José Character Analysis in The Line Becomes a River

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 fast friends. José is a devoted father and husband who tells Cantú about his three sons (Diego, José Junior, and Vicente) over the burritos they share every day. When José gets word that his mother is dying in Oaxaca, Mexico, he returns to be with her in her last days but then finds himself unable to get back to his family in the U.S., because he’s undocumented and crossing the border has become much more difficult in the years since he arrived in the U.S. José is a devoted churchgoer and a beloved member of his community who works hard to provide for his family. His good character serves to highlight how arbitrary and unjust the immigration system is: the book highlights how his deportation does far more harm than good, since his absence is devastating for his three young boys and their mother. It’s by getting to know José well that Cantú comes to recognize and appreciate the humanity of all the migrants he met and processed during his years in Border Patrol. Cantú does everything in his power to help José legally reenter the U.S., but he is ultimately unsuccessful.

José Quotes in The Line Becomes a River

The The Line Becomes a River quotes below are all either spoken by José or refer to José. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Trauma and Emotional Detachment Theme Icon

“We must be able not only to reckon the number of deaths but to reckon with each victim as an individual.”

Related Characters: Francisco Cantú, José

Page Number and Citation: 144

Explanation and Analysis:

In order a begin a true reckoning with our inner situation, “we have to expose ourselves to the animal impulses of the unconscious without identifying with them and without ‘running away.’”

Related Characters: Francisco Cantú, José

Page Number and Citation: 165

Explanation and Analysis:

Mostly I arrested migrants, I confessed. People looking for a better life.

Related Characters: Francisco Cantú (speaker), José

Page Number and Citation: 172

Explanation and Analysis:

I tell you, Walter said, the Border Patrol, the marshals, it’s like they forget about kindness. I’ve almost never seen these guys express any humanity, any emotion. I don’t know how they do it. How do you come home to your kids at night when you spend your day treating other humans like dogs?

Related Characters: Walter (speaker), Francisco Cantú, José

Page Number and Citation: 188

Explanation and Analysis:

Of course he has fear. La violencia, she said, la delincuencia, la corrupción.

Related Characters: Lupe (speaker), José, Francisco Cantú, Elizabeth Green

Page Number and Citation: 197

Explanation and Analysis:

All these years, I told her, it’s like I’ve been circling beneath a giant, my gaze fixed upon its foot resting at the ground. But now, I said, it’s like I’m starting to crane my head upward, like I’m finally seeing the thing that crushes.

Related Characters: Francisco Cantú (speaker), Cantú’s Mother, José

Page Number and Citation: 222

Explanation and Analysis:

For his family and for you, José is unique. Sure there might be thousands or millions of people in his position, but it’s because of him that their situation is no longer abstract to you. You are no longer severed from what it means to send someone back across the border. You know what’s keeping him away, what keeps him from his family. It’s something close to you, something that’s become a part of you.

Related Characters: Cantú’s Mother (speaker), Francisco Cantú, José

Page Number and Citation: 229

Explanation and Analysis:

José Character Timeline in The Line Becomes a River

The timeline below shows where the character José appears in The Line Becomes a River. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...some of the other workers he meets there, including a maintenance man from Oaxaca named José. (full context)

José and Cantú become friendly. José is considerate, asking Cantú about his life, including his mother... (full context)

José knows that Cantú used to work in Border Patrol but rarely asks about it, and,... (full context)

One day at the end of Cantú’s shift, José asks him why he left Border Patrol, guessing that the money must be better than... (full context)

...he’s studying writing now to try to understand what he’d seen on the border. Finally José understands the decision to leave, enigmatically saying he’s seen many things, too, and could write... (full context)

José and Cantú often discuss the drug wars, violence, and chaos in Mexico. When the drug... (full context)

After this comment, José asks Cantú directly about his time in Border Patrol for the first time: did Cantú... (full context)

Every morning, José shares his breakfast with Cantú. One day, he brings Oaxacan food that his wife cooked,... (full context)

Cantú tells José that they also shared their mezcal, and José grows serious, saying that he used to... (full context)

One day, Cantú asks José about where he’s from. José describes a peaceful village in the jungle, where the violence... (full context)

In an interlude from his account of José, Cantú describes his first trip to Mexico. He was too young to remember, but his... (full context)

Natural Migration vs. Human Boundaries Theme Icon

One hot summer’s day, José doesn’t come to work. Cantú and Jose’s boss, Diane, tells Cantú that he went back... (full context)

Two weeks later, Cantú asks Diane about José, and she tells him he’s having trouble re-entering the country. Diane suspects he is undocumented.... (full context)

Diane tells Cantú that the last she heard, José was at the border, trying to cross. Cantú immediately grows very worried, since it’s the... (full context)

Cantú calls José’s home and talks to his son, then his wife, Lupe. Lupe tells him José was... (full context)

...the public, and Morales says yes, that protestors often go along. He tells Cantú that José’s family will be safe to go though they might not be documented, and he explains... (full context)

Cantú meets Lupe, her and José’s three sons, and their pastor outside the courtroom. In the courtroom, he recognizes the familiar... (full context)

Cantú and José’s family sit, and the judge addresses all 40 of the defendants at once about their... (full context)

Though they can only see the defendants’ backs, José’s pastor and family see him in the lineup. Lupe is devastated and starts rocking. When... (full context)

A week later, Cantú meets José’s court-appointed attorney, Walter, back at the courtroom. José is the only one of the 40... (full context)

José’s sons run down the courthouse hallway. Cantú brought them to the hearing, since Lupe is... (full context)

Cantú asks Walter why he intervened in José’s case, and Walter says it’s because unlike most migrants, José has children in the United... (full context)

Along with José’s sons, Cantú again watches José at the courthouse, pleading guilty to illegal entry, which is... (full context)

Outside the courtroom, Walter tells Cantú that if José hadn’t gone home to see his dying mother, he might have been protected under President... (full context)

A U.S. marshal leaves the courtroom and approaches José’s sons. He gives Diego his marshal pin and says he’s sorry about his dad. Walter... (full context)

Cantú goes to a meeting with José’s immigration lawyer, Elizabeth, as well as Lupe, their pastor, and Diane. Elizabeth says José’s situation... (full context)

Elizabeth tells the group that José’s case will be hard. He has no chance of being granted legal status, and because... (full context)

...says, is to ask for deferred deportation under President Obama’s executive actions, though the fact José has been legally removed from the country more than once will make this difficult. Elizabeth... (full context)

Elizabeth tells Lupe she will need documentation proving how long José has been living in the U.S. (30 years), documentation about their sons, and letters from... (full context)

Elizabeth says if the case fails, José will be deported with a five-year ban on re-entry. And if he tries to enter... (full context)

One morning before dawn, Cantú drives through the trailer park where José’s family lives. He picks up José’s oldest son, Diego, and they go to the prison... (full context)

...the documents Elizabeth requested. Sorting through the extensive paperwork, Cantú pieces together a picture of José’s life since he arrived in the U.S. 30 years ago. (full context)

Cantú knocks on José’s family’s door in the morning again. He collects Diego and José Junior to visit their... (full context)

After passing through various security checks, Cantú, Diego, and José Junior are taken to sit in a waiting room, where two women are already waiting,... (full context)

After passing through even more bureaucracy, they arrive at the building where José is being held. José Junior says he doesn’t know if he can handle talking to... (full context)

Cantú watches José talk to his sons, smiling and tilting his head, but he can’t hear anything he... (full context)

After talking to his sons, José asks to speak to Cantú. The scene ends with them greeting each other warmly over... (full context)

While Cantú is at work one day, Lupe drops off a bundle of letters—testimonies to José’s character from members of his community. She seems nervous around Cantú since learning he used... (full context)

...parking lot reading the letters. In letter after letter, friends, family members, and members of José’s church community describe him as a family man, a religious man, a hard worker, and... (full context)

Lupe’s letter describes José as a devoted husband and father and says they want the best for their sons,... (full context)

José’s sons write letters directly to their father, expressing how much they love and miss him.... (full context)

...notes that the authorities will not explain why the case was rejected. Elizabeth adds that José’s case had more supporting evidence than any other she has ever seen. (full context)

In the evening, Lupe asks Cantú to call the lawyer so that José can visit their son, who has broken him arm, in hospital before he’s deported. Cantú... (full context)

Sometime later, Cantú speaks to Lupe on the phone. She tells him José is staying on the border, preparing to cross again. Cantú wants to tell her he... (full context)

...they speak again. Lupe tells Cantú an uncle took the two eldest sons to visit José, and that José is planning to cross that weekend. (full context)

Days later, Lupe tells Cantú that José was due to cross, but she hasn't heard from him in days. A few days... (full context)

Cantú dreams that he is at the coffee bar when he sees José wandering aimlessly. He goes to him and sees that his face is dark and old.... (full context)

...gift, Lupe doesn’t want to accept it. While Cantú is with Lupe, she tells him José has been caught by Border Patrol again and bused to far away in Mexico. She... (full context)

Lupe adds that when José confronted the men who had smuggled him, they threatened to kill him if they saw... (full context)

Cantú asks Lupe if José is planning to cross again, and she says yes, but he wants to wait until... (full context)

...drinking eggnog, she says he seems distant again, and he tells her he’s hurting over José and his part in the machine that crushes people like him. (full context)

Cantú’s mother tells him it’s fine to feel sad about José, but Cantú says José is just one person, and this happens to millions of people.... (full context)

Cantú tells his mother about his dream of José returning, and she tells him maybe he needs to go to José and listen to... (full context)

A new section begins, now in José’s voice. He says that where he’s staying now, you have to be very careful what... (full context)

José says he has thought of bringing Lupe and his sons to live in Mexico, but... (full context)

...all too easy for young people to fall into the drug trade in Mexico, too, José adds. The country is full of young people with potential who have ended up in... (full context)

In the United States, José says, the system is organized and not corrupt, so that people can get an education... (full context)

José tells his story of working at a Chipotle, working his way up the ranks from... (full context)

Diego wants to switch classes because he thinks his teacher is racist, José says, but José told him he has to keep working hard to become someone in... (full context)

José shares his deep belief that families should be together. He says that he met many... (full context)

José says politicians in the U.S. believe that deporting a parent will make the whole family... (full context)

José says he owes a lot to the U.S. and is grateful to it, but he... (full context)

José says he loves his mother and had no choice but to be with her while... (full context)

José talks about how much harder it is to cross the border now than it used... (full context)

José says that in some places, the only way to get someone to guide you across... (full context)

José says that he met a man in jail who crossed in a group that started... (full context)

The same man told José he was taken to a drop house, which was raided by police. The smugglers were... (full context)

José tells Cantú that though he risks his life every time, he has no choice but... (full context)

The Line Becomes a River

José Character Analysis

José Quotes in The Line Becomes a River

Part 2 Quotes

Part 3 Quotes

José Character Timeline in The Line Becomes a River