Francisco Cantú, an immigration expert, gave the third talk in Andover’s Presidential Election Speaker Series run by the Dean of Studies Office. Tying into Cantú’s book “The Line Becomes a River,” the event, held on October 23, focused on the U.S.-Mexico border, and how narratives around immigration contrasted with an apparent lack of policies.
Cantú started by giving some insight into his experience as a Border Patrol agent and emphasized the importance of discussing the current state of American immigration. In an interview with The Phillipian, he noted the pressing topic of immigration, urging attendants to engage with the subject.
“There are manifestations of the border and of immigration enforcement in all of our communities, no matter how far away you are from the actual U.S.-Mexico border. There are for-profit immigration detention centers in all 50 states,” said Cantú. “Because border issues exist no matter where you are in this country, that also means that there are opportunities to be involved in immigration advocacy, immigration justice, and border justice work no matter where you live.”
To develop this speaker series, topics were chosen by the Dean of Studies Office and participating faculty members over the summer. For their talk on immigration, the moderators prioritized speakers who have interacted with the field both personally and politically to help students develop holistic views on the topic. Derek Curtis, a Student Support and Event Programming Librarian, gave further insight into the decision to bring Cantú to campus.
“He was someone who had an academic background in immigration studies, and he ended up deciding to become a Border Patrol agent. Then as time went on and he saw how brutal and dehumanizing the work was, he moved in another direction with his life. Having a personal perspective and a professional relationship to a certain work, and then seeing the ethics of that work, may make you want to pivot to doing other things, doing good, doing repair work, and trying to become another sort of self,” said Curtis.
Views on immigration can notably be influenced by images exposed to readers in the media. As a moderator of the event, Hector Membreno-Canales, an Instructor in the Art Department and a Community and Multicultural Development Programs Coordinator, spoke on how some of his similarities with the speaker and his skills in photography helped him conduct questions.
“We all read books with our own lens on it; I just used my own perspective to lead my questions. I am also an immigrant, and I’m also someone who has worked in a militarized agency, so I felt like I had a couple of personal connections to Mr. Cantú,” said Membreno-Canales. “I might have thrown him an unusual question when I asked him about photography. This isn’t a photography talk, but I had noticed a couple of photography connections, which is, again, how I am entering his work and how I relate to it.”
Cantú explained that immigration issues often fade from public focus because of the stagnancy in political policies, leading people to become uninterested in the topic. Margot Furman ’25 reflected on the public’s fluctuating attention to the border, but how striking photographs can bring the issue back into focus.
“He talked about how the border is a crisis area and has been for so long that it can almost seem like it’s an exception to the rules. Through that lens, he kept coming back again and again to why we don’t talk about the border as much. One of my favorite things he was talking about was when he brought up that the moments when border and immigration have been highlighted are when photographs come out, using photography as activism,” said Furman.
With the presidential election, students are seeking reliable news sources and education. Lucas Benardete ’26, a leader of the Andover Political Union, elaborated on the importance of bolstering the resources Andover offers, such as this talk.
“I don’t like politics, but I’m still involved in it just because of how important it is to all of our lives. It influences the air we breathe, the food we have, the water we drink, where we go to school. It’s the deciding factor of so much of our lives. It’s irresponsible for people to be like, ‘I don’t like politics, I’m not going to get involved, I’m not going to learn more.’ Being at Andover, I’ve been exposed to so many opportunities, and I really try to take advantage of all of them and to try to seek something out, learn something, and expand my horizons,” said Benardete.
