The Border: Exploring the U.S.–Mexican Divide

Marine veteran Danelo's picturesque reportage from both sides of the 1,952-mile line separating the United States and Mexico—the world's most traversed national frontier—reveals how the fraught political debate around immigration and border security masks a very complex set of issues, geographies, economic and emotional ties, histories and subcultures. Inserting himself squarely into the narrative, Danelo builds his account on firsthand impressions gathered while traveling along and across the border, splicing his strong first-person testimonials with analysis of the U.S. Border Patrol and the evolving presence of the military, and extensive interviews with law enforcement agents, coyotes, migrant workers, truckers and politicians. Danelo's Spanish is limited, as are his excursions into Mexico, making his narrative lean to the U.S. and English-speaking side of the equation. He also insists the military has a role to play in securing the border, an argument some may see as colored by his expected sympathies, given his background. Still, his overall assessment moves considerably beyond the simplistic war-zone rhetoric in the media, offering well-grounded if cautious hope for the future. Photos. (Aug.)