Lavandera also credits his family’s Cuban roots with helping teach him the importance of the press in a free and democratic society.
Watching Dan Rather or Tom Brokaw on the evening news with his dad taught him that journalism was something of value, particularly since a free press didn't exist where his family came from.
Weeks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, Lavandera was sent to cover another crisis at the border — this time between Poland and Ukraine.
Reporting on the flood of Ukrainian refugees at a train station in a small southeastern Polish town made him reflect on all of the profound moments he has witnessed, whether at home or abroad.
“It's a really powerful experience to see a movement like that where people are crossing the border going into a very unexpected place,” he said. “I try my best to convey that in the stories we tell.”
Lavandera is fluent in Spanish, which helps him to tell the stories of migrants and officials at the US-Mexico border. He had no language skills to rely on when he was reporting from Poland, but people still shared their stories with him.
“The respect that I try to show all of these people is genuine,” Lavandera said. “Whether you're on the border between Poland and Ukraine or ... between El Paso and Mexico, I feel an immense responsibility. The stories that these people have to tell are important.”
‘Witnessing humanity at its most vulnerable’
Toward the end of last year, Lavandera shared a photo of the sun setting over east Texas as he headed home from what he described as a “difficult assignment.”
“I've spent much of 2022 on borders ... witnessing humanity at its most vulnerable and challenging moments,” he wrote. Those experiences, he added, will forever be burned in his memory.
Lavandera often shares photos he takes while on assignment on his Instagram page. He said he’s been tossing around the idea of one day publishing a book of photographs from his travels. For now, it’s a passion project and a hobby that helps him decompress from the heaviness of his work.
There’s a good chance that Lavandera will find himself back at the southern border soon. While unlawful crossings dropped in January, resolving the US-Mexico border crisis is still a top issue in Washington.
The Supreme Court ruled in December that a controversial Trump-era border restriction, known as Title 42, will remain in effect while legal challenges play out. Title 42 allows authorities to swiftly expel migrants at US land borders under a public health order that officials said aimed to stop the spread of Covid-19.
This month, the Biden administration told the Supreme Court of its intent to let the policy expire in May.
“Title 42 has become this very kind of convenient issue that keeps political leaders from having to confront very difficult questions,” Lavandera said.
