The congressional decision in 2006 to build hundreds of miles of additional fencing along portions of the 1,951-mile U.S.-Mexico border touched off a diplomatic dispute with Mexico, angered Latino communities in the United States, and was almost unanimously condemned by human rights organizations, who believed the policy would result in a large number of deaths among immigrants seeking to enter the country via its more dangerous but as yet unfenced stretches of borderland.
The tightening of the border with Mexico was begun during the mid-1990’s in response to the drug trade and the growing number of illegal immigrants entering the United States. Containing the latter quickly became a security concern in the aftermath of al-Qaeda’s attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001. After five years of congressional debate, the construction of an additional 850 miles of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border was authorized in the
Although the terminology evokes images of a conventional, high, and possibly barbed-wire fence stretching across the border separating Mexico from
Border Patrol agents stand atop a section of the recently completed border fence near San Diego, California, in July, 2009.
To a significant degree, the form of the border fence and its pace and site of construction have been determined by the border landscape. The more desolate and dangerous the area on the U.S. side of the border, the lower the priority to fence it immediately. The first barriers were thus erected near the urban areas that beckoned drug dealers and illegal immigrants. In 1994, the administration of Bill Clinton launched
Assessments of the success of the fencing operation in controlling illegal immigration have been mixed, although most concede that the U.S.-Mexico border has become one of the most challenging law-enforcement areas in North America. There, bandit gangs in Mexico, volunteer spotters from right-wing groups in the United States, paid
Increased surveillance and fencing on parts of the border has affected the pattern of illegal immigration. Many would-be immigrants have been forced into entering the United States by way of the often lethal, less monitored desert access points, and thousands have died in the fifty-mile trek necessary to reach roadways. For those choosing the less dangerous crossing points, interdiction has become easier given the combination of high physical walls, cameras, and sensors lining those areas. Furthermore, the rate of illegal immigration did seem to slow in 2008, although it was not clear whether it was a result of the increasing number of fenced miles or the fact that a U.S. economy in recession discouraged many from seeking employment north of the border.
The principal indictment of the fence is that it constitutes too little, too late. By the time the
Alden, Edward H. The Closing of the American Border: Terrorism, Immigration, and Security Since 9/11. New York: HarperCollins, 2008. Thoughtful and generally critical assessment of the George W. Bush administration’s restrictive policies on immigration, concluding with a chapter devoted to the border fence. Bigelow, Bill. The Line Between Us: Teaching About the Border and Mexican Immigration. Milwaukee, Wis.: Rethinking Schools, 2006. Although designed to help teachers explain the nature of life around the border, the book also provides a useful, concise history of Mexican migration. Excellent background reading. Buchanan, Patrick J. State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2006. Thorough, if at times bombastic, statement of the ultraconservative Right’s implacable opposition to further immigration from nations to the south of the United States. Guerette, Rob T. Migrant Death: Border Safety and Situation Crime Prevention on the U.S.-Mexico Divide. New York: LFB Scholarly Publishing, 2007. One of the best available summary analyses of the violence and crime surrounding the deadly border zone separating the United States and Mexico and of the risk run by those crossing it illegally. Romero, Fernando. Hyperborder: The Contemporary U.S.-Mexico Border and Its Future. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Architectural Press, 2007. Well-researched discussion of life along the border and the issues permeating the debate over its future in general and the fence in particular.
Border Patrol, U.S.
Drug trafficking
Homeland Security, Department of
Illegal immigration
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996
Mexican immigrants
9/11 and U.S. immigration policy
North American Free Trade Agreement
Texas