It is a border town in South Texas, and like all towns abutting the Rio Grande, it has a bad rap for violent crime and drug cartels.

With my load completed in Donna and enroute to another border town: Eagle Pass to pick up a reefer trailer from Utility, I decided to stop midway in Laredo to check out the notorious border.

There were thousands of cars and many thousands more pedestrians crossing over to the U.S. that day. The temperatures hit the 70s, a very mild December day in South Texas – I could imagine what it’s like in the dead of summer when the mercury rises.

The Riverfront in Laredo is actually a expansive tract that has great potential for redevelopment. That is why the local government is championing an initiative for the Feds to build a 15-foot-high bulkhead along the planned “Riverwalk” that would also serve to present a barrier for border crossers.

I looked across the river and saw a group of people having a cook-out, wondering what it would be like to be on the other side. I waved, and they enthusiastically waved back. You could literally call across the Rio Grande to the picnickers in Nuevo Laredo. Along the banks, were fisherman casting their lines into the fast flowing water. One patient man caught a carp. Some others were just looking out, as if waiting for the opportunity to swim across.

Suddenly a Border Patrol truck stops me and ask if I’m from around here. I didn’t know what she meant. Around here like from Laredo, or around here like from the U.S.

I told her no and asked whether I was allowed to go running. She nodded yes with a smile, then let me go.

With the long, winding river and short distance to cross, the Border Patrol has a challenging job. They also have experienced their own run-ins with the law. Last year, an agent in Laredo went on a rampage and killed four prostitutes in the San Bernadino area of Laredo. It’s outrageous to think that the serial killer was one that was entrusted to serve and protect.

From a distance, I could see the Repatriation building in Nuevo Laredo. Instead of keeping asylum seekers here, the administration is returning them to Mexico, where kidnapping and violence is rampant. They have to wait in constant fear until their court date which could take months.