Acompañar by Danielle Cosmes, American Friends Service Committee, US-Mexico Border Program

The American Friends Service Committee US-Mexico Border Program is in the process of producing a feature-length documentary film, titled Acompañar, archiving the Whiskey 8 Solidarity Aid Station. The station operated for nearly two years at the Open-Air Detention Site in San Ysidro, California. At this site, staff and volunteers accompanied and witnessed the journey of thousands of migrants who had just crossed into the United States seeking asylum. We provided humanitarian aid and documented Border Patrol conduct through the border wall, serving as a buffer between law enforcement and the camp awaiting processing. The station officially closed down in April of 2025, when Marine presence was documented at Whiskey 8 placing concertina wire on the top and bottom of both the primary and secondary border wall, in an effort to deter migrants from attempting to cross. Since then, the necro-politics of the state have continued to persecute migrant communities in San Diego and organized responses to protect community members have grown urgent. To this end, we find it crucial to create an archive of the community networks that were necessary to build and sustain a station like the one at Whiskey 8 for as long as we did. Meeting this political moment will require us to preserve our collective memory and learn from previous organizing processes. The following video is a preview of the documentary soon to come.