Mary Fontana
@maryfontanawrites.bsky.social
Author of *Strangers in the Province of Joy: Practicing Radical Hospitality on the US-Mexico Border*, out now from Orbis Books. Annunciation House volunteer, writer, lapsed immunologist, mother of two. She/her.
Read my new review of Tina Kelley's fifth volume of verse, FIELD GUIDE TO NORTH AMERICAN WORDS, up now at @merliterary.bsky.social : merliterary.com/2026/10/14/f...
Field Guide to North American Words by Tina Kelley - MER - Mom Egg Review
Review by Mary Fontana Tina Kelley won a 2003 Washington State Book Award for her first book of poems, The Gospel of Galore. Her recently published fifth collection, the witty and observant Field Gu...
merliterary.com
@maryfontanawrites.bsky.social from Issue 93, Fall 2026 Read the full poem here: www.rattle.com/el-paso-east... #poetry
Clip from my recent conversation with Margaret Mary O'Connor, host of Your Radical Truth. Full podcast available at yourradicaltruth.com/060-Mary-Fon...
Glad to have this piece out in @sojo.net about why harsh immigration enforcement is ultimately ineffective, and what we might try instead: sojo.net/magazine/aug...
Making Immigration Illegal Ignored the Real Issues
And created new ones.
sojo.net
I wrote this piece for Consequence @consequencef.bsky.social about the killing of a Mexican immigrant teenager in El Paso in 2003. (It's paywalled, but you can access with a one-time free preview.) consequenceforum.substack.com/p/the-life-a...
The Life and Death of Juan Patricio Peraza Quijada
Nonfiction by Mary Fontana. "The basic outlines of Juan Patricio’s tragic killing have replayed time and time again across this country: a young man of color; an officer ratcheting up tension . . ."
consequenceforum.substack.com
This decision will keep vulnerable people in danger while encouraging unauthorized migration. Just awful.
Al Otro Lado@alotrolado-org.bsky.social · 4mo ago🚨Breaking: Today, SCOTUS delivered a devastating blow to asylum rights. In our case, Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, the Court ruled that the gov can block people from seeking asylum at official border crossings—turning people away w/out the chance to seek the protection they have a legal right to request.
“And the building shakes in Seattle!” PNSN’s seismic stations captured the crowd response to both Alex Freeman’s goal and the VAR decision overturning the offside call. It’s #USMNT 2 to Australia 0 at half-time. #WorldCup2026 #FIFAWorldCup #SportsSeismology
About the UFC cage fight I will just say: It's not the worst violent spectacle to erupt at the White House at the urging of this President.
Had my first-ever book event for my first-ever book this past weekend. Huge thank you to everyone who came out and packed our corner of the bookstore!
A powerful new release is here📚 Strangers in the Province of Joy by Mary Fontana A compelling look at radical hospitality on the US–Mexico border and the stories that reshape how we see one another Explore the book: orbisbooks.com/products/str... @maryfontanawrites.bsky.social #Mexico
I especially loved this week's poet offerings over at OP:
ONLY POEMS@onlypoemsmag.bsky.social · 8mo agoMatthew Olzmann, "Commencement Speech for Those About to Wake from this Dream"
Summer volunteer application window now open. Join us and be changed. More info annunciationhouse.org/get-involved...
The US government collected over $1 billion in immigration fees then refused to process the applications. No denials. No refunds. Just silence. This is the largest fee fraud in the history of the American immigration system. Here's what's happening. 🧵
This article by @tinavasquez.bsky.social captures some of the devastating complexities surrounding the recent César Chávez revelations: prismreports.org/2026/03/23/c...
César Chávez’s shadow
Revelations that César Chávez sexually abused young girls and women has set off a bomb in Latino communities and movement spaces
prismreports.org
A new report from the Women's Refugee Commission and Physicians for Human Rights traveled to Honduras to document what U.S. deportation policy looks like from the other side. What they found is alarming. 🧵
I appreciate this call to collective action from @cdelawalla.bsky.social . I've seen this dynamic play out many times: a small number of people taking on the work for change that will benefit many, and paying the personal cost of less time and energy for their own research.
Scientists, it's time to pay your taxes.
This arrangement—where a small number of dedicated scientist activists fight for the whole of the ecosystem—isn’t sustainable.
substack.com
Today I got my first scam email targeting authors... I have arrived.
Thirty-two people died in ICE custody nationwide last year, surpassing the previous high of 20 in 2005, according to federal data. Nearly a quarter of last year’s deaths occurred in Texas.
What you need to know about Texas ICE detention deaths
Last year was the deadliest year in ICE detention in two decades. Nearly a quarter of those deaths occurred in Texas.
texastribune.org
Measles outbreak at the children's immigration detention facility... it's like a greatest (worst) hits record of the Trump administration.
CBS News@cbsnews.com · 9mo agoBREAKING: ICE has halted "all movement" at a Texas detention facility due to measles infections, DHS confirms.
“Abolish” or “defund” aren't within grasp in 2026. But where are: - End qualified immunity - Rewrite use-of-force so this crap isn't ruled “within policy” - Overturn July 8 mandatory detention memo - Reinstate TPS - Open up detention centers, enforce humane conditions He doesn’t even *ask* for it.
Prem Thakker ツ@premthakker.bsky.social · 9mo agoChuck Schumer just announced demands on DHS to avoid shutdown: 1. End roving patrols, tighten rules on warrants 2. Enforce accountability & unified code of conduct for agents 3. No more masks & require bodycams There are *already* standards on much of this. The issue is DHS isn't following them!
Greetings from the El Paso-Juárez border, where we have Blue Sky in abundance.
I feel this acutely. Someone close to me, who has been a naturalized US citizen for decades and presents as an elderly white woman, is afraid to travel outside the US to visit family for fear she will not be allowed back in.
Austin Kocher, PhD@austinkocher.com · 11mo agoIt says a lot about the moment we’re living in when even legal immigrants and naturalized citizens are afraid they or a family member could be detained. Fear shouldn’t be the baseline for people who are just trying to live their lives here. Read: www.statista.com/chart/35543/...
To be clear, this is what an insurrection looks like:
!["Let me see if I understand. If Agent [Redacted] crashes his patrol car into a telephone pole while pulling out of a 7/11, does he need to file a report?
Of course.
But if he shoots a man, he doesn’t need to file a report?
That’s right.
Your honor, I don’t mean to be flippant. But I wonder, if Agent [Redacted] had run over Juan Patricio with his car, and killed him, and done some damage to the vehicle, at least a memo might have been generated."
-El Paso Attorney Enrique Moreno speaking to a Border Patrol witness in the trial following the 2003 lethal shooting of a 19-year-old Mexican immigrant.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:267koxhqthvnuqcstp2fwkz4/bafkreif2k3x36hhxfghgnxjrzzfmjrt52rohsw2pgbsb6eqs7bqqwhfmx4)
