The international border between the United States and Mexico extends over 3,141 km (1,952 miles). The boundary follows the middle of the Rio Grande — according to the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between the two nations, "along the deepest channel" — from its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico a distance of 2,019 km (1,254 miles) to a point just upstream of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. It then follows an alignment westward overland and marked by monuments a distance of 858 km (533 miles) to the Colorado River. Thence it follows the middle of that river northward a distance of 38 km (24 miles), and then it again follows an alignment westward overland and marked by monuments a distance of 226 km (141 miles) to the Pacific Ocean. The region along the boundary is characterized by deserts, rugged mountains, abundant sunshine and by two major rivers — the Colorado River and the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte) — which provide life-giving waters to the largely arid but fertile lands along the rivers in both countries.
Since NAFTA was implemented in 1994, the number of commercial vehicles crossing the border has increased by 41 percent. Furthermore, trade between the US and Mexico has almost tripled. Cross-border trade averages more than $650 million dollars a day, two-thirds of which comes through ports of entry in Texas. (Source: the White House).
There are 43 points of entry (POEs) on the 1,989-mile border between the US and Mexico. Every day, 800,000 people arrive in the United States from Mexico. In 2001, over 300 million two-way border crossings took place at 43 POEs. In 2001 there were over 19 million pedestrian crossings in Texas alone. (Sources: US Bureau of Transportation Statistics; Siobhan Gorman, "A Nation Without Borders," National Journal, December 1, 2001 Number 48; INS Federal Regulations, Title Code 8 §100.4, Mexico's Oficina de Caminos y Puentes, Texas A & M International University).
Border Enforcement
There are currently approximately 9,150 border patrol agents working along the 2,000-mile US-Mexico border. In contrast, there are approximately 334 agents working along the 4,000-mile US-Canada border. Due to the events of September 11, US President George W. Bush has asked Congress to approve funding for an additional 570 border patrol agents in 2002, half of whom will be stationed along the northern border, and half of whom will patrol the US-Mexico border. (Source: US Immigration and Naturalization Service, via pdf).
The US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has four operations to apprehend unauthorized border crossers as part of its Southwest border-control strategy: Operation Hold-the-Line in El Paso, Operation Gatekeeper in San Diego, Operation Rio Grande in El Paso, and Operation Safeguard in Tucson. These use a combination of electronic sensors, night vision scopes, ground vehicles and aircraft. (Source: INS).
In 2000, there were over 1.6 million apprehensions of immigrants at the southwest border. This number includes those who may have been caught attempting to cross several times. This number represents an increase of 100,000 apprehensions compared to 1999. (Source: INS).
In 2004, there were between 388 and 430 known migrant deaths along the US-Mexico border. Between 1995 and 2000 there were over 1,400 known migrant deaths. (Sources: Orrenius, Pia, "Illegal Immigration and Enforcement Along the Southwest Border," Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas: The Border Economy (June 2001), pp. 30-36. Online. Available. Cornelius, Wayne, "Death at the Border: The Efficacy and 'Unintended Consequences' of US Immigration Control Policy, 1993-2000," Center for Comparative Immigration Studies Working Paper no. 27 (November 2000). Online. Available.)
