Born to a park ranger who was the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, Francisco Cantú joined the border patrol as a way of connecting with his heritage, but became disillusioned and quit. Then when an immigrant friend traveled to Mexico to visit his dying mother and failed to return, Cantú was forced to confront the large life and death issues surrounding the border and the people on both sides.
Author Biography
Lifted wholesale from Francisco Cantú's official biography:
Raised in the Southwest, and a student of US/Mexico relations, Francisco Cantú wanted to see the realities of the border up-close. He enlisted as a US border patrol agent in 2008 and spent the next four years working in the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. During blistering days and frigid nights, he and his partners apprehended migrants who were risking their lives to cross to a new country.
Haunted by his interactions with border-crossers and rattled by an inescapable proximity to violence, Cantú decided to return to civilian life, only to discover that the border had followed him home. When an immigrant friend traveled back to Mexico to visit his dying mother and didn’t return, Cantú found himself moved to uncover the entire story. His searing memoir, The Line Becomes a River depicts the cruelties the border creates, for Americans and Mexicans on both sides of the line.
Cantú speaks frankly, compassionately, and knowledgeably about the terror and tragedy of the migrants who risk and lose their lives attempting to cross the border. A master story-teller, he gives human faces to the nameless multitudes, and refutes the incendiary policy and rhetoric aimed at them.
Cantú is a former Fulbright fellow and recipient of a Pushcart Prize and 2017 Whiting Award. His writing and translations have appeared in Best American Essays, Harpers, n+1, Orion, and Guernica. His work has also been featured on This American Life. He currently lives in Tucson, Arizona.
The video below is a short segment from the PBS News Hour where Francisco Cantú talks about The Line Becomes a River while walking along the border with his interviewer.
