The Southern Border

In today’s American society, there are few issues more divisive in politics than immigration. It’s an issue that’s argued in nearly every debate, with Republicans and Democrats with their own views and thoughts on the matter. The issue goes as far as dividing homes, young liberals arguing with their conservative parents on who is correct.

On the South Western border of the United States roughly 2000 immigrants cross the border illegally from Mexico every day. The vast majority of these immigrants are seeking financial security and a safer life in the United States however, some are coming over to traffic weapons and drugs for gangs and cartels. It is these few individuals that have caused the U.S. government to pursue a multi-billion dollar defense along the border.

The wall that Bowden discusses is the barrier between the United States and the country of Mexico to the south. He uses the terms fences, borders, and barricades. Part of the wall is constructed of metal. Other portions are concrete. Each of the materials that are used is hard and designed to be uncomfortable and discouraging to those who see it, effectively creating both a physical and psychological barrier between acceptable and unacceptable populations. The purpose of the wall, according to Bowden, is to keep a certain population out of the United States. Mexican illegal immigrants are crossing the border into the United States in large numbers. For the American government, illegal immigration is an unacceptable set of circumstances and the purpose of erecting a wall was to keep those people from crossing the border into the United States. Bowden explains that the wall is effective only until the point when inclination and desire of the excluded population overcomes the existence of the wall. People will then cross over it or crash through it. If their will is strong enough, then the people will be able to overcome the wall, making its presence outdated and ineffectual. Since people overcome the wall, there is no need to keep the wall or to provide moneys to either enlarge it or for the upkeep of the wall. Each

There are multiple political forces that are playing a part in the border security/illegal immigration controversy. The current administration has publicly made reference that they will not revisit securing the border without a comprehensive immigration reform bill. The conservatives believe that in order to have a discussion regarding immigration reform, securing the border must come first. Depending upon which “side of the isle” that a person takes regarding the securing of the border, they fall in two categories – the conservatives mainly reside on the pros, and the liberal party tends to side on the cons of building a fence.

The North was not willing to give up the border states for many reasons. For example, in paragraph six, “If the South could gain control of these states, its armies could be ready to attack Northern states from Iowa to New Jersey” (“The Value of the Border States”). This shows that the North was not willing to give up the border states because the South would have attacked their states and that wouldn’t be good for the North. According to the article, “...the North was equally determined not to let them go. Northern strategy early in the war aimed at making sure that the border states stayed within the Union” (“The Value of the Border States”).

This, in turn, forces people to go deeper into the dessert. To do this, the author explains that people use coyotes or hired guides and are often put in more dangerous situations. It is easy to develop a counter argument to this point, though I agree with the author. One could just say that the United States should not be concerned with the safety of the people crossing the border, since they are doing it illegally. The author uses quotes from people who have made the trip or have firsthand experience.

In his essay “The Country Just over the Fence,” Paul Theroux describes his trip to Nogales, Mexico. He begins his essay by illustrating the physical appearance of the wall separating Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico. He calls it “an unintentional masterpiece”. Theroux feels the wall is somewhat informal. He discovers that crossing the border into Mexico is not too difficult itself. He marvels over the appearance of the wall and also the underlying call to action it places on a person, “Do you go through, or stay home?” Theroux decided he needed to see for himself. After deciding to cross the border, he met many different people. They told him about the celebrations that used to be held between the two neighboring towns which are now divided by the wall. Theroux also met people who had attempted to cross the border illegally into America only to get sent back to Mexico. On his adventure, Theroux also learned about all the medical tourists who travel to the country for cheaper treatments, specifically dentistry. I am interested in discussing Theroux’s presentation of the his decision to cross the border, the people he met, and the medical tourism Nogales, Mexico draws in.

They are pushed around and even have the dog unleashed on them. She goes onto compare the treatment of Mexican-Americans by the United States Border Patrol to, “Argentina’s “dirty war” in the late 1970’s”(124). From here it is onto how well the border patrol discriminates, and how they will do their best to find any reason to bring the brown man down. Silko explains the way in which people are detained. She actually reaches out to the reader and tells him or her personally how they could identify themselves being detained. She makes claims throughout this explanation of how the detainee is treated unjustly, like when she states, “They make it clear that if you force them to obtain a search warrant for the car, they will make you submit to a strip search as well”(125). Silko starts to bring some half-way evidence into the picture by talking about the more high profile cases of the abuse of the border patrol’s power. She gives us more facts as we reach the middle of the reading. Eighty percent of the respondents from a survey done by the University of Arizona in South Tucson identified that one in every five had been detained, mistreated, or questioned by INS agents in the past two years. “Manifest Destiny…-“lock the door” is what it means now,” introduces an idea Silko finds to be just(126). The solution Silko says is no border. “Even

In her book, Line in the Sand: A History of the Western U.S.-Mexico Border, Rachel St. John provides a dynamic argument that focuses not just on the physical border itself or merely how border policy came to be, but looks at the borderlands as an entire region and how Mexico too played a part in creating both the border and border enforcement. St. John describes in her various chapters the development of border towns and how both the U.S. and Mexico created not just a physical barrier, but also a symbolic barrier that resulted in the division of races and cultures. The creation of national identities, argues St. John, is just as much a result of border policy as is the actual physical border. Additionally, St. John discusses the varied

Posted a few years ago as well, the Christian Science monitor expresses his view and opinion on a published note: Border Fence: symptom of a failed policy. He emphasizes his main point in this note being and quote “A fence is a tactic, not a policy. In fact, it's symptomatic of the failure of federal policy to get a grip on illegal immigration.” This fence may be a tactic, but hiring illegal immigrants flouts the law. Illegal immigration is moving all over the country and custom agents like I.C.E, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, tend to shut down day labor sites populated with frequent undocumented workers. Again we see how the fence in

Immigration is a rapid growing issue for the United States. For a long time people from other countries have been coming here to look for bigger and better things for themselves, as well as for their families. This article digs to the core of the issue, illegal immigration. Chideya wanted to know three things: 1) What is the reality behind the perceptions of Mexican Americans, 2) How do the residents of El Paso look upon the Mexicans, and 3) How do Mexican-Americans see themselves and their cousins across the border.

Alberto Rios claims that the border is unnatural, complex, and seen as a boundary. He discusses empathetic relationships in a global society when he uses many literary devices to claim that the border is an unnatural thing in a natural world, it has become so complex that it is unrecognizable, and that many people view it as a boundary when it should be viewed as what joins us together. The border is unnatural because it is something manmade placed in the natural world as if the people believed that it was supposed to be natural as well. What started as a simple rancher’s fence to fix a simple problem, quickly escalated to be something as complex as a third grader trying to understand calculus. The people view the border as a boundary meant to divide when in reality, it is what joins us together as a global society.

Though on the right side, some conservatives believe in highly securing our borders more, while other conservatives believe we should close off our borders completely. A CNN contributor says, “Pro-border security conservatives confuse "securing" the border with "sealing" the border… There is a big difference between securing and sealing. The former is feasible; the second is a fantasy” (Navarrette). This is a true thought, but conservatives have their opinions about why the border security should be so tight. For one, conservatives believe in legal immigration. They are all for supporting people that take their time and fill out the necessary paperwork to become an American citizen. In other words, they don’t like freeloaders; the fact that

The United States border with Mexico is a controversial topic that has been the subject of debate recently. It is without question a problem that needs to be fixed. Currently most policies are focused on the manpower, infrastructure, and security of the border itself. However the border security is changed there will always be a demand for illegal immigrants and drug smugglers to cross the border into America. That why we should try to disrupt that demand by legalizing marijuana in the United States, put more resources into fighting cartels, and invest into the Mexican economy. These are the first steps to regaining border security to both countries.

”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.