Abstract

MENESES, Guillermo Alonso  and  LOPEZ LEON, Artemisa. Surveillance and vigilantism of the United States-Mexico border. Relac. Estud. hist. soc. [online]. 2023, vol.44, n.174, pp.189-211.  Epub Sep 25, 2023. ISSN 2448-7554.  https://doi.org/10.24901/rehs.v44i174.865.

The article analyzes different scenarios to understand some factors that have shaped state hyper-surveillance and “vigilantism” of individuals over the border region between Mexico and the United States, and the undocumented migratory crossing. The objective is to rescue some events and debates that have taken place in the last 30 years to build a profile -not a diagnosis- of the problems that “vigilantism” encloses as a disturbing and shaping factor of the border order with its actions from the United States, but also from Mexico. The article is based on a qualitative approach with a historical perspective that, based on the ethnographic experience in the border, carries out an analysis of the discourse of official, academic and newspaper sources. It is concluded that there is a constantly renewed “vigilantism” on the US side, and on the Mexican side.

Keywords : Border Patrol; control and surveillance operations; undocumented noncitizen; Border Studies; U.S. Security Policy.

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