We share a long border
with Mexico that is more than a line drawn on a map: it is a way of
life for millions residing in our border
communities.
James Ziglar
When Commissioner James Ziglar of the U.S. Immigration
and Naturalization Service spoke these words in his April 16, 2002
testimony before Congress, he could not have been more accurate. A
fascinating world that differs from other regions in the United States and
Mexico exists on the long stretch of 2,000 plus miles that divides the two
countries. The differences can be subtle or marked; economic, social, or
political; they can involve coordination of civil remedies or criminal
penalties; they are what make up "la frontera" -- our border
with Mexico.
The boundary with Mexico began painfully with the U.S.-Mexican War, which
was ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. At that time, Mexico ceded
the following territory to the United States: Alta California, Nuevo
Mexico, and the northern portions of several Mexican states that would
become California, Nevada, Utah, Texas and parts of Colorado, Arizona and
New Mexico. This amounted to about half of Mexico’s territory. This new
boundary was defined, marked and plotted in the treaty itself. Since that
time, a constant flux of materials, people, trade, illness, prosperity and
poverty have floated back and forth over the border between the U.S. and
Mexico. In all respects, the laws of these two countries have governed the
borderland and its people. This web site hopes to give you a starting
point to begin research on some of the legal issues surrounding the
international boundary.
