border crossing sim

I saw a story on the news yesterday about an amusement park in Mexico near the border which offers simulated border crossings at night. Tourists come from all over Mexico mainly, as the tour is given in Spanish, and embark on a 4 hour long simulation of would a illegal border crossing. This includes such highlights as hiding out in river beds to avoid actors playing border patrol who are chasing after you. People who don’t keep up with the group even get “arrested” if they are caught. In the end, the members of the group who make it are blindfolded and loaded into the back of pickup trucks and driven to a cliff that overlooks a large part of Mexico. The simulation ends with an educational note about the dangers of border crossings and a pro Mexico stance.
The tours have been running for around 4 years, but have just recently generated media attention. Many people are criticizing that the simulation insults people who have been scarred or lost their lives to crossing the border. It also is arguable that it is promoting border crossing as it makes the act into a fun and exhilarating event. However the educational portion of the simulation allows for guests to be informed of the many horrors of border crossings such as rapes and kidnappings.
This storey is a new twist to all the immigration issues that have been in the media recently. It made me consider the origin of illegal immigrants which is a side of the immigration issue I often forget about when thinking about current news items. This simulation does seem slightly inappropriate, as it is disrespectful to the issue as a whole. Despite this, I think that the park has every right to continue running the simulation, and at least if they are going to do so, it is positive that they do encourage not attempting border crossings.