This annotated web-based bibliography, Broader Borders, is the outcome of a generous research grant from the University of San Diego  TransBorder Institute’s Small Grants Program.

University of San Diego law librarians John Adkins and Mary Sexton proposed the creation of a web-based research guide to help legal researchers learn about important resources for researching laws relating to Mexico-U.S. borderlands.

This proposal was inspired by the 2000 Fall Workshop of the Association of San Diego Area Law Libraries (SANDALL), Bordering on Insanity: Finding Your Way Through The Maze Of Sovereignty Issues in US/Mexican Border Questions & Native American Law. At that workshop, distinguished scholars and practicing attorneys spoke on issues related to immigration, drug trafficking, trade and environmental concerns, and indigenous peoples, among other topics. We hope this guide covers the legal research issues addressed by the workshop speakers and are grateful to them for the inspiration. 

Focus on Five Border Issues

Limiting our research to five topics was done out of sheer necessity: the volume of relevant material on borderland legal issues is immense and growing. In consultation with distinguished scholar USD Law Professor Jorge Vargas, we selected the following focus areas: NAFTA, the Environment, Immigration, Drug Traffic, and Indigenous Peoples. Each section covers the major laws and legislation on the topic in both countries, information about government regulatory bodies, nongovernmental organizations, helpful web resources, and annotated bibliographies of available books and articles.