Border Towns and Border Crossings: A History of the U.S.-Mexico Divide

(Hardback)

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This is a compelling and revealing look at the history of the U.S.-Mexico border as a place, a symbol of cross-cultural melding, and a source of growing anxiety over immigration and national security. The U.S.-Mexico border is far more than a line that separates two countries. A winding path of nearly 2,000 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, it is history, commerce, and culture. In recent years, however, attitudes about border crossings and border issues have hardened as has immigration policy. A source of growing anxiety over illegal immigration, national security, and safety, the border has become a symbol of political cataclysm over immigration law and enforcement, the future of DACA, the increasingly harsh treatment of refugees and others who attempt to cross without authorization, and the future of U.S. policy. This book traces the history of the border and its people, from the creation of the border line to explosive issues surrounding immigration and the future of the United States as a nation of diverse cultures and races.

Reviews

The strength of this readable text is the original documents included with each chapter, which allow students to gain experience with primary source material. This text will be especially useful for community college libraries. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers and lower-division undergraduates. * Choice *

Author Bio

Roger Bruns is a historian and former deputy executive director of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission at the National Archives and Records Administration.