FREE ESSAY ON MEXICAN RELATIONS

MEXICAN RELATIONS

Militarization of the U.S. - Mexico Border By Joan J. Jaimes June 22, 2000 "?Corranle,
alli viene la migra!", translated into English, this means "Run, there comes
immigration!" This is what illegal immigrants shout everyday when they are about to cross
the Rio Grande in search for better lives. Unfortunately, not many get through alive
because of the militarization that has developed on the U.S. border with Mexico.
Operation Rio Grande continues a process put in motion over a century ago by the Treaty
of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. It tries to erase the reality of a social geographical order that
defies neat national divisions and impose a narrow notion of citizenship on people on
both sides of the international boundary. In the process, the U.S., like all countries to
varying degrees, elevates national citizenship to a position of primacy and lessens the
inherent humanity of those on the wrong side of the social and territorial boundaries.
Operation Rio Grande, launched in August 1997, in Brownsville, Texas, was a special
multi-year operation designed to gain and maintain control of specific border areas
through a combination of new technology and additional staffing. At the start of the
operation, 69 Border Patrol agents were detailed to Brownsville to intensify existing
enforcement effort. In September of that same year, the Border Patrol deployed special
response teams to those ports-of-entry where increased numbers of fraudulent entry was
expected. In the Fiscal Year of 1998, 260 new Border Patrol agents were added to the
McAllen Sector and 205 to the Laredo Sector. An important feature of Operation Rio Grande
has been the integration of a broad range of INS enforcement operations. Studies show
that the crime rate in Brownsville alone dropped by more than 20% in 1998. (U.S. INS) The
origins of the U.S. Mexico boundary are to be found in the imperial competition between
Spain, France, and Britain for possessions in North America. Lack of agreement between
the three imperial powers over the location of the boundaries separating their
territories in North America led to disagreement between Mexico and an expansionist U.S.
After Mexico gained its independence in 1821, many U.S. leaders argued for taking part or
all of Mexico's territory. Numerous prominent U.S. politicians, driven by the ideology of
Manifest Destiny, considered taking Mexico "a divine right." (Acuna, 1988) As tensions
mounted between the U.S. and Mexico over Texas, the U.S. deliberately provoked Mexico by
sending troops into territory claimed by Mexico in early 1846. Battles between U.S. and
Mexican troops ensued, quickly resulting in full-scale war. The war raged on for two
years, largely in favor of the U.S., and ended with the U.S. taking over Mexico City. On
February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was signed, and Mexico was forced to
cede half of its territory to the U.S. Under the treaty's terms, the U.S. annexed a
territory equivalent in size to that of Western Europe, and absorbed 100,000 Mexican
citizens and 200,000 Native Americans living in the territory. (Herzog, 1990) The decades
following the imposition of the new U.S. - Mexico boundary saw widespread violence as
U.S. authorities and non-State actors established their dominance. The Mexican Revolution
and the accompanying socio-political turmoil between 1910, and 1920, caused great concern
for U.S. authorities. Tension along the boundary with Mexico quickly subsided thereafter.
(Griswold, 1990) Pacification did not mean control by the U.S. Migration between the U.S.
and Mexico long preceded the imposition of the modern day boundary. Mexican migration to
the U.S. was not really significant in scale or in geographical extent until the 20th
Century. In 1942, the Bracero (Bra-zeh-roh) Program was implemented. It was a contract
labor program in response to labor shortages brought about by the U.S. entry into World
War II. (The Bracero Program, 1996) Furthermore, the INS practice of legalizing
unauthorized migrants and turning them into braceros, or 'drying out the wetbacks,'
increased unauthorized immigration from Mexico as the news spread that the easiest manner
to obtain a bracero contract was to enter the U.S. illegally. When the U.S. Congress
officially ended the program in 1964, the previously legal migratory flow simply went
underground. As the 1970's approached, calls to enhance enforcement along the U.S. and
Mexico boundary increased significantly. (The Bracero Program, 1996) From U.S.
perspective, the modern U.S. - Mexico border has always represented a line of control;
one that contains the national body politic and that regulates the flow of goods and
people from without. Needless to say, there has long been a huge gap between this
territorial-state-centric ideal and the reality of a transnational world. That said, the
U.S. has long made efforts, albeit inconsistent ones, to achieve this ideal as part of
its efforts to realize national sovereignty. In 1921, the U.S. government passed the
first quantitative immigration restrictions in U.S. history. As a result, the U.S.
congress established the Border Patrol in 1924. (Martinez, 1995) The U.S. Border Patrol
is the organization that polices the entry of illegal immigrants into our country. The
official mission of the United States Border Patrol is to protect the boundaries of the
United States by preventing illegal entry, and by detecting, interdicting, and
apprehending illegal aliens, smugglers, and contraband. Today, the United States Border
Patrol consists of 21 sectors. A Chief Patrol Agent heads each Border Patrol Sector.
There are 145 stations located throughout the continental United States, and in Puerto
Rico. The Border Patrol controls the border by land, sea, and air. It has jurisdiction
across all United States borders and at least 25 miles off the border. The agents are
responsible to check factories and homes for illegal workers. (U.S. INS) "Border control"
particularly from Mexico, emerged as important topics in U.S. politics. This was due to
the mid-1970's economic recession, rising numbers of Border Patrol apprehensions, and
aggressive INS media campaigns highlighting the scale of the illegal alien problem. The
trend continued through the 1980's reaching its apex in the early 1990's. U.S. public
opinion now consistently shows that there is strong opposition to illegal immigration.
(Cornelius, 1994) Over the last several years, the U.S. has seen increasing calls and
efforts to fight unauthorized immigration and boundary related crime, specifically drug
trafficking. There has been an unprecedented growth in federal resources dedicated to
boundary policing. Unauthorized immigration and an out of control border region fueled
the political sentiment for immigration enforcement, which climaxed with the passage of
the Immigration and Control Act of 1986. (UTA, 1992) Former President Ronald Reagan
starkly framed unauthorized immigration as a national security issue, warning, "The
simple truth is that we've lost control of our borders and no nation can do that and
survive." (Cornelius, 1994) The U.S. - Mexico border region is the fastest growing border
zone in the Americas, perhaps in the world. With a population of 11 million people and an
economic output of $150 billion, the region now has an economy larger than that of
Poland. Approximately 230 million people and 82 million cars enter the U.S. from Mexico
each year. In 1994, the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement
intensified this trend. About 2.8 million trucks crossed the border that year. The
"NAFTAization" and growing militarization of the U.S. - Mexico boundary, are taking place
simultaneously. (Divine, 1999)(UTA, 1992) In an abstract from a book to be published by
Harcourt Brace & Company is a very interesting account of the typical journey of most of
the illegal immigrants that cross through the border of Matamoros/Brownsville. Most of
the immigrants cross the river with assistance from a patero. His job is to recruit
people who want to go to the U.S. in search of better fortune. The immigrants don't have
to pay anything in advance. Instead, they pay when they arrive in Houston. They cross the
river naked, then take a car to Sarita, Texas. In Sarita, they get off the car before the
immigration checkpoint and walk for 4 or 5 hours until they have well passed the
checkpoint. From there the pateros pick them up and take them to Houston to deliver to
their families or friends. A trip normally costs around $800. (Harper's, 1998) The
militarization of the border is keeping many illegal aliens from entering the U.S., but
many of them get killed in the process. CNN News reports that authorities recovered the
bodies of two people who drowned in the Rio Grande just yards from U.S. border agents in
a dramatic scene captured on Mexican television. Rescue crews found the bodies of
26-year-old Walter Maria Sandoval, of San Lucas, Michoacan, and another victim who has
not been identified yet. A Mexican TV (Televisa) crew was filming in Matamoros on
Thursday, June 8, when three men plunged into the Rio Grande and tried to swim back to
Mexico after a Border Patrol squad apparently blocked their entry into the United States.
Two of the men quickly began flailing and sinking, as the river's current swept them
away. The third man made it ashore on the Mexican side and ran off, Televisa reported.
U.S. border patrol agents and Mexican authorities both saw the men drown, but none knew
how to swim, the Mexico City newspaper Reforma reported. Scores of Mexicans have drowned
in recent years in the Rio Grande, a point of entry for thousands of illegal immigrants
to the United States. (CNN News, 2000) Perhaps the illegal immigrants face fines and
penalties for crossing that way, but in their mind working for food is most important.
Hard labor, usually in agriculture, is all they can get. Jobs that not many citizens want
to perform because of the physical demands, and prefer to live off of welfare and working
people's taxes, but then complain about the problem with the Border Patrol. If they are
bringing most foods to their tables, why complain? It's obvious that some sort of
control, which now exists, is necessary. Many people do enter the country legally, and in
many cases, are given political asylum because of the situations in their countries.
Mexico is not one of those countries, but is yet another boulder for fleeing refugees to
cross before getting to the home of the free. 
Bibliography 
Bibliography Acuna, R. (1988). Occupied America - A History of Chicanos. New York: Harper
Collins Publishers Authorities recover bodies of two people who drowned in Rio Grande.
(2000, June 10). CNN News [Online]. P10. Available
www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/americas/06/10mexico.borderdeaths.ap/ Cornelius, W., Philip, M.,
James, H., (1994). Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective. Stanford University
Press Divine R. et al, (1999). America Past and Present. Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
Griswold del Castillo, R. (1990). The Treaty of Guadalupe - Hidalgo. University of
Oklahoma Press Ferrying dreamers to the other side. (1998) Harper's, 1781 (297) p.22-26
Herzog, L. (1990). Where North Meets South. Austin Center for Mexican American Studies.
University of Texas at Austin Low Intensity Conflict Doctrine Comes Home. (1992).
University of Texas at Austin Press Martinez, O. (1995). Troublesome Border. Tucson.
University of Arizona Press The Bracero Program, Immigration, and the INS. (1996). New
York and London. Routledge U.S. Border Patrol [Online] U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Service. Available http://www.usbp.com 
Bibliography 
Bibliography Acuna, R. (1988). Occupied America - A History of Chicanos. New York: Harper
Collins Publishers Authorities recover bodies of two people who drowned in Rio Grande.
(2000, June 10). CNN News [Online]. P10. Available
www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/americas/06/10mexico.borderdeaths.ap/ Cornelius, W., Philip, M.,
James, H., (1994). Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective. Stanford University
Press Divine R. et al, (1999). America Past and Present. Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
Griswold del Castillo, R. (1990). The Treaty of Guadalupe - Hidalgo. University of
Oklahoma Press Ferrying dreamers to the other side. (1998) Harper's, 1781 (297) p.22-26
Herzog, L. (1990). Where North Meets South. Austin Center for Mexican American Studies.
University of Texas at Austin Low Intensity Conflict Doctrine Comes Home. (1992).
University of Texas at Austin Press Martinez, O. (1995). Troublesome Border. Tucson.
University of Arizona Press The Bracero Program, Immigration, and the INS. (1996). New
York and London. Routledge U.S. Border Patrol [Online] U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Service. Available http://www.usbp.com