US-Mexico Border Essay Example
US-Mexico Border Essay Example

US-Mexico Border Essay Example

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  • Pages: 5 (1251 words)
  • Published: May 8, 2022
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The primary focal point along the Mexico-US border is the wall that divides the two nations.

The Guadalupe Treaty in 1848 and the Gadsden Treaty in 1853 determined the border wall between Mexico and the US (John, 2011). However, Indian communities had already designated specific areas from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico as a border. With a length of 1,933 miles, the US-Mexico border is considered the most heavily fortified international boundary globally (John, 2011). To address illegal immigration and national security concerns, the border wall includes barbed wire, steel reinforcements, floodlights, infrared cameras, watchtowers, and over twenty thousand security officers (Maril, 2011). Originally constructed by political leaders to establish a clear separation between United States and Mexico.

Since the official demarcation of borderlines between the United States and Mexico, there

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has been a decrease in movement of people on both sides. The United States has long accused the Mexican government of involvement in drug, human, and gun trafficking activities, as well as having a high number of illegal immigrants (French, 2014). In order to control the movement along the border, the United States government decided to construct a wall. Security forces in charge of overseeing the border region have reported significant improvement in security since implementing surveillance measures. It is worth noting that Native Americans were originally the first settlers and users of the land between Baja California and Gulf of Mexico.

The lands were initially owned by Spaniards who received grants from the Spanish crown. Furthermore, the region was inhabited by Metizos, people of mixed Indian and Hispanic descent. In addition, American citizens moved to the area due to manifest destiny ideals an

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commercial capital. The population of the border area between the United States and Mexico is around 12 million people, with most living on the US side of the border. Lately, population growth in this border region has surpassed that of the entire United States, with Mexicans having particularly low growth rates.

The fertility rate in Mexico has greatly decreased over the past thirty years, with experts attributing this decline to the Catholic Church's historical discouragement of contraceptive use. In the past, Mexican women on average had seven children, but now that number has dropped to three. While there was an initial decrease in fertility rates almost half a century ago, the current rate has stabilized.

Despite the fact that there are almost one million Mexican people, with half of them living in urban areas, the US-Mexico border region has enduring social and economic challenges (Lusk et all, 2012). Additionally, those residing along the border face a shortage of basic needs like food, water, and modern healthcare services. Furthermore, the wall at the US-Mexico border is an environmental disaster as it interrupts the natural landscape and presents a deadly obstacle for numerous individuals, especially Mexicans (Ortiz et al., 2011).

The border wall has had a detrimental impact on the local environment. It has been damaged and contaminated by trucks and federal industries (Doty, 2011). Additionally, the ecology has suffered from commercial development and economic activities. Both human rights activists and environmentalists view the wall negatively - activists see it as a violent social barrier, while environmentalists consider it an attack on the environment's integrity. Furthermore, the areas surrounding the wall serve as a representation of climate change and global

environmental changes.

The construction of the wall has caused extensive damage to the surrounding environment, with natural areas being destroyed for development. Furthermore, the desert now contains numerous dams, pipelines, and asphalt roads. The negative impact on the environment is also intensified by stampeding livestock and their tracks (Danelo, 2011). Additionally, residents on the Mexican side face economic disadvantages in comparison to those on the US side. Consequently, criminal activities are prevalent in this area as criminals take advantage of the relatively less skilled Mexican security officers compared to their American counterparts.

The implementation of stricter border control measures has increased the risks to human life associated with the border security apparatus. The construction of the wall has caused vital paths for Mexican farmers to be shut down, leading people to take more dangerous routes through the desert (Androff & Tavassoli 2012). As a result, agricultural output in areas near and around the wall on the Mexican side has decreased, causing food shortages. According to data from the American Health Care departments in 2009, there has been an increase in the death toll over a span of fifteen years since these measures were put into place, rising from 3,800 to 5,600.

Deaths at the Southwest border have risen from 380 in 2011 to 477 in 2012, according to statistics. These deaths are linked to the increase in both people and drug trafficking along the border wall. In the past, between 1993 and 2008, deaths along the border were primarily due to harsh desert conditions like heat-related exposure, while homicides and traffic fatalities decreased.

The construction of a larger wall along the US-Mexico border is currently a contentious issue. President

Donald Trump's supporters support his plan for building this wall. However, a majority of residents living along the border oppose this idea. If elected president, Trump has stated that he would require Mexico to finance the construction of this significant wall (Belair, 2016).

Both Trump and Clinton have addressed the issue of Mexico in their own ways. Trump has emphasized that if Mexico does not finance the wall's construction, he will closely monitor the money transferred from the US to Mexico by immigrants. Currently, there is a barrier along the desert hills on both sides of the main crossing between the US and Nogales, with security forces vehicles patrolling nearby roads. Conversely, Clinton has adopted a more cautious stance when discussing Mexico. Nevertheless, both Clinton and her supporters have voiced disapproval of Trump's contentious remarks regarding Mexican immigrants.

According to reports, security officials at the US-Mexico border have faced accusations of mistreatment towards individuals. These allegations particularly target black immigrants who are disproportionately affected by racism (Sabo et al., 2014). References: Androff, D. K., ; Tavassoli, K. Y. (2012).

Deaths in the desert: The human rights crisis on the US–Mexico border. Social work, sws034. Belair, E. M. (2016). Rhetoric vs Reality: Public Opinion on Immigration in the United States.. Danelo, D.

J. (2011). The many faces of Mexico. Orbis, 55(1), 163-179. Doty, R. L.

(2011). "Bare life: border-crossing deaths and spaces of moral alibi." Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 29(4), 599-612. FRENCH, L. A.

In 2014, John R. conducted a study titled "The Challenge of Cross-Border Trafficking: People, Drugs, and Guns between Mexico and the United States." This study was published in a book called "Combating Human Trafficking: A

Multidisciplinary Approach" with chapter number 11.

The book "Line in the Sand: A History of the Western US-Mexico Border" was published by Princeton University Press in 2011.

The article titled "Social justice in the US-Mexico border region" by Lusk, M., Staudt, K., ; Moya, E. M. (2012) examines social justice issues in the US-Mexico border region. The article can be found in the book Social justice in the US-Mexico border region, and it covers pages 3-38.

Springer Netherlands. Maril, R. L. (2011). The fence: National security, public safety, and illegal immigration along the US-Mexico border. Texas Tech University Press. Ortiz, M.

L. V., Montellano, O. F. C., Srinivasan, P., and Laura; Contreras Velasco Ortiz (Oscar F.; del Castillo, Sandra).

The source "Mexican voices of the border region" by Sabo, S., Shaw, S., Ingram, M., Teufel-Shone, N., Carvajal, S., and de Zapien, J. G. was published in 2011 by Temple University Press.

; Rubio-Goldsmith, R. (2014). Everyday violence, structural racism, and mistreatment at the US–Mexico border. Social Science ; Medicine, 109, 66-74.

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