Editor’s Note: This border crossing article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Spring 2023 Issue. Words by Chris Simon, in collaboration with Richie and Abigail Gubler.
Overland border crossings are exciting, unpredictable, and stressful. No matter where you are in the world, things can go unexpectedly wrong at official border checkpoints. This article tells the story of Richie, Abigail, and Zoe Gubler, a family from Europe whose overland adventures in North America took a traumatic turn at the US/Mexico border. Theirs is a cautionary tale from which overlanders can learn important lessons about documentation, traveling in convoy, GPS tracking, and other steps to help ensure problem-free border crossings in all corners of the globe.
The Backstory
It was an omen. The Gublers had clocked 30,000 miles in the US over 17 months, mostly boondocking, without once getting stuck. But on the morning of February 25, 2021, on their way to the US-Mexico border in their 1-ton truck camper, they bogged down in the soft California desert. The night before, they had strategically camped an hour from the border, rechecked their paperwork, spiffed up the truck, and eaten the last of their perishables. Seasoned travelers, Richie and Abigail knew that a little preparation and an early arrival were a good way to appease the fickle border gods. Suddenly behind in their plans, they had to drop to their knees, shovel sand, and pray first to the god of overland recovery, MaxTrax.
Exploring the US had been a blast. Richie was more at home here than in Switzerland. He wore a cowboy hat. He loved Johnny Cash and John Hiatt. He hogged Abigail’s shoe rack with his leather boots. Abigail, an outdoor enthusiast, loved paddleboarding the lakes of South Dakota, hiking Zion and Arches national parks, and horseback riding in Wyoming. Their young daughter, Zoe, discovered a taste for marshmallows, turkey, and Fourth of July sparklers. The Gublers so enjoyed their time in the US that they applied for a visa extension before their initial one-year visa had expired. To expedite this, they had to present themselves at an immigration center in Phoenix and provide fingerprints and paperwork. The process costs $600. Owing to the pandemic, immigration officials expected the visa approval process to “take a while.“ Nonetheless, the Gublers were informed that as long as the application was pending, they were legally allowed to stay in the country. So they continued their US travels, blissfully unaware of the ordeal this seemingly straightforward message would cause them once they reached the border.
Back in the southern California desert, Richie and Abigail carefully shoveled sand and positioned their recovery boards. They knew it was critical to execute the recovery calmly and patiently. A hasty effort could bog down the truck even more. Their patience paid off. After 20 minutes and some careful acceleration, the truck surged out of the sand and onto solid ground. Shovels and MaxTrax were stowed, sweat mopped away. The Gublers were on their way to the border.
The first unnerving surprise was the lack of any official exit process from the US. Arriving from California, one simply rolls up to Mexican Immigration and Customs. Here, the officials were courteous and ready to issue the necessary paperwork to allow the Gublers into Baja, where they were now headed. The family also requested a temporary import permit, or TIP, for their truck camper. TIPs were not required for Baja but were necessary for the passage from La Paz to Mazatlán, the following leg of their journey. The Gublers wanted to stay ahead of the game and have their TIP squared away before arrival in mainland Mexico.
The Mexican border official confirmed that, yes, a TIP could be issued, but not at the Mexicali West border crossing, where they presently were. They would need to reenter the US and head to Mexicali East, where heavier rigs such as theirs could be weighed and processed. So the Gublers turned back north. They needed to reenter the US for the short detour to Mexicali East. This they now attempted to do.
On the US side, an officer checked their paperwork, then directed them to step out of their vehicle. Without explanation, the family was directed onto a bus, then transferred to a detention center. Richie was in handcuffs. Their rig was impounded.
The Detention Center
The facility, administered by US Immigrations and Customs (ICE), sits out in the desert amid scrappy yucca and barbed wire. Inside, under naked fluorescent lights, female detainees and their children occupy one side of the building, men on the other side. Behind safety glass sit guards with their weapons, coffee, and computer terminals. The detainees, 30-40 at the time the Gublers are admitted, sit, sleep, or anxiously pace their sections. In Richie’s section, three Brazilians whisper among themselves, their fate uncertain. A disheveled Mexican man sidles up and explains to Richie that he is fleeing a cartel. He hopes desperately to make a life for himself in the US—and not be sent back to Mexico. Can Richie tell him whether he is likely to be released into the US?
Richie has no idea. He is profoundly unclear why he himself has been detained, along with Abigail and Zoe. Again and again, the Gublers asked for an explanation from the officers at the border and at the detention center but received none. “We are European tourists. Please check our passports,” they implore. But their efforts are ignored. Instead, Richie is brought before an interrogating officer and questioned:
“Where do you live?”
“Tell me the dates of your last visits to the US?”
“What’s your mother’s address?”
“Where were you born?”
Richie provides the information, then asks to make a phone call. The officer makes no effort to grant his request. He simply walks away. A different officer returns Richie to the detention room. More hours pass. Some detainees receive blankets for sleeping; Richie does not. Taking notice, an Iraqi detainee offers his blanket to Richie. But Richie cannot sleep. All he can do is pace the floor. Pace, pace, pace. In their observation area, the guards chat, shuffle paperwork, and yell enthusiastically at the detainees. No talking! No signaling! The air in the center is thick with body odor, tension, and uncertainty. Dinner arrives in the form of a juice box and a chalky wrap. The meals go untouched. The Gublers have no appetite. The naked overhead lights burn through the night.
Over the next two days, new detainees arrive, and others leave. Keys jangle, and the guards step in with their guns and cases of electronic handcuffs. Eyes leap with a mix of hope and fear. The Gublers’ too.
Richie is interrogated a second time and a third. He is called a liar. An illegal. A criminal. Richie, who speaks fluent English, tries to counter these accusations by telling his interrogators about himself: where he went to school, how he and Abigail met, what they did for Zoe’s first birthday. He talks about his years as a truck driver in Switzerland, saving up for this overland trip. His interrogators look at him dubiously. A truck driver who travels full time for fun? Really?
In a last-ditch bid to convince the officers they are bona fide overlanders, Richie refers them to their website and YouTube channel. “Please take a look,” he pleads. “You will see our travels, our destinations, all our activities documented there.”
The Gublers are eventually released 57 hours after being handcuffed and transported to the detention center. Wallets, passports, and phones are handed back. They are able to reunite with their impounded vehicle, but only after paying a $1,000 fee. To this day, the Gublers are unclear why, exactly, they were detained. They suspect a problem with the visa they applied for in Phoenix was to blame. But the exact nature of this problem remains a mystery. The visa was never denied. In fact, two weeks after entering Baja, Mexico, they received a notice from the US saying that the visa had been approved.
Border Crossing Lessons and Tips
The Gublers’ experience offers several lessons to new and experienced overlanders alike.
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- Borders are Fickle Don’t take unnecessary chances with border bureaucracies. Avoid crossing the same border two or more times in short succession. While this may not raise suspicion for commercial traffic, overlanders fall into a lesser-known category, likely to raise suspicion with multiple attempts to cross the same border.
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- Get It In Writing The Gublers were told in Phoenix that they could continue legally traveling in the US while their visa renewal was pending. This understanding may not have been shared by the border officials in California. If possible, get such reassurances in writing. Obtain and securely carry hard paper copies of all essential documents. Obtain duplicate copies of all paperwork and keep the spares in a secure location in case original documents are lost by officials.
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- Weigh your Options When traveling with a 3/4- or 1-ton truck camper to Mexico, plan to cross at a checkpoint where heavier vehicles can be weighed and processed. Truck campers are not classed as RVs and therefore require special permission from Customs as “overweight vehicles.” When heading to mainland Mexico, you may want to cross into Baja first (as TIPs are not required for the peninsula) and obtain TIP paperwork in La Paz.
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- Track Yourself The Gublers used a Garmin InReach tracker to alert their family in Europe to their unfolding situation. Consider using a similar device prior to and during border crossings; there is no guarantee you will have access to a cell phone if things go awry. If you are detained, it may also be helpful to direct suspicious border officials to social media platforms where you have documented your travels to give credibility to your overlander/tourist status.
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- Consider a Convoy Teaming up with other overlanders to cross borders is smart and useful. Language barriers can be more easily handled when traveling in larger groups. You may be less vulnerable and exposed when in the company of other overlanders. It may also be reassuring and useful to have friends available to witness and assist if things do go wrong.
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- Live For the Highs The Gublers have put their bad border experience behind them. They still have fond memories of the US and hope to return one day for more adventures. They generously allow that their experience at the US border could happen anywhere in the world. As Richie says, “When overlanding, the highs will be lived higher, and the lows, lower. Keep on exploring this beautiful world because most days on the road are truly amazing.”
Follow the Gubler family, who are still on the road (currently in Central America) with the goal of reaching Ushuaia, Argentina. Their stories and adventures are updated regularly on Instagram (meataround_theworld), YouTube, and their website blog.
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Read more: Crossing Borders by Scott Brady
