Mexican Border Problems The U.S.-Mexico border region is one of the most dynamic in the world. It extends more than 3,100 kilometers (2,000 miles) from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, and 100 kilometers (62.5 miles) on each side of the international border and is marked by high concrete fences in the west and a broad shallow river in the east when it reaches Texas. The region includes large deserts, numerous mountain ranges, rivers, wetlands, large estuaries, and shared aquifers. While its people share natural resources like water and air, the border region is characterized by many social, economic, and political contrasts. There is the single biggest and most …show more content…
While Al Qaeda infiltration across the nation's southern border has been a constant concern since 9/11, US officials cite recent intelligence giving the most definitive evidence yet that terrorists are planning to use it as an entry point - if they haven't already. "I'm worried about our border," Sen. John McCain of Arizona said at a March 17 2005 at Senate hearing on threats facing the US. "We have now hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who are crossing illegally every year. And we are now seeing a larger number of people cross our southern border who are from countries of interest as opposed to just Latin American [countries]."
He pointed out that speaking about the illegal immigrants there is one more problem. There are “Mexicans” and there are “other than Mexicans” or so called OTMs. The Mexicans know that if they get caught all that happens is that they are deported. But the OTMs are different. They come from other Latin American countries as well as other parts of the world: Afghanistan, Iraq etc. When they cross the border, if there are caught, there are not deported immediately, but are allowed in, pending immigration hearings. They are given an appearance ticket for a court hearing and released into America's population. They don't show up for court, because they know they'll lose the case.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1848, officially ended the war between Mexico and the United States. Even though it happened over 168 years ago, its legacy persists, because the treaty redefined the border and the border region. Under the terms of the treaty, Mexicans who suddenly found themselves living in the United States choose either Mexican citizenship, in which case they would have to relocate south of the new border, or to stay where they were and become citizens of the United States. About 80 percent—a total of seventy-five thousand Mexican people—remained in the United States (Passel, 2011). Since then, continuing economic and political difficulties in Mexico, combined with economic opportunities in the United States, have encouraged the flow of migration from Mexico to the United States in large numbers. Today, Mexican Americans are the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States and the estimated Mexican American population in 2000 was 20.6 million people, the largest Mexican population outside of Mexico (Center for Immigration Studies, 2010). Most Mexican Americans entered the United States legally and have become full U.S. citizens, however, the number of illegal immigrants arriving from Mexico has been an alarming and concerning issue in the United States and especially the state of Arizona. Arizona is in a unique geopolitical location in the United States because it shares a 370-mile border with Mexico. Much of the border is open and
The border between the United States and Mexico consists of 1,952 miles of land border that divides a “first” world and “third” world nation. Any border is an environment of opportunity. People flock to borders around the world to exploit the regions’ resources and people. There are always plenty of people at the borders of nations to build large factories, or to traffic narcotics and weapons into neighboring nations.
There is little question that aggressive policing needs to be done between Mexico and Texas. Blocking illegal drugs and violent cartels from entering the United States is crucial and dangerous work. At the same time, numerous indices of crime rates show border communities to be among the safer regions of the state. Such dissonance makes it difficult for the public and its representatives to create a response that also successfully navigates the political landscape.
The deaths in the border between Mexico and the United states have been increasing rapidly in the past decade. The fatalities have doubled since 1998 due to the increase of borders patrol and border militarization. The result is the redistribution of the migratory flow to more dangerous and remote areas such as southern Arizona. Even though the number of immigrants who try to cross the border has decreased, the number of fatalities continues to increase. Immigrants will not stop coming unless the situation in their countries changes and with a more protected border, they will look for more remote areas to try to cross. We are experiencing the largest numbers of fatalities in the border between Mexico and the United States. The increase
For illegal immigrants, it is very dangerous for them to come across. They are risking their lives and their families’ lives in search for work. In the deserts that they cross are robbers, murders, no water and no food. The AZ Republic (2003) estimated that in a year’s time, approximately one million people will get caught trying to sneak illegally into the U.S., and over 1000 will die. According to the USCR (2002), in July, Mexico began a campaign to amplify the immigration enforcement at the southern border. The called their campaign “Plan Sur”, and it was aimed at stopping numerous illegal immigrants from stepping foot into the U.S. After September 11, hundreds more were deployed to watch the border from illegal immigrants. Also, The INS has the border wired with high-tech gizmos and practically 10,000 agents to slash the stream
I am writing this letter to respectively bring your attention to the Mexican-American border, its damaging effect on the United States economy, and potential solutions to this specific situation which has become known as the Border Crisis. As you may already know, the border runs from Tijuana, Baja California to Tamaulipas and Texas. According to the International Boundary and Water Commission, the border’s length is 1,954 miles and is the most frequently crossed international border, mainly by undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America. As an attempt to contain this influx of illegal migration, former President George W. Bush signed the Secure Fence Act of 2006 stating, “This bill will help protect American people. This bill will make our borders more secure. It is an important step toward immigration reform.” While Mr. Bush may have had the United States’ safety at heart, one must question if the border fence is actually helping the economy or hurting it? There are several problems that have risen following the creation of the border fence; immigrants coming from The Northern Triangle have actually increased, Texas has become the deadliest entry state, undocumented and unaccompanied children are costing taxpayers even more, and simply maintaining the border fence is a very high cost.
The United States border with Mexico is one of the most interesting borders in the world. Although it is not a military front like the border between the Koreas or as militarized as the border of Russia and the Ukraine, there is a lot going on that requires attention. The southern border of the United States is different from almost all of those in the world because many of its problems are based off of the economic disparity between each country. The difference between wealth and quality of life is substantial and results in people going beyond regular means to cross the border to have a better life. There is also a large difference in the legal and law enforcement system that is exploited by Mexican cartels to make money through drug and human trafficking. The differences between these two
”Image in a self portrait generally communicates to the viewer information about the identity, character, environment, feelings and interests of the artist.” In the case if “Between the Borderline of Mexico and The United States” Frida Kahlo expresses her feeling that she holds towards hr alien environment, and her cultural identity. This will now be proven through analyzing the portrait to prove the above quote.
Mexico border is the international land boundary line that crosses multiple types of terrains and geographical environments between Tijuana, Baja California and Imperial Beach, California running 1,954 miles to the east ending at Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas. There is also maritime boundaries connected to the land fencing that includes 18 miles in the Pacific Ocean connecting to California and Tijuana, and 12 miles in the Gulf of Mexico connecting to Texas and Tamaulipas. This border is the most crossed and controlled border line in the world, with about 5 million crossings being made annually.
Although written in 2003, Andreas’ article “Redrawing the Line” provides an interesting perspective into national sovereignty and contemporary anxiety regarding American border security, specifically as applied to Mexico. Poignantly, the author states that no state will ever ensure complete control of its territorial integrity by sealing its borders (109). However, Andreas contends that this reality does not, in fact, imply that “states have ‘lost control’ over their borders” (110). Furthermore, he offers an interesting perspective into the different types of borders, which he categorizes as military, economic, and police (85). Each type of border, and its associated security, maintain their own costs and benefits. For example, although strict
One of the most controversial political issues of today is that of illegal immigrants from Mexico. Illegal immigration into the United States is a problem that should be stopped, as it is unfair to both Americans and to the people of the country from which they illegally immigrated. It is thought that the majority of illegal aliens residing in the U.S. are Mexicans (Anderson 55). Roy Beck clarifies the situation by stating, "The national consensus is that the United States should be a post-mass immigration country has included most leaders of business, religion, labor, academia, and social work." Illegal immigration from Mexico must be stopped by means of different policies and other methods of prevention,
The United States has led the fight against criminal activities from Mexican borders for many years. Criminal activities along the United States and Mexican border range from drug trafficking, human smuggling and an economy that disruptive. These are illegal activities scholars have argued could lead to the failure of Mexico as a country and the spread of violence to the United States. The illegal activities are not only a threat to the economy of Mexico and United States but also to the rest of the world due the impacts associated. The border between Mexico and US is of essential significance because it provides the link between the two countries. The border provides passageways through which either country can access the other via land or air means. Although the border is of significance to both countries, smuggling of drugs and trafficking human are main causes of violence between the countries. Drug cartels in Mexico smuggle drugs into the United States and this drives a war between them and the US government. The economy and the peace between Mexico and US is also affected significantly due to the illegal activities. To minimize the violence caused by these illegal activities, the US government need to act against the activities. The United States needs to increase the economic aid and military intervention to Mexico to fight the drug cartels, otherwise it could become a failed state; spreading more violence across the US border.
Illegal immigration is an increasingly huge issue in the United States. To solve this crisis or at least slow down the rate of illegal immigration, solutions with actions must be put into place. The first step would be to verify citizenship or legal residency for everyone. There should be a national database that can be accessed that would instantaneously verify this information. The federal government should employ Agents to go door to door to procure documentation from each person in a household to verify their citizenship or legal residency and then upload that documentation to the national database. If verification is not readily available, the person should be given 30 days to get the required documentation.
between them and the natives. Those immigrants of the past also did not come to
What does the message send to Americans and illegals by building a wall between the U.S.- Mexico border? This border wall would not be the first or last in this world there is actually a few walls still up to this day or broken down. Immigrants and their families come to the United States for a better life. Now are afraid to get caught by ICE agents and get deported back to their former country. While the president wants to build this wall, and keep U.S. citizens in and undocumented immigrants out. The idea of this wall shows how a nation would be divided by who wants to build the wall and why, the advantages and disadvantages.