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This information was copied from the Mexico-United States border Wikipedia page as potential headings/sections where I am considering of adding more information. Copied the entire heading just so I am aware of what is already on the page, and how much has been cited.

History[edit]

In the mid-16th century, with the discovery of silver, settlers from a various countries and backgrounds began to arrive in the area. This period of sparse settlement included colonizers from different backgrounds. The area was part of New Spain, but due to the lack of population and the diverse citizenry it had, it did not seem to belong to any country. This period lasted until the early 19th century, at which point the United States bought the lands known as the Louisiana Purchase from France and began to expand steadily (militarily) westward in its pursuit of Manifest Destiny.[1]

The border itself was not clearly defined and remained so until the Mexican colony became independent from Spain and entered a period of political instability. Mexico attempted to create a buffer zone at the border that would prevent possible invasion from the North. The Mexican government encouraged thousands of their own citizens to settle in the region that is now known as Texas and even offered inexpensive land to settlers from the United States in exchange for populating the area. The influx of people did not provide the defense that Mexico had hoped for and instead Texas declared its independence in 1836, which lasted until 1845 when the U.S. annexed it.

The constant conflicts in the Texas region in the mid-19th century eventually led to the Mexican–American War, which began in 1846 and ended in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In the terms of the peace treaty, Mexico lost more than 960,000 square miles (2,500,000 km2) of land, 55%[2] of its territory, including what is today California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma. In addition, all disputes over Texas and the disputed territory between Rio Grande and Rio Nueces were abandoned. Five years later the Gadsden Purchase completed the creation of the current United States–Mexico border. The purchase was initially to accommodate a planned railway right-of-way. These purchases left approximately 300,000 people living in the once disputed lands, many of whom were Mexican nationals. Following the establishment of the current border a number of towns sprang up along this boundary and many of the Mexican citizens were given free land in the northern regions of Mexico in exchange for returning and repopulating the area.[3]

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and another treaty in 1884 were the agreements originally responsible for the settlement of the international border, both of which specified that the middle of Rio Grande was the border—irrespective of any alterations in the channels or banks. The Rio Grande shifted south between 1852 and 1868, with the most radical shift in the river occurring after a flood in 1864. By 1873 the moving river-center border had cut off approximately 600 acres (2.4 km2) of Mexican territory in the El Paso-Juarez area, in effect transferring the land to the United States. By a treaty negotiated in 1963, Mexico regained most of this land in what became known as the Chamizal dispute and transferred 264 acres (1.07 km2) in return to the United States. Border treaties are jointly administered by the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), which was established in 1889 to maintain the border, allocate river waters between the two nations, and provide for flood control and water sanitation. Once viewed as a model of international cooperation, in recent decades the IBWC has been heavily criticized as an institutional anachronism, by-passed by modern social, environmental and political issues.[4]

The economic development of the border region on the Mexican side of the border depended largely on its proximity to the United States, due to its remoteness from commercial centers in Mexico. During the years of Mexican President Porfirio Díaz, between 1876 and 1910, the border communities boomed, due mostly to close ties to the United States, and the Mexican government's support for financial investments from the United States.[5] Railroads were built that connected the northern Mexican states more to the United States than to Mexico and the population grew tremendously. The mining industry also developed, as did the United States’ control of it. By the early 20th century companies from the United States controlled 81% of the mining industry and had invested five hundred million dollars in the Mexican economy overall, twenty-five percent of it in the border regions.[6]

The United States Immigration Act of 1891 authorizes the implementation of inspection stations at ports of entry along the Mexican and Canadian borders. The United States Immigration Act of 1917 requires the passing of a literacy test and head tax to Mexicans wanting to enter the United States legally, but during World War I, where labor shortages were growing, the provisions were temporarily suspended. The United States Immigration Act of 1924 establishes the United States Border Patrol.[7]

The Mexican Revolution, caused at least partially by animosity toward foreign ownership of Mexican properties, began in 1910. The Revolution increased the political instability in Mexico, but did not significantly slow United States investment. It did reduce economic development within Mexico, however, and the border regions reflected this. As the infrastructure of communities on the United States side continued to improve, the Mexican side began to fall behind in the construction and maintenance of important transportation networks and systems necessary to municipal development.[8]

Although the Mexican Revolution caused insecurity in Mexico itself, it also strained United States-Mexico relations. With the Mexican Revolution lasting for 10 years, ending in 1920, and World War I simultaneously occurring between 1914 and 1918, the division between the United States and Mexico began to polarize the two nation-states further apart. Within 10 years, constant wars caused border towns to transform into battlefields, which intensified transborder restrictions, dispatched federal soldiers to patrol the border, and requested the construction of fences and barriers between border towns. When the wars concluded, restrictions for crossing the border became more laxed and most soldiers were sent home; however, the fences remained as a physical reminder of the division between the two nations. As years passed, more fences and higher barriers were established as a result of continuous debates of where the boundary line was officially marked along the United States and Mexico.[9]

In the first decade of the 21st century, "illegal border crossers" caused, or impacted the extinguishing of, several wildfires near the border in Arizona.[10]

Border enforcement[edit]

While the Border Patrol has changed a lot since its inception in 1924, its primary mission remains unchanged: to detect and prevent the illegal entry of immigrants into the United States. Together with other law enforcement officers, the Border Patrol helps maintain borders that work – facilitating the flow of legal immigration and goods while preventing the illegal trafficking of people and contraband. In order to enforce border protection more effectively, the United States' policies and regulations have looked to make border crossings more dangerous and difficult through the implementation of various operations, one of those being the "funnel effect". The tactic was meant to discourage migration from Mexico into the United States by forcing migrants to travel further around barriers where the terrain and weather are more risky, but the strategy was not as successful as initially planned, due to the will of migrants making the hard choice to pass through extreme circumstances.[11]

In 2012, Border Patrol agents made over 364,000 arrests of people illegally entering the country. Considerable success has been achieved in restoring integrity and safety to the Southwest border, by putting in place a border-control strategy. These include Operation Gatekeeper in San Diego, CA, Operation Hold the Line in El Paso, TX, Operation Rio Grande in McAllen, TX, Operation Safeguard in Tucson, AZ, and the Arizona Border Control Initiative (ABCI) along the Arizona border. The border has the highest number of registered legal crossings of any land border in the world. Over five million cars and trucks travel through the border annually.

According to Vulliamy, one in five Mexican nationals will visit or work in the United States at one point in their lifetime. As of 2010, the border is guarded by more than twenty thousand Border Patrol agents, more than at any time in its history. However, they only have "effective control" of less than 700 miles (1,100 km) of the 1,954 miles (3,145 km) of total border, with an ability to actually prevent or stop illegal entries along 129 miles (208 km) of that border. The border is paralleled by United States Border Patrol interior checkpoints on major roads generally between 25 and 75 miles (40 and 121 km) from the U.S. side of the border, and garitas generally within 50 km of the border on the Mexican side.

There are an estimated half a million illegal entries into the United States each year. Border Patrol activity is concentrated around border cities such as San Diego and El Paso which have extensive border fencing. This means that the flow of illegal immigrants is diverted into rural mountainous and desert areas, leading to several hundred migrant deaths along the Mexico–U.S. border of those attempting to cross into the United States from Mexico illegally and vice versa. Undocumented labor contributes $395 billion to the economy every year. While the U.S. is in favor of immigration, the increase in undocumented immigration has given border-crossing a negative image. There are around 11.5 million undocumented workers in the U.S. today, and 87% of undocumented immigrants have been living in the U.S. for more than 7 years. Local economies that develop on the Mexican side capitalize not only on available skills but also on available, usually discarded, materials. Small businesses trade in clothes that are purchased by the pound and cardboard from the United States. Some items, like the used tires found everywhere along the border, are made into certain items that support local economies and define a border.

The Secure Fence Act of 2006 was passed providing for the construction of 700 miles (1,100 km) of high-security fencing. Attempts to complete the construction of the Mexico–United States barrier have been challenged by the Mexican government and various U.S.–based organizations.

In January 2013, the Government Accountability Office released a report stating that the United States Border Patrol only intercepted sixty-one percent of individuals illegally crossing the border in 2011, which translated to 208,813 individuals not apprehended. 85,827 of the 208,813 would go on to illegally enter the United States, while the rest returned to Mexico and other Central American countries. The report also showed that the number of illegal border crossings has dropped.

Border incursions[edit]

According to the U.S. Border Patrol, apprehensions of central Americans at the US-Mexico border reduced from 70,000 to 55,000 attempted illegal migrants from 2007 to 2011. Thereafter, the number of apprehensions increased dramatically to 95,000 in 2012, 150,000 in 2013 and 220,000 in 2014. The increased apprehensions could have been either due to improved border security, due to a dramatic rise in attempted crossings, or both.[12]

As per the media, in the fiscal year of 2006, there were twenty-nine confirmed border incursions by Mexican government officials, of which seventeen were by armed individuals. Since 1996 there have been 253 incursions by Mexican government officials.[13][14][15] In 2014 the U.S. Department of Homeland Security informed California Representative Duncan D. Hunter that since 2004, there have been 300 documented border incursions, which resulted in 131 individuals being detained.[16]

The Washington Times has reported that on Sunday, August 3, 2008, Mexican military personnel who crossed into Arizona from Mexico encountered a U.S. Border Patrol agent, whom they held at gunpoint. The soldiers later returned to Mexico, as backup Border Patrol agents came to investigate.[17]

Humanitarian assistance along the border[edit]

Among the diversity of humanitarian assistance along the U.S.–Mexico border, there are groups who take on a more hands-on approach. The Humane Borders, No More Deaths, and Samaritans are all humanitarian groups that provide water in order to reduce deaths of immigrants who are journeying through the Arizona desert.[18] Despite having a common goal, a policy passed in 2010 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife federal agency allowed water drums with 55 gallons of water to be placed in roads of disturbed areas, which supports method of Humane Borders and counters the methods of No More Deaths and Samaritans who place one-gallon jugs of water hanging from trees.[18]

In contrast, there are other humanitarian groups whose goal is create healthier communities along the U.S.–Mexico border. Due to an incidence rate of HIV and tuberculosis being higher in border towns such as El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Sonora than at the national level in both countries, the Nuestra Casa Initiative, developed with the help of Project Concern International, the US Agency for International Development, the Alliance of Border Collaborative, Dr. Eva Moya and Damien Schumman, tried to counter the health disparities by using a cross-border strategy that moved around an exhibit prominent in various Museums and universities.[19][20] Similarly, Special Action Groups as part of the Border Health Strategic Initiative created by the University of Arizona with other groups helped create a healthier Hispanic community in Arizona border towns by creating policy and infrastructure changes both in the public and private factor.[21] These groups provided humanitarian assistance to counter the prominence of Type 2 diabetes among the Hispanic community since they acquired a block grant for new walking trails and encouraged public elementary schools to provide healthier food choices for students.[21]

A shelter is an example of a place where immigrants can feel safe from mistreatment, discrimination, extreme temperatures, and hunger. After many days, people are physically and mentally exhausted and are usually in desperate need of basic human necessities. Upon arriving at a shelter, travelers are finally able to properly bathe themselves and receive a new pair of clothes. Even though there are frequent hazards that many immigrants have to encounter when crossing the desert near the Mexico-United States border, they still need to be cautious of local gangs. Immigrants are considered easy targets by gang members, because they do not have the strength to resist aggressive offenders and end up left with nothing. Despite the physical dangers of nature and thugs, immigrants at shelters still fall victim to trolling researchers and journalists. Fortunately, they do not harm those they are interviewing, but constantly looking for a "good" story can aggravate anyone who is still recovering from an arduous journey.[22] A shelter like the Juan Bosco Shelter in Nogales, Sonora is supported by the Border Community Alliance, a nonprofit organization who looks to bridge the Mexico-United States border through fostering a community.[23]

Not only do these Hispanic communities faced health inequalities, but political inequalities as well.[citation needed] The need for political change was so huge that it has encouraged Hispanic women to engage in activism at a local level. The Neighborhood Action Group in Chula Vista, California is one of the groups of the attracted the help of local Hispanic women to implement a feminist perspective in activism in spite of the social and economic obstacles as well as Assembly Bill No. 775, 2005 that prohibited children being used as interpreters.[24] These humanitarian groups have implemented various strategies to pursue their goals that ultimately try to counter the number of immigrant deaths and abuses in immigrant detention even if it means the criminalization and higher levels of discrimination against them.[25] In regards to the Humanitarian assistance along the U.S.–Mexico border on the Mexico side, most humanitarian groups focus on assisting the deportees. As rates of deportation continue to drastically increase, “the deportation of many individuals is becoming more and more notable” in the streets of Mexico cities.[26] As a result, many humanitarian groups have form along the Mexico cities where undocumented individuals are deported such as Nogales, Mexico. The humanitarian groups consist of faith-based communities and primarily non-profit organizations that assist the exhausted deportees. Not only are the deportees exhausted, but also many of them do not have any resources with them such as money, food, or family information that can help them. This oftentimes leads them to be homeless and go days without eating. They often go homeless because they "do not know where to turn to receive a meal, find shelter and to make a phone call".[27] Along with them arriving without those resources, many immigrants "find themselves in distress" due to the fact that they arrive to Mexico emotionally and psychologically devastated.[28] Contributing factors that might have caused them to be devastated can either be that they were separated from "their family members or the inability to work legally in the United States".[29] Therefore, the primary purpose of the humanitarian groups on the Mexico side of the border is to create a pathway for transitional support such as providing the deportees food, shelter, clothing, legal help and social services.[26] In addition, there are humanitarian groups that provides meals and shelter to deportees according to their deportation documents. Humanitarian groups along the border in Mexico are El Comedor, Nazareth House, Camino Juntos, La 72, and FM4: Paso Libre.

  1. ^ Martínez, Oscar J. (1988). Troublesome Border. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-1104-4.
  2. ^ "Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo". Ourdocuments.gov. 1848. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  3. ^ Byrd, Bobby; Mississippi, Susannah, eds. (1996). The Late Great Mexican Border: Reports from a Disappearing Line. El Paso: Cinco Puntos Press. ISBN 978-0-938317-24-1.
  4. ^ McCarthy, Robert J. (Spring 2011). "Executive Authority, Adaptive Treaty Interpretation, and the International Boundary and Water Commission, U.S.–Mexico". Water Law Review: 3–5. SSRN 1839903.
  5. ^ Hart, John M. (2000). "The Mexican Revolution, 1910–1920". Oxford History of Mexico. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 433–66. ISBN 978-0-19-511228-3.
  6. ^ Lorey, David E. (1999). The U.S.-Mexican Border in the Twentieth Century. Wilmington: Scholarly Resources, Inc. ISBN 978-0-8420-2756-4.
  7. ^ "Some Events in the History of Mexico and the Border". The Journal of American History. 86: 453–54. 1999 – via JSTOR.
  8. ^ Lorey, David E. (1999). The U.S.-Mexican Border in the Twentieth Century. Wilmington: Scholarly Resources, Inc. ISBN 978-0-8420-2756-4.
  9. ^ St. John, Rachel (2011). Line in the Sand: A History of the Western U.S.-Mexico Border. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 4. ISBN 9780691156132.
  10. ^ Anu K. Mattal (22 November 2011). Federal Agencies Could Better Utilize Law Enforcement Resources in Support of Wildland Fire Management Activities (Report). United States Government Accountability Office. Retrieved 4 July 2018. {{cite report}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |authors= (help)"McCain blames some Arizona wildfires on illegal immigrants". CNN. 19 June 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  11. ^ Newell, Bryce Clayton (2016). "Information seeking, technology use, and vulnerability among migrants at the United States–Mexico border". The Information Society. 32: 178 – via EBSCO. {{cite journal}}: line feed character in |title= at position 77 (help)
  12. ^ "Statistics - SW Border apprehensions". www.cbp.gov. CBP - US Border patrol (Official website). Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  13. ^ "Report: Border Patrol confirms 29 incursions by Mexican officials into U.S. in 2007". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved January 17, 2008.
  14. ^ "MSNBC report on Border incursion Oct 18 2007". MSNBC. Retrieved January 17, 2008.
  15. ^ "Mexican incursions inflame border situation". MSNBC. Retrieved January 17, 2008.
  16. ^ "DHS to Hunter: More than 300 border incursions by Mexican military and law enforcement authorities since January 2004". Congressman Duncan Hunter. United States House of Representatives. June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  17. ^ "Border patrol agent held at gunpoint". Washington Times. August 8, 2008.
  18. ^ a b Star, Brady McCombs Arizona Daily. "US allows new water stations by border". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  19. ^ Moya, Eva, et al. “Nuestra Casa: An Advocacy Initiative to Reduce Inequalities and Tuberculosis along the US–Mexico Border.” International Public Health Journal, vol. 8, no. 2, 2016, pp. 107–119.
  20. ^ Moya, Eva; Chavez-Baray, Silvia; Wood, William W.; Martinez, Omar (2016). "Nuestra Casa: An advocacy initiative to reduce inequalities and tuberculosis along the US–Mexico border". International Public Health Journal. 8: 107–119. ISSN 1947-4989. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  21. ^ a b Cohen, Stuart J.; Meister, Joel S.; deZapien, Jill G. (2016). "Special Action Groups for Policy Change and Infrastructure Support to Foster Healthier Communities on the Arizona–Mexico Border". Public Health Reports. 119 (1): 40–47. doi:10.1177/003335490411900110. ISSN 0033-3549. PMC 1502256. PMID 15147648.
  22. ^ De León, Jason (2015). The Land of Open Graves. Oakland, California: University of California Press. pp. 104–05. ISBN 9780520282759.
  23. ^ "Our Mission". Border Community Alliance. Retrieved November 9, 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  24. ^ Bosco, Fernando J.; Aitken, Stuart C.; Herman, Thomas (2011). "Women and children in a neighborhood advocacy group: engaging community and refashioning citizenship at the United States–Mexico border". Gender, Place & Culture. 18 (2): 155–178. doi:10.1080/0966369X.2010.551652. ISSN 0966-369X.
  25. ^ Androff, D. K.; Tavassoli, K. Y. (2012). "Deaths in the Desert: The Human Rights Crisis on the U.S.–Mexico Border". Social Work. 57 (2): 165–173. doi:10.1093/sw/sws034. ISSN 0037-8046. PMID 23038878.
  26. ^ a b "New Organization Emerges to Aid Deported Mexican Nationals | San Miguel de Allende | Atención San Miguel". Atencionsanmiguel.org. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  27. ^ Burr, Pete (2017-02-28), Kino Border Initiative - the church without frontiers, retrieved 2018-04-06
  28. ^ "Humanitarianism from the ground: humanitarian aid to migrants and refugees in Mexico | Oxford Department of International Development". Qeh.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  29. ^ "Kino Border Initiative - Iniciative Kino para la Frontera". Kino Border Initiative. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
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