Skimming through the sea of faces I’m surprised to find one or two I recognize. Towards the front is the owner of the second-hand bookshop, a Gulf War vet who dresses in brown polyester trousers with mustard-coloured knitted ties. Behind him, there’s the sweet woman who works the till at the hardware store, dispensing change and information with breathtaking patience. ‘That’s two dollars seventy-seven, thank you, Babs. Door jambs, Steve? A-fourteen, middle aisle, next to four-inch brass hinges.’ I’m interested to note that not every face in the room is white. Dotted amongst the largely blonde hair of the women, a few dark heads stand out like burnt flecks in oatmeal. Certainly, the customs man on the stage, with his swarthy skin and hooded eyes, looks Mexican, and in the back row a white woman holds hands with an Indian who is pouring sweat and transferring his weight from one leg to the other as though in the throes of a heinous attack of claustrophobia. Jeff Hogan sits quietly in the front row, his thin hands resting on his knees, his head tilted, listening intently to a man who has stood up in the centre of the room and begun speaking.

‘Why does the INS not prosecute USA employers who encourage immigrants to keep on coming? Cochise county is the number one point for aliens crossing into our nation.’ He points his finger accusingly at the stage. ‘And for every one man intercepted there’s five who get through. So I ask you again, Mr Chavez, what is the INS doing to stop this?’

‘Yeah!’ someone shouts. ‘Our kids can’t get a job in Burger King because the Mexicans got ‘em all already!’

‘They’re draining our welfare system, hospitals, education!’

‘Why can’t you put troops on the border? Close it!’

The customs official holds up his hands for quiet.

‘Some of you know me, but for those that don’t, my name is Emilio Chavez. I’m border chief for the Nogales sector. Let me tell you something: it doesn’t matter what you read in the press, there is no border that can’t be controlled. Back in Vietnam we had extra-sensory equipment so sensitive that when somebody coughed three miles away you could hear it.’ He pauses. ‘Last time we had mass deportations in this country was in the Depression. Back then there was no electronic database linking immigrants to their whereabouts. Today all I need to track somebody down is their correct name and a date of birth. But let me tell you something, people: if we clamped down and removed all illegals from the USA, there would be economical implosion in both countries and a destabilization of our government. Now raise your hand, any one of you who wants to see ten million Mexicans crossing the border during the course of a single week.’