Francisco Cantú
Francisco Cantú is the author, narrator, and protagonist of The Line Becomes a River, which charts his experiences as a field agent in the United States Border Patrol. He’s the grandson of a Mexican…
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Cantú’s Mother
Cantú’s mother is the daughter of a Mexican migrant who came to the United States as a child and had no relationship with Cantú’s mother until she was an adult. Her mother was a…
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José
José is Cantú’s close friend and Lupe’s husband. Cantú meets José after leaving Border Patrol; José is a maintenance worker at the marketplace where Cantú works as a barista, and the two become…
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Lupe
Lupe, José’s wife, id an undocumented Mexican migrant living with him in the United States. She is a devoted wife and the mother of José’s three sons: Diego, José Junior, and Vicente…
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Cantú’s Grandfather
Though he’s long dead by the time Cantú joins Border Patrol, Cantú’s grandfather is an important figure in his life, symbolizing his Mexican heritage and all its complexity. Cantu’s mother didn’t meet her father until…
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Morales
Morales is one of Cantú’s classmates at Border Patrol Academy, and they continue to work together once they graduate and go into the field. Soon after they graduate, Morales is in a traffic accident…
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Hayward
Hayward is Cantú’s boss once he moves into intelligence work. He’s a kind boss, and he takes Cantú under his wing. He has suffered some trauma during his work in Border Patrol, for instance…
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Beto
Beto is another of Cantú’s coworkers in El Paso, Texas. He’s a young man who grew up in both El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, as he has family both sides of the border. He…
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Cantú’s Father
Cantú’s father is absent from Cantú’s life and from the action of the book. Cantú’s parents separated when he was young, and when he visits his uncle, he finds photographs of his father…
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Cantú’s Uncle
Cantú visits his paternal uncle—his father’s brother—while he’s working in intelligence in El Paso. As a contractor, his uncle represents a person who has been able to destroy a natural landscape for work…
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Cole
A more senior agent, Cole instructs Cantú and his fellow recruits immediately after they graduate. He’s nicknamed “Black Death” because he once ran over and killed a man he called an “Indian” who was asleep…
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Walter
Walter is José’s court-appointed attorney when he’s first arrested trying to cross the border. Not knowing that Cantú is in Border Patrol, Walter tells Cantú that most Border Patrol agents are heartless. He thus…
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Hart
Hart is one of Cantú’s classmates at Border Patrol Academy. He is a young black man from Detroit who used to work at an airport car rental booth. He indulges in some of the…
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Minor Characters
Diego
Diego is José and Lupe’s eldest son. As part of José’s petition to remain in the U.S., Diego writes a heartfelt letter about how much he loves his dad. He symbolizes the damage that’s done to young people when their parents are deported.
José Junior
José Junior is José and Lupe’s middle son.
Vicente
Vicente is José and Lupe’s youngest son.
Diane
Diane is José and Cantú’s boss at the market where Cantú works as a barista. She is very fond of José and helps his immigration petition by finding him a lawyer (Elizabeth) and paying half of the legal fees.
Manuel
Manuel is Cantú’s coworker at his intelligence role in El Paso. He is an older man of Mexican heritage.
Elizabeth Green
Elizabeth Green is the immigration lawyer that José’s boss, Diane, hires to represent José when he’s sent to court after being caught crossing the border illegally.
Mortenson
Mortenson is Cantú’s “journeyman,” meaning that Cantú is partnered with him after he graduates from his field training as a Border Patrol agent. The son of a policeman, Mortenson is only 23 years old and has never worked in any field outside of law enforcement.
Adam
Adam lives in a Native American reservation near the border, and he asks for Cantú’s help when strange, menacing men appear in his village. He represents all the people who live on the borderlands whose lives are at risk from the crime that goes on there.
Robles
Robles is an instructor at the Border Patrol Academy. He’s tough on the new recruits, but he’s also sensitive, as he still harbors trauma from an incident in his early days in the agency when he was responsible for a migrant’s death by drowning.
José’s Pastor
José and Lupe’s pastor goes with Lupe to José’s trials and the meeting with his lawyer, thus proving José’s standing as an upstanding member of his church community.
Santiago
Santiago is one of Cantú’s classmates at Border Patrol Academy, who drops out at the beginning of the book. He’s a 38-year-old father, husband, and accountant from Puerto Rico, who becomes a figure of ridicule when he struggles to keep up with the course.
