US | Mexico Border

In 2002 I began traveling the entire length of the US-Mexico border on both sides, from Tijuana/San Diego on the Pacific Ocean to Matamoros/Brownsville on the Gulf of Mexico, a journey of 4,000 miles there and back. What started out as curiosity about the twin cities straddling the borderline was rapidly overtaken by events. I had the good (and bad) fortune to begin my field work before the US began fortifying its southern boundary, and so became an unintentional witness to the border’s closure. My exploration was completed in 2005, but since then I have continued my research into the border fortifications, adding thousands more miles to my travel log. As a consequence, I have come to understand the border as a distinct place, apart from the host countries, perhaps almost a ‘third nation,’ worthy of fuller attention. So I embarked on a trio of related projects: what impact were border walls having on the borderland communities; activism against the border wall; and how border art and culture reflected resistance to the events in the borderlands. Read more.

The Book:
Why Walls Won’t Work

Combining a broad historical perspective and a commanding overview of present-day problems, Why Walls Won’t Work represents a major intellectual foray into one of the most hotly contested political issues of our era.

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About the Wall

For most of human history, there was no United States of America or Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Both nations arrived late on the global scene; the international boundary between them is little over a century-and-a half old.

So how did the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico come to be and what is its potential future?

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Save the Monuments

The boundary markers between the U.S. and Mexico are the most important manifestations of the past, present and future of the two nations.

Save the Monuments/Salvemos los Monumentos is a grassroots effort to raise awareness and encourage the conservation of the U.S.-Mexico Boundary Monuments.

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Articles

For a complete list of articles, refer to the full CV

Interviews, News & Reviews