysis
In these chapters, Victor reconnects with Miguel and convinces the older man to help him make the crossing. Miguel’s similarities to Victor’s father become apparent, and Victor realizes that the man is not as scary as he initially seemed. Miguel reinforces Victor’s dedication to his family and desire to immigrate in order to provide for them.
Miguel and Victor share many personality characteristics. They areboth cautious, independent, and willing to work hard to provide for their families. Victor sees how these qualities benefit Miguel, but he doesn’t yet see them in himself. When the two are forced to separate, Victor worries he will not be able to survive on his own and waffles between moments of strength and weakness. When a puma stalks him, Victor calls upon the jaguar, symbol of his strength, family, and home, and scares the puma away. But when he encounters a fisherman, rather than asking for help, he hides in the toolbox and gets caught by Border Patrol.
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By Will Hobbs
