Simulated Border Crossing Attraction, Meant To Discourage Illegal Immigration, Offered in Mexican Amusement Park

About 800 miles south of the Mexican-American border, in the central Mexican state of Hidalgo, is an amusement park attraction that allows visitors to experience a fake illegal border crossing. The interesting attraction is meant to dissuade young Mexicans from illegally crossing the border into the United States, Parque EcoAlberto organizers told reporters at PBS' Fronteras.

According to the report, the attraction takes visitors through a three-hour simulated border crossing, which includes fake border patrol agents, sirens, dogs and fake smugglers. "Our objective is to stop the immigration that exists amongst our citizens, principally from the state of Mexico to the U.S.," administrator Maribel Garcia told Fronteras.

Garcia told Fronteras that the park's location held a special significance in the creation of the attraction. The indigenous HñaHñu community, where Parquw EcoAlberto is located, has lost an estimated 80 percent of its population to the U.S., Garcia said. The attraction itself isn't new, a 2007 New York Times piece reported that it first began in 2004. 

While some may view the attraction as a sort of training for future crossings, park "coyote" Titi was adamant that it was anything but that. "We try to help people so that they won't leave," Titi told Fronteras. "It's time to create some employment, to work with our own and regenerate everything, or at least what we can, even though it might be slow going."

It seems like the attraction is doing exactly what it's suppose to. Visitor Jazmin Arely Moreno Alcazar told Fronteras, "It's not worth risking it because if we can't stand a few hours, we won't be able to stand days. Because it's very ugly," he said.

However, it's important to note that most visitors are typically middle-class Mexicans, who are not the most likely demographic to try to cross the border illegally, Fronteras reported. Tickets to the tour cost about $20, the report noted.

While Garcia admitted that it was difficult to gauge how effectual the attraction was, she hoped that it would encourage community members to stay in Mexico and forgo making the risky trek into the U.S. 

Hear the PBS Fronteras radio piece below: