The fence between the United States and Mexico
The anti-immigration wall of the Tercera Nación
Wall Facts
Date of construction: beginning in 1994
Length: 1,200 km
Material used: wire mesh, corrugated iron, barbed wire
Garrison: 12,000 border patrol (18,000 when completed)
Communities concerned: Mexicans, Latin Americans and Americans
The border between the United States and Mexico, 3,200 km long, crosses an entire
continent, from the Pacific Ocean on the Californian coast to the Gulf of Mexico in
east Texas. The fence, built by the United States in 2006 along a portion of this
border, doesn’t appear to exist at first sight, but it is there, made of recovered
corrugated steel sheets, rusted by time. Three metres high, topped by electrified
barbed wire, it is lined with a parapet walk overhung by radars, cameras, projectors,
ground sensors, and supplemented by unmanned aircraft and the latest surveillance
technologies.
A tradition dating back 100 years
Between 1830 and 1860, the new boundary between Mexico and the U.S. saw
Mexico lose some two million square kilometres of territory. At the end of the 19th
century, Mexican peasants began coming to offer their labour, first in large farms in
California, then from the 1920s in the emerging U.S. industry. In 1965, the abolition of
bilateral agreements prohibited the back-and-forth travel of Mexican seasonal
workers. The influx of illegal migrants began to increase, raising the issue of
clandestine immigration and its regulation. In 1994, as a free trade agreement had
already been signed between the United States, Canada and Mexico, the United
States decided to strengthen their border and stop illegal immigrants.
On 26 October 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush promulgated the Secure Fence
Act, aimed at reinforcing surveillance of the border with Mexico and combating illegal
immigration. Totalling 1,200 km in length, representing one-third of the border, the
fence should be completed by the end of 2008, and will cross the Arizona desert.
Wall Facts
Date of construction: beginning in 1994
Length: 1,200 km
Garrison: 12,000 border patrol (18,000 when completed)
Communities concerned: Mexicans, Latin Americans and Americans
The border between the United States and Mexico, 3,200 km long, crosses an entire continent, from the Pacific Ocean on the Californian coast to the Gulf of Mexico in east Texas. The wall, built by the United States in 2006 along a portion of this border, doesn’t appear to exist at first sight, but it is there, made of recovered corrugated steel sheets, rusted by time. Three meters high, topped by electrified barbed wire, it is lined with a parapet walk overhung by radars, cameras, projectors, ground sensors, and supplemented by unmanned aircraft and the latest surveillance technologies.
-first generation wall 2006-
A tradition dating back 100 years Between 1830 and 1860, the new boundary between Mexico and the U.S. saw Mexico lose some two million square kilometers of territory. At the end of the 19th century, Mexican peasants began coming to offer their labour, first in large farms in California, then from the 1920s in the emerging U.S. industry. In 1965, the abolition of bilateral agreements prohibited the back-and-forth travel of Mexican seasonal workers. The influx of illegal migrants began to increase, raising the issue of clandestine immigration and its regulation. In 1994, as a free trade agreement had already been signed between the United States, Canada and Mexico, the United States decided to strengthen their border and stop illegal immigrants.
On 26 October 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush promulgated the Secure Fence Act, aimed at reinforcing surveillance of the border with Mexico and combating illegal immigration.
Tags: border between the United States and Mexico, Latin Americans and Americans, Mexicans, wall facts
This entry was posted
on Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at 4:50 pm and is filed under The American Wall.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
