National Geographic Features Bowie High School Cheerleaders

National Geographic published an article on Bowie High School students, known as transfronterizos, who commute daily between El Paso and Juarez.

This leads to a long and stressful day for these students who wake very early to get across the bridge. Crossings which, as most of us living here know all too well, can take anywhere from a few minutes to 3 or 4 hours. By the time students complete their day, repeat the bridge crossing and get home, it's often midnight or later.

How is this possible? 81 percent of Mexican students attending school in the US were born here. They have US passports and are allowed access to American schools. Others have long term visas while some pay tuition to attend school here.

It's fairly quiet on the Bowie campus these days but, the article recalls the days when students were routinely stopped and questioned about their citizenship status. Or, watched as Border Patrol agents chased illegals through classrooms.

It's a very interesting article on typical teenagers doing typical teenage stuff in a very untypical situation. Read it here.