migrants from anywhere else—India, Brazil, or El Salvador; it didn’t matter—were all known as OTMs, “other than Mexican.” There was a practical reason for making such a broad distinction. The protocol for dealing with Mexicans caught crossing into the US wasn’t to formally deport them, which would involve first detaining them, then marking down the infraction on their record. Instead, in a process that took about five minutes from start to finish, agents simply dropped them back off across the border. There was virtually no paperwork at the office, just a few cursory notes written by hand in
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