American Dirt

The sisters contact El Chacal from a pay phone. Soledad tells him they are in Nogales and that three people want to join their crossing. He asks if the newcomers are fit for the journey and arranges to meet them at a nearby plaza. The girls try to reach their father, but they do not have enough money. Lydia worries about exposure, accessing her mother’s bank account, and putting her trust in a stranger. Despite deep reservations, she realizes she has no choice but to hand over what remains of her money to El Chacal.

The coyote is reluctant to take two children across the border, but Beto claims he is a 23-year-old with a growth disorder, while Lydia and Luca assure him they can pull their weight. He remains skeptical, but eventually acquiesces. Lydia balks at the price of crossing per person (5,000 dollars). She finds a bank, knowing she does not have enough money to cover the costs. She catches a glimpse of her reflection in the window and is shocked to see the changes to her physical appearance. The maximum daily withdrawal at the ATM is 6,000 pesos. Lydia tells the branch manager, Paola, that her mother is deceased and that she wishes to close her account. Paola asks for a death certificate and a copy of her mother’s will. She is shocked when Lydia recounts the circumstances leading to her departure from Acapulco. The two bond when Paola tells Lydia her nephew was beheaded by the cartels the year before. Despite the risk to her job, Paola closes the account and hands Lydia an envelope of money.

Lydia pays El Chacal in dollars and pesos, but she is short by nearly 400 dollars. He tells her she and Luca can stay in the apartment, but that he will need the rest of the money before they leave. She ponders how she will come up with it in two days. Rebeca offers to ask César before Beto steps in with the money. Lydia is suspicious but grateful. El Chacal tells them to relax in the apartment while they wait for other migrants. Lydia finds comfort in an old Stephen King novel.

Two young men and an older woman named Marisol arrive with El Chacal the next morning. Lydia offers to cook if the men pay for groceries. She and Luca set off, joined by Marisol. Marisol reveals that she was recently deported from California, her home of 16 years. She tells Lydia she spent two months in a detention center before being deported. She, her husband, and first daughter initially entered the US legally, but her husband’s death in a car accident left them without a visa. As a US citizen, only Marisol’s second daughter was permitted to stay in the country. Lydia ponders the cruelty of separating parents from their children before spying graffiti of a sickle with an owl perched on the blade on the side of a building. Reminded that Javier is still looking for them, she says goodbye to Marisol and chastises herself for letting her guard down.

Lydia is distressed to see Lorenzo when she returns to the apartment. He, too, is crossing with El Chacal. He repeats that he is no longer with Los Jardineros and is therefore not a threat to Lydia. She informs him that the cartel is in Nogales. Lorenzo is visibly disturbed by the news. Soledad goes for a walk while Lydia and Marisol prepare omelets. She gazes through the border fence before spitting through it, leaving a piece of herself on US soil. 

Lydia’s maternal instincts kick in when she notices Lorenzo isn’t eating. Her kindness takes him off guard. El Chacal arrives the next morning with five more migrants: two brothers named Choncho and Slim, their teenaged sons, David and Ricardín, and a deportee named Nicolás, a former PhD student at the University of Arizona. El Chacal encourages them to rest and hydrate in preparation for the crossing. He also advises them to get warm clothes, good walking shoes, and not to wear bright colors.

Marisol reveals she was arrested during a routine immigration check-in, while Nicolás confesses he never went to his appointments. Lydia learns that ICE has discretion in matters of deportation and that until recently law-abiding individuals could remain in the country. As an English-speaking homeowner with an American-born daughter, Marisol did not believe she would be deported. She decries the time she wasted in detention as well as the practice of separating parents from their children at the border.

Soledad returns from a walk to find everyone in the apartment asleep but Lorenzo. She asks if she can use his cell phone. He hands it to her after making a suggestive remark. She calls the hospital in San Pedro Sula. Ángela comes on the line and tells Soledad that her father is dead. Guilt-ridden, Soledad finds her way into the streets and cries. She decides not to inform Rebeca of their father’s death. She prays for his forgiveness before returning to the apartment.