United States–Mexico border
Encyclopedia
The United States–Mexico border is the international border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...

 between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. It runs from Imperial Beach
Imperial Beach, California
Imperial Beach is a residential beach city in San Diego County, California, with a population of 26,324 at the 2010 census. The city is the most southern beach city in Southern California and the West Coast of the United States...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, and Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...

, Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

, in the west to Matamoros
Matamoros, Tamaulipas
Matamoros, officially known as Heroica Matamoros, is a city in the northeastern part of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in the United States. Matamoros is the second largest and second...

, Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...

, and Brownsville
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...

, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, in the east, and traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from major urban areas to inhospitable deserts. From the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

 it follows the course of the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte)
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...

 to the border crossing at El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...

, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, and Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...

, Chihuahua; westward from that binational conurbation
Conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...

 it crosses vast tracts of the Sonoran
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...

 and Chihuahuan Desert
Chihuahuan Desert
The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert, and an ecoregion designation, that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border in the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau, bordered on the west by the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, and overlaying northern portions of the east range, the Sierra...

, the Colorado River Delta
Colorado River Delta
The Colorado River Delta is the region where the Colorado River flows into the Gulf of California . The delta is part of a larger geologic region called the Salton Trough. Historically, the interaction of the river’s flow and the ocean’s tide created a dynamic environment, supporting freshwater,...

, westward to the binational conurbation of San Diego and Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...

 before reaching the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. The US-Mexican border is considered an open border
Open border
An open border is a border that enables free movement of people between different jurisdictions with limited or no restrictions to movement. A border may be an open border due to intentional legislation allowing free movement of people across the border or a border may be an open border due to...

.

The border's total length is 3169 km (1,969.1 mi), according to figures given by the International Boundary and Water Commission
International Boundary and Water Commission
The International Boundary and Water Commission is an international body created in 1889 by the United States and Mexico to administer the many boundary and water-rights treaties and agreements between the two nations....

. It is the most frequently crossed international border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...

 in the world, with approximately three hundred fifty million (350,000,000) crossings per year.

Geography

The nearly 2,000-mile (3,138 km or 1,969 miles) international border follows the middle of the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...

—according to the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico City, that ended the Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848...

 between the two nations, "along the deepest channel" (also known as the thalweg
Thalweg
Thalweg in geography and fluvial geomorphology signifies the deepest continuous inline within a valley or watercourse system.-Hydrology:In hydrological and fluvial landforms, the thalweg is a line drawn to join the lowest points along the entire length of a stream bed or valley in its downward...

)—from its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

 a distance of 2019 km (1,254.6 mi) 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 858 km (533.1 mi) to the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...

, 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 38 km (23.6 mi), and then it again follows an alignment westward overland and marked by monuments a distance of 226 km (140.4 mi) to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

.

The region along the boundary is characterized by deserts, rugged hills, abundant sunshine, and 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. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

s along the border, from west to east, are:
California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

.

The Mexican states are:
Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

, Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....

, Chihuahua, Coahuila
Coahuila
Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...

, Nuevo León
Nuevo León
Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...

, and Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...

.


In the United States, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 has the longest stretch of the border of any State, while California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 has the shortest. In Mexico, Chihuahua has the longest border, while Nuevo León
Nuevo León
Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...

 has the shortest.

Texas borders four Mexican states—Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila, and Chihuahua—the most of any U.S. state. New Mexico and Arizona each border two Mexican states (Chihuahua and Sonora; Sonora and Baja California, respectively). California borders only Baja California.

Three Mexican states border two U.S. states each: Baja California borders California and Arizona; Sonora, borders Arizona and New Mexico; and Chihuahua borders New Mexico and Texas. Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, and Coahuila each border only one U.S. state: Texas.

There are currently 42 U.S.–Mexico border crossings. From west to east, below is a list of the border city twinnings.
  • San Diego, California
    San Diego, California
    San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

     (San Ysidro
    San Ysidro, San Diego, California
    San Ysidro is a community in the southern section of San Diego. It is located in the southernmost part of San Diego County, immediately north of the U.S.-Mexico border. It neighbors Otay Mesa West to the north, Otay Mesa to the east, and Nestor and the Tijuana River Valley to the west...

    ) – Tijuana, Baja California
    Tijuana
    Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...

     (San Diego–Tijuana Metro.)
  • Otay Mesa, California
    Otay Mesa, San Diego, California
    Otay Mesa is a community in the southern section of the city of San Diego, just north of the U.S.–Mexico border. It is bordered by the Otay River Valley and the city of Chula Vista on the north, Interstate 805 and the neighborhoods of Ocean View Hills and San Ysidro on the west, and unincorporated...

     – Tijuana, Baja California
    Tijuana
    Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...

  • Tecate, California
    Tecate, California
    Tecate is an unincorporated community in the Mountain Empire area of southeastern San Diego County, California, directly adjacent to the Mexican city of Tecate, Baja California. The area is best known for its border crossing between the United States and Mexico, and nearby Tecate Peak.The...

     – Tecate, Baja California
  • Calexico, California
    Calexico, California
    Calexico is a city in Imperial County, California. The population was 38,572 at the 2010 census, up from 27,109 at the 2000 census. Calexico is about east of San Diego and west of Yuma, Arizona...

     – Mexicali, Baja California
  • Andrade, California
    Andrade, California
    Andrade is a small unincorporated town in the southeasternmost corner of the state of California, in Imperial County. It is directly across the border from Los Algodones, the northernmost town of the municipality of Mexicali, in Baja California, and in all of Mexico. The ZIP Code is 92283...

     – Los Algodones, Baja California
    Los Algodones, Baja California
    Los Algodones, Baja California, is a small Mexican town located on the extreme northeastern tip of the municipality of Mexicali, approximately west of Yuma, Arizona, USA. Its official name is Vicente Guerrero, although most people use Algodones when referring to it. It reported a population of...

  • San Luis, Arizona
    San Luis, Arizona
    San Luis is a city in Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The population was 15,322 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Yuma Metropolitan Statistical Area. San Luis was the second fastest-growing place among all cities and towns in Arizona of any size from 1990 and 2000...

     – San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora
  • Lukeville, Arizona
    Lukeville, Arizona
    Lukeville is a small unincorporated community on the U.S.-Mexico border in southern Pima County, Arizona, United States.The community consists of the international border crossing into Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico, together with a gas station, a duty free shop, a few outlets that sell Mexican automobile...

     – Sonoita, Sonora
  • Sasabe, Arizona
    Sasabe, Arizona
    Sasabe is a small unincorporated border community in the Altar Valley of southern Pima County, Arizona, United States. It hosts a little-used United States–Mexico border crossing...

     – Altar, Sonora
    Altar, Sonora
    Altar is small city in Altar Municipality in the Mexican state of Sonora. It is located in the northwest region of the state at . Surrounding municipalities are Sáric, Tubutama, Atil, Trincheras, Pitiquito, Caborca and Oquitoa. The northern boundary is with Pima County in the U.S...

  • Nogales, Arizona
    Nogales, Arizona
    Nogales is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 21,017 at the 2010 census. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,833. The city is the county seat of Santa Cruz County....

     – Nogales, Sonora
    Nogales, Sonora
    Heroica Nogales , more commonly known as Nogales, is a city and its surrounding municipality on the northern border of the Mexican State of Sonora. The municipality covers an area of 1,675 km², and borders to the north the city of Nogales, Arizona, United States, across the U.S.-Mexico border...

  • Naco, Arizona
    Naco, Arizona
    Naco is a census-designated place in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. Its population was 833 at the 2000 census. It is across the United States–Mexico border from Naco, Sonora. The Naco port of entry is open 24 hours per day....

     – Naco, Sonora
    Naco, Sonora
    Naco is a Mexican town and municipality located in the northeast part of Sonora state on the border with the United States. It is directly across from the unincorporated town of Naco, Arizona. The name Naco comes from the Opata language and means nopal cactus. The town saw fighting during the...

  • Douglas, Arizona
    Douglas, Arizona
    Douglas is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. Douglas has a border crossing with Mexico and a history of mining.The population was 14,312 at the 2000 census...

     – Agua Prieta, Sonora
  • Antelope Wells, New Mexico
    Antelope Wells, New Mexico
    Antelope Wells is a small unincorporated community in Hidalgo County, New Mexico, United States. The community is located along the Mexico – United States border, in the New Mexico Bootheel region, located across the border from the small settlement of El Berrendo, Chihuahua, Mexico. Despite its...

     – El Berrendo, Chihuahua
    El Berrendo, Chihuahua
    El Berrendo is a town in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, located in Janos Municipality, directly across the U.S. border from Antelope Wells, New Mexico. According to the Population Census and Housing of 2010 from INEGI, there was only 1 inhabitant....

  • Columbus, New Mexico
    Columbus, New Mexico
    Columbus is a village in Luna County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,765 at the 2000 census. The town is named after 15th century explorer Christopher Columbus.-History:...

     – Palomas, Chihuahua
  • Santa Teresa, New Mexico
    Santa Teresa, New Mexico
    Santa Teresa is a census-designated place in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,607 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area, although geographically it is considerably closer to El Paso, Texas than to Las Cruces.-Geography:Santa...

     – San Jerónimo, Chihuahua
    San Jerónimo, Chihuahua
    San Jerónimo is a Port of Entry in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, across the U.S. border from Santa Teresa, New Mexico. It is located in the municipality of Juárez, and is an alternative to the busy crossings between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.The original port of entry was...

  • El Paso, Texas
    El Paso, Texas
    El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...

     – Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua
  • Fabens, Texas
    Fabens, Texas
    Fabens is a census-designated place in El Paso County, Texas, United States. The population was 8,043 at the 2000 census. It is part of the El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area...

     – Práxedis G. Guerrero, Chihuahua
    Práxedis G. Guerrero, Chihuahua
    Práxedis Gilberto Guerrero http://www.mpiopraxedisguerrero.gob.mx is the municipal seat of the municipality of Práxedis G. Guerrero in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua.In the 2005 Census, the town reported a population of 3,431...

     municipality
  • Presidio, Texas
    Presidio, Texas
    Presidio is a city in Presidio County, Texas, United States. It stands on the Rio Grande , on the opposite side of the U.S.-Mexico border from Ojinaga, Chihuahua. The population was 4,167 at the 2000 census....

     – Ojinaga, Chihuahua
  • Heath Canyon, Texas – La Linda, Coahuila (closed)
  • Del Rio, Texas
    Del Rio, Texas
    Del Rio is a border city in and the county seat of Val Verde County, Texas, United States.. Del Rio is connected with Ciudad Acuña via the Lake Amistad Dam International Crossing and Del Río-Ciudad Acuña International Bridge...

     – Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila
  • Eagle Pass, Texas
    Eagle Pass, Texas
    Eagle Pass is a city in and the county seat of Maverick County The population was 27,183 as of the 2010 census.Eagle Pass borders the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, which is to the southwest and across the Rio Grande. The Eagle Pass-Piedras Negras Metropolitan Area is one of six...

     – Piedras Negras, Coahuila
    Piedras Negras, Coahuila
    -Natural Resources:This region generates a large amount of the national production of coal, one of the most economically important non-metallic minerals in the state.-Tourism:Piedras Negras' main tourist attractions are:...

  • Laredo, Texas
    Laredo, Texas
    Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...

     – Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas
  • Laredo, Texas
    Laredo, Texas
    Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...

     – Colombia, Nuevo León
    Colombia, Nuevo León
    Colombia, Nuevo León is a planned community founded in 1992 by the Mexican state of Nuevo León in the Anáhuac Municipality. It lies on the southern banks of the Río Grande, across from the United States city of Laredo, Texas...

  • Falcon Heights, Texas
    Falcon Heights, Texas
    Falcon Heights is a census-designated place in Starr County, Texas, United States. The population was 335 at the 2000 census. The Lake Falcon Dam International Crossing connects Falcon Heights with Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas.-Geography:...

     – Presa Falcón, Tamaulipas
    Falcon Dam
    Falcon Dam is an earthen embankment dam on the Rio Grande between Starr County in the U.S. state of Texas and the city of Nueva Ciudad Guerrero in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas...

  • Roma, Texas
    Roma, Texas
    Roma is a city in Starr County, Texas, United States. The population was 9,765 at the 2010 census. The city is located along the Rio Grande, across from Ciudad Miguel Alemán in Tamaulipas, Mexico....

     – Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas
    Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas
    Ciudad Miguel Alemán, known prior to 1950 as San Pedro de Roma, is a city in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, located across the Rio Grande from the U.S. city of Roma, Texas. The two are linked by the Roma – Ciudad Miguel Alemán International Bridge, a suspension bridge. As of 2010, the population...

  • Rio Grande City, Texas
    Rio Grande City, Texas
    Rio Grande City is a city in and the county seat of Starr County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,834 at the 2010 census. The city is 41 miles west of McAllen. It is the hometown of former Commander of U.S. Forces in Iraq, General Ricardo Sanchez. The city also holds the March record...

     – Ciudad Camargo, Tamaulipas
  • Mission, Texas
    Mission, Texas
    Mission is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 77,058 at the 2010 census Mission is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas.-Geography:Mission is located at ....

     – Reynosa, Tamaulipas (future)
  • Hidalgo, Texas
    Hidalgo, Texas
    Hidalgo is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 11,198 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Rio Grande Valley Magic of the Southern Indoor Football League, the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League, and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA...

     – Reynosa, Tamaulipas
  • Pharr, Texas
    Pharr, Texas
    Pharr is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 70,400. Pharr is connected by bridge to the Mexican city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas...

     – Reynosa, Tamaulipas
  • Progreso Lakes, Texas
    Progreso Lakes, Texas
    Progreso Lakes is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 234 at the 2000 census. A July 1, 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 266...

     – Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas
    Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas
    Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas is a Mexican town in Río Bravo Municipality in the state of Tamaulipas located on the U.S.-Mexican border. The Progreso-Nuevo Progreso International Bridge connects the town with Progreso Lakes, Texas. The 2010 census showed a population of 10,178 inhabitants.-External...

  • Los Indios, Texas
    Los Indios, Texas
    Los Indios is a bordertown in Cameron County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,149 at the 2000 census. It is included as part of the Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville and the Matamoros–Brownsville metropolitan areas...

     – Matamoros, Tamaulipas
    Matamoros, Tamaulipas
    Matamoros, officially known as Heroica Matamoros, is a city in the northeastern part of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in the United States. Matamoros is the second largest and second...

  • Brownsville, Texas
    Brownsville, Texas
    Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...

     – Matamoros, Tamaulipas
    Matamoros, Tamaulipas
    Matamoros, officially known as Heroica Matamoros, is a city in the northeastern part of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in the United States. Matamoros is the second largest and second...

    .


The total population of the borderlands—defined as those counties
County (United States)
In the United States, a county is a geographic subdivision of a state , usually assigned some governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 of the 50 states; Louisiana is divided into parishes and Alaska into boroughs. Parishes and boroughs are called "county-equivalents" by the U.S...

 and municipios
Municipalities of Mexico
Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in Mexico . There are 2,438 municipalities in Mexico, making the average municipality population 45,616...

lining the border on either side—stands at some 12 million people.

History

In the mid-16th century, with the discovery of silver, settlers from a variety of countries and backgrounds began to arrive in the area. This period of sparse settlement included colonizers from different backgrounds. The area technically was part of the Spanish colony, 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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 bought the lands known as the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...

 from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and began to expand steadily westward in its pursuit of Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the 19th century American belief that the United States was destined to expand across the continent. It was used by Democrat-Republicans in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico; the concept was denounced by Whigs, and fell into disuse after the mid-19th century.Advocates of...

.

The border itself was now clearly defined and remained so until the Mexican colony became independent from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 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. In order to do so the Mexican government encouraged thousands of their own citizens to settle in the region
Coahuila y Tejas
Coahuila y Tejas was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution.It had two capitals: first Saltillo, and then Monclova...

 that is now known as Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 and even offered very 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 the Texas territory
Mexican Texas
Mexican Texas is the name given by Texas history scholars to the period between 1821 and 1836, when Texas was an integral part of Mexico. The period began with Mexico's victory over Spain in its war of independence in 1821. For the first several years of its existence, Mexican Texas operated very...

 declared its independence
Texas Declaration of Independence
The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and formally signed the following day after errors were noted in the...

 in 1836. That independence
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...

 lasted until 1845 when the United States annexed Texas
Texas Annexation
In 1845, United States of America annexed the Republic of Texas and admitted it to the Union as the 28th state. The U.S. thus inherited Texas's border dispute with Mexico; this quickly led to the Mexican-American War, during which the U.S. captured additional territory , extending the nation's...

.

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
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico City, that ended the Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848...

. Due to the treaty Mexico lost more than 960,000 square miles (about 2,500,000 km²) of land, 55% of its national territory, including what is today California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

 and parts of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, and Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

 in addition, all disputes over Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 and the disputed territory between Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...

 and Rio Nueces were abandoned. Five years later the Gadsden Purchase
Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that was purchased by the United States in a treaty signed by James Gadsden, the American ambassador to Mexico at the time, on December 30, 1853. It was then ratified, with changes, by the U.S...

 completed the creation of the current United States–Mexico border. 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.
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 the commercial centers in Mexico. During the years of Mexican President Porfirio Díaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...

, between 1876 and 1910, growth of the border communities boomed due mostly to its close ties to the United States and the Mexican governments support for financial investments from the United States. 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 which went to the border regions alone.

The Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...

, caused at least partially by the increasing animosity towards foreign ownership of Mexican properties, began in 1910. The Revolution increased the political instability in Mexico, but actually 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 of the boundary continued to improve, its Mexican counterparts began to fall behind in the construction of important transportation networks and systems necessary to municipal development as well as the upkeep of systems already in place.

U.S.–Mexico border enforcement

The U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 border has the second highest number of both legal and illegal crossings of any land border in the world, behind the Canada – United States border. The border is guarded by more than twenty thousand border patrol agents
United States Border Patrol
The United States Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency within U.S. Customs and Border Protection , a component of the Department of Homeland Security . It is an agency in the Department of Homeland Security that enforces laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to...

, more than any time in its history. However they only have "effective control" of less than 700 miles (1,126.5 km) of the 1954 miles (3,144.7 km) of total border, with an ability to actually prevent or stop illegal entries along 129 miles (207.6 km) of that border. The border is paralleled by United States Border Patrol Interior Checkpoints
United States Border Patrol Interior Checkpoints
The United States Border Patrol operates 71 traffic checkpoints, including 32 permanent traffic checkpoints, near the southern border of the United States. The primary purpose of these inspection stations is to deter illegal immigration and smuggling activities. After 9/11 they took on the...

 at major roads generally between 25 and 75 miles (120.7 km) to 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
Illegal entry
Illegal entry is the act of foreign nationals arriving in or crossing the borders into a country in violation of its immigration law.Migrants from nations that do not have automatic visa agreements, or who would not otherwise qualify for a visa, often cross the borders illegally in some areas like...

 into the United States each year. Border Patrol activity is concentrated around big border cities such as San Diego and El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...

 which do 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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 without authorization from the Federal government of the United States
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

.

For a period in the 1990s, United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 personnel were stationed along the U.S.-Mexico border to help stem the flow of illegal immigrants and drug smugglers. These military units brought their specialized equipment such as FLIR (forward looking infrared
Forward looking infrared
Forward looking infrared cameras, typically used on military aircraft, use an imaging technology that senses infrared radiation.The sensors installed in forward looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other thermal imaging cameras, use detection of infrared radiation, typically emitted from a...

) devices and helicopters. In conjunction with the United States Border Patrol
United States Border Patrol
The United States Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency within U.S. Customs and Border Protection , a component of the Department of Homeland Security . It is an agency in the Department of Homeland Security that enforces laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to...

, 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
People smuggling
People smuggling is defined as "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries laws, either clandestinely or through deception, such as the use of fraudulent documents"...

" 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. After the September 11 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 Canada – United States 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. Another strategy suggests that the U.S. Military or Border Patrol could easily eliminate 100% of illegal mainland crossings by placing a guard every 500–1000 feet along the 2000 miles (3,218.7 km) border with Mexico, arguing that even this low tech, manpower intensive option would represent a tiny fraction of the annual Defense and Homeland Security budgets. Opposition says this is a violation of Posse Comitatus
Posse Comitatus Act
The Posse Comitatus Act is an often misunderstood and misquoted United States federal law passed on June 18, 1878, after the end of Reconstruction. Its intent was to limit the powers of local governments and law enforcement agencies from using federal military personnel to enforce the laws of...

. Former U.S. Border Patrol Supervisor David Stoddard has responded to this by stating "Posse Comitatus prohibits the use of troops for domestic law enforcement. Border security is not domestic law enforcement. It is protecting our nation from foreign intruders." He also points out that the army patrolled the border for more than 46 years after the passage of the Posse Comitatus act.

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
State Defense Forces
State defense forces in the United States are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government; they are partially regulated by the National Guard Bureau but they are not a part of the Army National Guard of the United States...

 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 Latinos. Arizona and New Mexico have currently declared the counties that border Mexico to be under serious duress caused by uncontrolled illegal migration, thereby enabling governors to deploy National Guardsmen to the international border. However, Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

 (R-Arizona) has opposed some measures intended to reduce illegal immigration through enforcement and proposed a bill calling for earned legalization (which many call amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...

) in the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

. Texas governor Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...

 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
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 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
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...

 Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....

 initially denied Bush's request to deploy 3,000 National Guard troops to the California-Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

 border. 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.

Attempts to complete the construction of the United States–Mexico barrier
United States–Mexico barrier
The Mexico–United States barrier — also known in the United States as the border fence or border wall — is actually several separation barriers designed to prevent illegal movement across the Mexico – United States border...

 have been challenged by the Mexican government
Politics of Mexico
The politics of Mexico take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic whose government is based on a congressional system, whereby the president of Mexico is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system...

, illegal immigrants living in the United States, and various U.S.-based Chicano
Chicano
The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...

 organizations. 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.

In December 2005, the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 voted to build a separation barrier
Separation barrier
A separation barrier is a wall or fence constructed to limit the movement of people across a certain line or border, or to separate two populations. These structures vary in placement with regard to international borders and topography...

 along parts of the border. A companion vote in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 on May 17, 2006 included a plan to blockade 860 miles (1,384 km) of the border with vehicle barriers and triple-layer fencing. Although those bills died in committee, eventually the Secure Fence Act of 2006
Secure Fence Act of 2006
On October 26, 2006 President George W. Bush signed The Secure Fence Act of 2006 into law stating, “This bill will help protect the American people. This bill will make our borders more secure. It is an important step toward immigration reform."...

 was passed providing for the construction of 700 miles (1,126.5 km) 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
Douglas Massey
Douglas S. Massey is an American sociologist. Massey is currently a professor of Sociology at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and is an adjunct professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania...

 of Princeton University 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. 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
Guest worker program
The Guest Worker Program is a program that has been proposed many times, including by U.S. President George W. Bush's administration as a way to permit U.S. employers to sponsor non-U.S. citizens as laborers for approximately three years, to be deported afterwards if they have not yet obtained a...

 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
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

, and narcotics dealers
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...

 from entering the U.S.

Border incursions

In the fiscal year of 2006, there have been twenty-nine confirmed border incursions by Mexican government officials, of which seventeen have been by armed individuals. Since 1996 there have been 253 incursions by Mexican government officials.

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.

As of September 4, 2009. Mexico and the U.S. will create a trans-border communications network that will help police on both sides of the border to fight crime and violence. According to the U.S. State Department secure voice, data and video channels costing $7 million on the U.S. side, are expected to be online within three years. The Department of Homeland Security and Mexico's Secretary of Public Security will work out the details. William H. Grigsby of the State Department said Thursday that secure networks will allow federal, state and local police to "coordinate a broad array of law enforcement activities."

Cost to local governments

In a new study conducted by the authorities of Mexico together with San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...

, it showed that due to law enforcement and criminal prosecution cost relating to illegal aliens their costs increased 39% within the border counties of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. This study was commissioned by the U.S.-Mexico Border Counties Coalition.

Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative

In late 2006, the United States Department of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...

 (DHS) announced a rule regarding new identification requirements for U.S. citizens and international travelers entering the U.S. implemented on January 23, 2007, this final rule and first phase of the WHTI specifies nine forms of identification—one of which is required in order to enter the U.S. by air: a valid passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....

; a passport card
Passport card
The passport card is an alternative to a passport produced in the United States to meet the documentary requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. The U.S. Passport Card is a wallet-size travel document, issued to U.S...

; a state enhanced driver's license or state enhanced non-driver ID card (available in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

 and Washington) approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security; a trusted traveler program card (NEXUS
Nexus
-Fiction:* Nexus, the final novel in The Rosy Crucifixion trilogy by Henry Miller* The Nexus, the central plot element in the film Star Trek Generations* Nexus: The Jupiter Incident, a 2004 science fiction themed real-time tactics computer game...

, FAST
Free and Secure Trade
The Free and Secure Trade program is a joint United States-Canadian program between the Canada Border Services Agency and the United States Customs and Border Protection. The FAST initiative offers pre-authorized importers, carriers and drivers expedited clearance for eligible goods, building on...

, or SENTRI
Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection
The Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection provides expedited U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing, at the U.S.-Mexico border, of pre-approved travelers, considered low-risk...

); an enhanced tribal identification card; a Native American Tribal Photo Identification Card;
Form I-872 - American Indian Card; a valid Merchant Mariner Document when traveling in conjunction with official maritime business; or a valid U.S. military identification card when traveling on official orders.

Auto insurance

Auto insurance
Vehicle insurance
Vehicle insurance is insurance purchased for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage and/or bodily injury resulting from traffic collisions and against liability that could also arise therefrom...

 does not travel across the Mexico-United States border. Therefore, people wishing to cross the border with a vehicle may choose to buy a short-term auto insurance policy for the country and/or state that they are crossing into. If the state in the country requires auto insurance, a policy that meets the state's liability requirements must be purchased before the vehicle may cross. Those in the U.S. who want to cross into Mexico with a car may choose to purchase a short-term Mexican auto insurance policy. If an auto accident occurs and drivers do not have insurance and/or cannot pay for the damage and/or injuries, they could be arrested until the damage and/or injuries are rectified
Rectification (law)
Rectification is a remedy whereby a court orders a change in a written document to reflect what it ought to have said in the first place. It is an equitable remedy, which means the circumstances where it can be applied are limited....

.

The Fence

The U.S. government had plans in 2006 to erect a border fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. The controversial proposal included creating many individual fences. In between these fences are cameras and sensors, giving the name a "virtual fence". In 2010, the initiative was terminated due to costs after having completed 640 miles (1,030 km) of either barrier fence or vehicle barriers that was either new or had been rebuilt over older inferior fencing. The Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

-built SBInet systems of using radar, watchtowers and sensors (without a fence or physical barrier) was scrapped for being overbudget, full of glitches and far behind schedule.

Animals

When animals are imported from one country to another, there is the possibility that disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...

s and parasite
Parasitism
Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that needed more than one host . These are now called macroparasites...

s can move with them. For this reason, most countries impose animal health regulations on the importation of animals. Most animals imported to the United States must be accompanied by:
  • Import permits obtained in advance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
  • Health certification papers from the country of origin.


Veterinary inspections are often required, and are available only at designated ports; advance contact with port veterinarians is recommended. Animals crossing the United States-Mexico border may have a country of origin other than the country where they present for inspection. Such animals include those from the U.S. that cross to Mexico and return, and animals from other countries that travel overland through Mexico or the U.S. before crossing the border.

Crossing from Mexico to the United States

APHIS imposes precautions to keep out several equine diseases, including glanders
Glanders
Glanders is an infectious disease that occurs primarily in horses, mules, and donkeys. It can be contracted by other animals such as dogs, cats and goats...

, dourine
Covering sickness
Covering sickness, or dourine , is a disease of horses and other members of the family equidae...

, equine infectious anemia
Equine infectious anemia
Equine infectious anemia or equine infectious anaemia , also known by horsemen as swamp fever, is a horse disease caused by a retrovirus and transmitted by bloodsucking insects. The virus is endemic in the Americas, parts of Europe, the Middle and Far East, Russia, and South Africa. The virus is a...

 (EIA), equine piroplasmosis
Babesiosis
Babesiosis is a malaria-like parasitic disease caused by infection with Babesia, a genus of protozoal piroplasms. After trypanosomes, Babesia are thought to be the second most common blood parasites of mammals and they can have a major impact on health of domestic animals in areas without severe...

 (EP), Venezuelan equine encephalitis
Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus
Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus is a mosquito-borne viral pathogen that causes Venezuelan equine encephalitis or encephalomyelitis . VEE can affect all equine species, such as horses, donkeys, and zebras. After infection, equines may suddenly die or show progressive central nervous system...

 (VEE), and contagious equine metritis
Contagious equine metritis
Contagious Equine Metritis is a venereal infection of the genital tract of horses brought on by the Taylorella equigenitalis bacteria. Passed on through sexual contact, according to Robert N. Oglesby DVM, the disease was first reported in 1977 on horse breeding farms in England and was found in...

 (CEM). APHIS also checks horses to prevent the introduction of tick
Tick
Ticks are small arachnids in the order Ixodida, along with mites, constitute the subclass Acarina. Ticks are ectoparasites , living by hematophagy on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians...

s and other parasites. In the Lower Rio Grande Valley, U. S. Department of Agriculture inspectors look for horses and livestock that stray across the border carrying ticks. These animals are often called wetstock, and the inspectors are referred to as tickriders.

Per APHIS, horses originating from Canada can enter the United States with a Canadian government veterinary health certificate and a negative test for EIA. Horses from Mexico must have a health certificate; pass negative tests for EIA, dourine, glanders, and EP at a USDA import center; and undergo precautionary treatments for external parasites at the port of entry. Horses from other Western Hemisphere countries must have the same tests as those from Mexico and, except for horses from Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, must be held in quarantine for at least 7 days as a check for VEE.

APHIS imposes similar testing and certification requirements on horses from other parts of the world but without the quarantine for VEE. These horses are held in quarantine—usually three days—or until tests are completed. Because the disease equine piroplasmosis (equine babesiosis
Babesiosis
Babesiosis is a malaria-like parasitic disease caused by infection with Babesia, a genus of protozoal piroplasms. After trypanosomes, Babesia are thought to be the second most common blood parasites of mammals and they can have a major impact on health of domestic animals in areas without severe...

) is endemic in Mexico but not established in the United States, transportation of horses from Mexico to the United States requires evaluation of horses for the presence of this disease.

Transportation of horses from Mexico to the United States normally requires at least three days in quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....

, which is incompatible with most recreational equestrian travel across the border. A leading exception to this rule is the special waiver obtained by riders participating in the Cabalgata Binacional Villista (see cavalcade
Cavalcade
Cavalcade may refer to:*Cavalcade, a horseback procession, parade, or mass trail ride*A huge parade*A huge procession*Suzuki GV1400 Cavalcade, a Suzuki luxury touring motorcycle available from 1985 to 1988 in North America...

).

Crossing from the United States to Mexico

Import from the United States to Mexico requires evidence within the prior 45 days of freedom from equine infectious anemia
Equine infectious anemia
Equine infectious anemia or equine infectious anaemia , also known by horsemen as swamp fever, is a horse disease caused by a retrovirus and transmitted by bloodsucking insects. The virus is endemic in the Americas, parts of Europe, the Middle and Far East, Russia, and South Africa. The virus is a...

, among other requirements.

See also

  • Aztlán
    Aztlán
    Aztlán is the mythical ancestral home of the Nahua peoples, one of the main cultural groups in Mesoamerica. And, by extension, is the mythical homeland of the Uto-Aztecan peoples. Aztec is the Nahuatl word for "people from Aztlan".-Legend:...

  • Border Field State Park
    Border Field State Park
    Border Field State Park is a state park of California, USA, containing beach and coastal habitat on the Mexico – United States border. The park is located within the city limits of Imperial Beach in San Diego County, adjacent to the suburb of Playas de Tijuana in Mexico...

  • Border Film Project
    Border Film Project
    The Border Film Project is an art project examining United States–Mexico border immigration from two perspectives. The project gave disposable cameras to two groups on different sides of the United States–Mexico border: illegal migrants crossing the desert and the Minutemen volunteers trying to...

  • Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005
  • International Boundary and Water Commission
    International Boundary and Water Commission
    The International Boundary and Water Commission is an international body created in 1889 by the United States and Mexico to administer the many boundary and water-rights treaties and agreements between the two nations....

  • List of crossings of the Rio Grande
  • List of Mexico–United States border crossings
  • List of municipalities (municipios) and counties on the Mexico – United States border
  • Mexico–United States relations
  • Migrant deaths along the Mexico – United States border
  • Minuteman Project
  • New River (Mexico-United States)
  • No More Deaths
    No More Deaths
    No More Deaths is an advocacy group based in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, USA that seeks to end the deaths of migrants crossing the desert regions near the United States-Mexico border...

  • Open Border
  • Reconquista (Mexico)
    Reconquista (Mexico)
    The term Reconquista was popularized by contemporary Mexican writers Carlos Fuentes and Elena Poniatowska to describe the increased demographic and cultural presence of Mexicans in the Southwestern United States....

  • Rio Grande border disputes
    Rio Grande border disputes
    The Rio Grande has changed course several times in recorded history, leading to a number of border disputes, both international and between individual U.S. states:...

  • Roosevelt Reservation
    Roosevelt Reservation
    The Roosevelt Reservation is a strip of land on the United States side of the United States-Mexico Border under the jurisdiction of the United States Federal Government. It was established in a 1907 Presidential Proclamation The Roosevelt Reservation is a strip of land on the United States side...

  • S. 2611
  • San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area
    San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area
    San Diego–Tijuana, also known as Tijuana–San Diego, is an international metropolitan area, or conurbation, on the border between the two large North American coastal cities of San Diego, California, United States and Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The region consists of San Diego County in the...

  • Secure Fence Act of 2006
    Secure Fence Act of 2006
    On October 26, 2006 President George W. Bush signed The Secure Fence Act of 2006 into law stating, “This bill will help protect the American people. This bill will make our borders more secure. It is an important step toward immigration reform."...

  • Southwest Border Security Consortium
    Southwest Border Security Consortium
    The Southwest Border Security Consortium is a joint venture of nine U.S. universities in the states of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas to develop and promote scientific and policy solutions to issues facing the United States-Mexico border region.The SBSC is also addressing border issues...

  • United States–Mexico barrier
    United States–Mexico barrier
    The Mexico–United States barrier — also known in the United States as the border fence or border wall — is actually several separation barriers designed to prevent illegal movement across the Mexico – United States border...

  • Texas Virtual Border Watch
    Texas Virtual Border Watch
    The Texas Virtual Border Watch is a pilot program created by the State of Texas that allows individuals with internet access to observe and report on the Texas-Mexico border via their computers...


External links

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