The Border: A Resource Page

As money is poured into border enforcement, it is critical that lawmakers consider the facts. The following resources provide key answers to basic questions about the U.S.-Mexico Border and the issues that surround it--from the fiscal implications of policies to the struggle to fight drug cartels.

Background:

• Authority of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agents: An Overview (February 2012)
• New Border Patrol Strategy Changes Rhetoric More than Substance (May 2012)
• Back to the Border: A Historical Comparison of U.S. Border Politics (September 2010)

The Economics of Border Control:

• Fiscally Irresponsible: Immigration Enforcement without Reform Wastes Taxpayer Dollars (October 2011)
• Is More Getting Us Less? Real Solutions for Security our Border (February 2011)
• Throwing Good Money After Bad: Immigration Enforcement (May 2010) 
• The Rise and Fall of the Secure Border Initiative’s High-Tech Solution to Unauthorized Immigration (April 2010)

Cartels and the Border:

• How to Fix a Broken Border: A Three Part Series (May 2012)
  • Part One: Hit the Cartels Where it Hurts
  • Part Two: Disrupting Smuggling at its Source
  • Part Three: Follow the Money
• Guns, Drugs, and Money: Tackling the Real Threats to Border Security (September 2011)

Blog Posts:

• DHS’s Current Southern Border Enforcement Strategy a Bust, Group Says (April 2012)
• Human Rights Abuses Along U.S.-Mexico Border Underscore Need for Reform (April 2012)
• New Report Analyzes Fatal Flaws of U.S. Border-Enforcement Strategy (February 2012)
• View all blogs about the border

Other resources on the border