United States–Mexico border
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The border between Mexico and the United States spans four U.S. states, six Mexican states, and has over twenty commercial railroad crossings.
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Border counties
The international border between Mexico and the United States runs from San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Baja California, in the west to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas, in the east. It traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from major urban areas to inhospitable deserts. From the Gulf of Mexico it follows the course of the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte) to the border crossing at El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua; westward from that binational conurbation it crosses vast tracts of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts, the Colorado River Delta, and the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula before reaching the Pacific Ocean. The border's total length is 1,969 miles (3,169 km), according to figures given by the International Boundary and Water Commission.[1] It is the most frequently crossed international border in the world, with about 250 million legal crossings every year.[2]
Geography
The nearly 2000 mile(1,950 miles or 3,138 km) international border follows the middle of the Rio Grande — according to the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between the two nations, "along the deepest channel" — from its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico a distance of 1,254 miles (2,019 km) to a point just upstream of El Paso, and Ciudad Juárez. It then follows an alignment westward overland and marked by monuments a distance of 533 miles (858 km) to the Colorado River, during which it reaches its highest elevation at the intersection with the Continental Divide. Thence it follows the middle of that river northward a distance of 24 miles (38 km), and then it again follows an alignment westward overland and marked by monuments a distance of 141 miles (226 km) to the Pacific Ocean. The region along the boundary is characterised by deserts, rugged mountains, abundant sunshine and by two major rivers — the Colorado and the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte) — which provide life-giving waters to the largely arid but fertile lands along the rivers in both countries. The U.S. States along the border, from west to east, are:
The Mexican States are:
In the United States, Texas has the longest stretch of the border of any State, while California has the shortest. In Mexico, Chihuahua has the longest border, while Nuevo León has the shortest. From west to east, the border city twinnings and border crossings include the following:
The total population of the borderlands — defined as those counties and municipios lining the border on either side — stands at some 12 million people. History
With the exception of a small number of minor Rio Grande border disputes, since settled, the current course of the border was finalised by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the 1853 Gadsden Purchase. Whether the border between Mexico and the breakaway Republic of Texas followed the Rio Grande or the Nueces River further north was an issue never settled during the existence of that Republic, and the uncertainty was one of the direct causes of the Mexican-American War between 1846 to 1848. An earlier agreement, signed during the Mexican War of Independence by the United States and Imperial Spain, was the 1819 Adams-Onís Treaty, which defined the border between the republic and the colonial empire following the Louisiana Purchase of 1804. For a detailed history of water-related agreements along the border since the signing of the 1848 Treaty, see International Boundary and Water Commission Security issuesImage:Nrborderborderentrythreecolorsmay05-1-.JPG
Raw sewage and industrial waste flows into the U.S. from Mexico as the New River passes from Mexicali, Baja California to Calexico, California.
The U.S.–Mexico border has the highest number of both legal and illegal crossings of any land border in the world. A large percentage of the border is guarded by large numbers of patrolling agents of the U.S. federal government. For a period of time in the 1990s U.S. Army personnel were stationed along the U.S.-Mexico border to help stem the flow of illegal aliens and drug smugglers. These military units brought their specialized equipment such as FLIR (forward looking infrared) infrared devices and helicopters. In conjunction with the U.S. Border Patrol, they would deploy along the border and, for a brief time, there would be no traffic across that border which was actively watched by "coyotes" paid to assist border crossers. The smugglers and the alien traffickers simply ceased operations over the one hundred mile sections of the border sealed at a time. It was very effective but temporary as the illegal traffic resumed as soon as the military withdrew.[3] After the September 11, 2001 attacks the United States looked at the feasibility of placing soldiers along the U.S.-Mexico border as a security measure, but made no mention of the U.S.-Canada border. Some believe the whole U.S.-Mexico border could be sealed with as few as 100 helicopters equipped with FLIR scopes, and a few hundred men equipped with state of the art sensors, scopes and other electronics.[citation needed] Opposition says this is a violation of Posse Comitatus although the army patrolled the border for more than 46 years after the passage of the Posse Comitatus act.[3] Others believe that the border could never be completely closed, but that the United States could possibly put a serious dent in illegal cross border traffic with a more robust military presence and a larger, more pro-active Border Patrol. Borders come and go based on political and economic transformations. 1985 the world’s total number of sovereign states had reached 180, and following the collapse of the Soviet Union the number had grown to 220. The NAFTA agreement represents the latest attempt to tear down barriers to capital mobility even as territorial demarcations were tightened for workers. The purpose of NAFTA was not merely to facilitate trade and open markets but to expanded opportunities for capital investment. The treaty did not pay attention to worker mobility, in striking contrast to the EU, which made labor central to the broader process of market integration. The consolidation of European markers was effected by multilateral polices designed to harmonize social policies, equalize economic infrastructures, and guarantee worker rights and mobility within the trade zone. In contrast, NAFTA omitted these provisions and its U.S. backers instead insisted on the unilateral right to prevent Mexican workers from migrating through restrictive border policies. Image:Borderbeachtj.jpg
Beach in Tijuana at the border.
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Picture of the border between Nogales, Arizona, on the left, and Nogales, Sonora, on the right.
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The US-Mexico border fence near San Diego, California. The Secure Fence Act of 2007 authorises the construction of 700 additional miles of the double chain link and barbed wire fences with light and infrared camera poles.
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Portion of border near Jacumba, California
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Gates for automobile traffic entering the United States from Tijuana at the San Ysidro port of entry.
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Border for pedestrians in Tijuana
Each state in the United States has a National Guard organization that could, in principle, be placed on the border at a state governor's discretion to assist with border security; many states also have a backup to the National Guard called the State Defense Force that could, in an emergency, also be activated for this purpose. However, few governors have done this. Many governors fear a backlash from local businesses and ever increasing communities of Mexicans. Arizona and New Mexico have currently declared the counties that border Mexico to be under serious duress caused by uncontrolled illegal immigrant traffic, thereby enabling governors to deploy National Guardsmen to the international border. However, Senator John McCain, (R-Arizona), has opposed some measures intended to reduce illegal immigration through enforcement and proposed a bill calling for earned legalisation (which many call[citation needed] amnesty) in the Senate. Texas governor Rick Perry has called for the deployment of national guardsmen to watch certain high-traffic spots of the Texas/Mexico border, partly as a response to an incident in 2006 where U.S. officers involved in a pursuit in western Texas lost suspected drug smugglers when their 4x4 vehicle crossed the Rio Grande and was met by several men armed with assault rifles and dressed in Mexican military uniforms. In May 2006, President Bush announced a plan whereby up to 6,000 National Guardsmen would help build facilities on the border to assist the Border Patrol with tactical and technical measures but not enforcement duties. There has been some resistance: in California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger initially denied Bush's request to deploy 3,000 National Guard troops to the California-Baja California border.[4] Later Schwarzenegger changed his mind after being reassured of reimbursement and replacement if they are needed elsewhere and deployed over 1600 California National Guard troops to the border. It is estimated that over a million people cross the border illegally each year, most [~80%] are Mexicans. The rest are labeled "Other Than Mexicans" (OTM), of whom a majority are Central Americans. Border Patrol activity is concentrated around big border cities such as San Diego and El Paso which do have extensive border fencing. This means that the flow of illegal immigrants is diverted into rural mountainous and desert areas, leading to a significant number of deaths. Attempts to complete the construction of the United States–Mexico barrier have been challenged by the Mexican government, undocumented workers living in the United States, and various U.S.-based Chicano organisations. About 45% of all agricultural laborers in the United States are undocumented immigrants, according to migration experts at the University of California, Davis. According to proponents of open-border policies, agricultural work is one of the many types of work that illegal immigrants fill that could not be easily filled by United States citizens. Opponents counter that U.S. citizens would gladly take these jobs if offered decent wages. (See: Illegal immigration to the United States) However, the estimates are vague at best, showing only how many apprehensions were made by U.S. immigration authorities and not showing how many people actually attempted to cross the border.[citation needed] The Customs and Border Protection estimates that 500,000 illegal immigrants successfully cross the border into the United States every year.[citation needed] In December 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to build a separation barrier along parts of the border. A companion vote in the United States Senate on May 17, 2006 included a plan to blockade 860 miles (1384 km) of the border with vehicle barriers and triple-layer fencing. Although those bills died in committee, eventually the Secure Fence Act of 2006 was passed providing for the construction of 700 miles of high-security fencing. Proponents hope that barriers of various types running the length of the border will reduce illegal drug smuggling and illegal immigration drastically. According to Dr. Douglas Massey of Princeton University (Smoke and Mirrors: U.S. Immigration Policy in the Age of Globalisation, Russel Sage, 2001) and other experts, the efforts to curtail illegal immigration by means of security has done nothing but redirect the migration flows into the most desolate and desert areas of the border, thus increasing the mortality rate of illegal immigrants. Furthermore, the security measures prevent the migrants from re-entering Mexico and then returning, as they had done in the past. Instead, they remain in the U.S. for longer periods of time and eventually bring their families with them. President Bush has presented an initiative to reinstate a Guest Worker Program or expand the H-2B program to fill the perceived needs of labor for some areas of the U.S. and, at the same time, has pushed to strengthen the security measures at the border to stop suspected illegal immigrants, terrorists and narcotics dealers from entering the U.S.. Border IncursionsIn the Fiscal Year of 2006, there have been 29 confirmed border incursions by Mexican Government Officials, of which 17 have been by armed individuals. Since 1996 there have been 253 incursions by Mexican Government officials.[5] [6] [7] Cost to Local GovernmentsIn a new study conducted by the University of Arizona, together with San Diego State University, it showed that due to law enforcement and criminal prosecution cost relating to illegal immigrants their costs increased 39% within the border counties of Arizona. This study was commissioned by the U.S.-Mexico Border Counties Coalition.[8] Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)In late 2006, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a rule regarding new identification requirements for U.S. citizens and international travelers entering the country. Implemented on January 23, 2007, this final rule and first phase of the WHTI specifies three forms of identification — one of which is required in order to enter the US by air: a valid passport, a NEXUS Air card, or a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document (MMD).[9][10][11] See also
References
Sources
Arbelaez, Harvey, and Claudio Milman. "The New Business Environment of Latin America and the Carribean." International Journal of Public Administration (2007): 553 Kelly, Patricia, and Douglas Massey. "Borders for Whom? The Role of NAFTA in Mexico-U.S. Migration." The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political Science 610 (2007): 98-118 Miller, Tom. On the Border: Portraits of America’s Southwestern Frontier, 1981.
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