Local Impacts of the Balloon Effect of Border Law Enforcement

Bibliographic Data

ID3948533
AuthorsKenneth D Madsen (0000-0002-9025-405X, Tohono O'odham Community College, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume12
Issue2
Pages280-298
Publication date2007-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeopolitics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1465-0045 • E-ISSN: 1557-3028
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14650040601168990
OpenAlexW2079133391
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited5

While discussion of borders in the post-9/11 world invokes images of national security lapses and in early 2006 the economic and social challenges of undocumented workers was again making headlines in the United States, residents of rural border regions face a more immediate set of troubles. Their issues are byproducts of past national debates and the resulting increase in law enforcement efforts in urban locations which have converged crossing pressure onto more remote, difficult-to-cross, less publicly-visible, and less politically powerful rural areas. In particular, this article looks at the impact this squeeze has had on the Tohono O'odham reservation along the US-Mexico border in south central Arizona. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks to the members of the Tohono O'odham Legislative Council and many local district leaders of the Tohono O'odham Nation for their support in the pursuit of my dissertation on which this article is based. Their support and that of many individual tribal members is deeply appreciated. Notes 1. D. Whittlesey, 'The Impress of Effective Central Authority Upon the Landscape', Annals of the Association of American Geographers 25/85–97 (1935) p. 88. 2. K. Haushofer, Grenzen in ihrer Geographischen und politischen Bedeutung (Berlin: Grunewald, K. Vowinckel 1927) and F. Ratzel, Anthropogeographie (Stuttgart, Germany: J. Engelhorn 1882). 3. For example, J. Nevins, Operation Gatekeeper: The Rise of the "Illegal Alien" and the Making of the U.S.-Mexico Boundary (New York: Routledge 2002); J. Ackleson, 'Constructing Security on the U.S.-Mexico Border', Political Geography 24/2 (2005) pp. 165–184; M. A. Vachudová, 'Eastern Europe as Gatekeeper: The Immigration and Asylum Policies of an Enlarging European Union', in P. Andreas and T. Snyder (eds.), The Wall around the West: State Borders and Immigration Controls in North America and Europe (Boulder, CO: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers 2000) pp. 153–171. 4. Especially based on the inter-European model of borders, among others see M. Perkmann, 'Building Governance Institutions Across European Borders', Regional Studies 33/7 (Oct. 1999) pp. 657–667; S. Mau, 'Die Politik der Grenze. Grenzziehung und politische Systembildung in der Europäischen Union' ('Politics and Borders. Processes of Demarcation and Political System-Building in the European Union'), Berliner Journal für Soziologie 16/1 (2006) pp. 115–132. 5. T. J. Dunn, The Militarization of the U.S.-Mexico Border, 1978–1992: Low-Intensity Conflict Doctrine Comes Home (Austin: The Center for Mexican American Studies, The University of Texas at Austin 1996); K. D. Madsen, The U.S.-Mexico Border Fencescape Along the Arizona-Sonora Boundary, MA thesis, Geography (Tempe: Arizona State University 1999). 6. This phenomenon, although not its implications for rural areas, has been noted by many scholars, among them P. Andreas, Border Games (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press 2000) p. 8; D. A. Shirk, 'Law Enforcement and Security Challenges in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region', Journal of Borderlands Studies 18/2 (2003) p. 3. 7. Office of Border Patrol, National Border Patrol Strategy (Washington, DC: Customs and Border Protection 2004) p. 4, available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/border_security/border_patrol/national_bp_strategy.ctt/national_bp_strategy.pdf, accessed 3 December 2005. A similar focus exists in terms of crossings at formal ports of entry; see C. Olmedo and D. L. Soden, 'Terrorism's Role in Re-shaping Border Crossings: 11 September and the US Borders', Geopolitics 10 (2005) p. 742. 8. Shirk (note 6) p. 15; Ackleson (note 3) p. 177. 9. Andreas (note 6) p. 6; Shirk (note 6) p. 5. In the popular press, see S. Bustos and D. González, 'Be Our Guest? Experts Say Guest-Worker Plans Are Doomed to Fail if Government Doesn't Crack Down on Firms That Cheat', The Arizona Republic (24 October 2004). 10. Shirk (note 6) p. 10. 11. For example, Andreas (note 6); Nevins (note 3). 12. M. Coleman, 'U.S. Statecraft and the U.S.-Mexico Border as Security/Economy Nexus.' Political Geography 24/2 (2005) pp. 185 –209. 13. I propose that this ratio changes as interest group and public awareness ebbs and flows. 14. In this I take issue with Shirk's description of terrorism as a non-market force (note 6). Indeed, as terrorists are fought without addressing underlying causes they can only be repressed until such time as they becomes so in need of lashing out that it is catapulted to a level necessary to bypass terrorism defences. 15. I suggest that terrorism symbolically follows the balloon model in time instead of space. 16. K. Eschbach, J. Hagan, and N. Rodriguez, 'Causes and Trends in Migrant Deaths along the U.S.-Mexico Border, 1985–1998' (University of Houston Center for Immigration Research 2001), available at http://www.uh.edu/cir/Causes_and_Trends.pdf, accessed 20 July 2006. 17. Parallel with this formal governmental structure, traditional leaders also function on both sides of the border in various capacities. 18. For more information on these topics, see K. D. Madsen, A Nation Across Nations: The Tohono O'odham and the U.S.-Mexico Border, Ph.D. dissertation, Geography (Tempe: Arizona State University 2005) esp. Ch. 3 – 4; and D. R. Weir and I. Azary, 'Quitovac Oasis: A Sense of Home Place and the Development of Water Resources', The Professional Geographer 53/1 (2001) pp. 45 – 55. For a more general history of the Tohono O'odham, see W. P. Erickson, Sharing the Desert: The Tohono O'odham in History (Tucson: The University of Arizona Press 1994). 19. See G. Peterson, 'Native American Turnout in the 1990 and 1992 Elections', American Indian Quarterly 21/2 (Spring 1997) pp. 321–331; D. M. Gipp, P. Baird, J. Pease, and T. Katus, 'Contract with Native America: Tribal Colleges Can Help Mobilize Native American Vote', Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education 15/2 (Winter 2003) pp. 26–27. It should be noted that political activism and economic clout brought about by on-reservation gaming is slowly changing this dynamic on both personal and tribal levels; see A. M. McCulloch, 'The Politics of Indian Gaming: Tribe/State Relations and American Federalism', Publius: The Journal of Federalism 24/3 (Summer 1994) pp. 99–112. Negative interactions with the Border Patrol have been a motivating factor in the rising political activity and creation of at least one Tohono O'odham-based organisation, The O'odham Voice Against the Wall; see B. Norrell, 'Tohono O'odham Protest U.S. border policies', Indian Country Today (6 June 2005). 20. See R. Sauer, 'Tucson's Pot Economy: City a Vital Link in Drug Trade,' Arizona Daily Star (9 December 2001) and accompanying graphic by D. Castelan 'Marijuana's Flow Through Tucson.' 21. Madsen (note 18) esp. Ch. 5. 22. Erickson (note 18) p. 112. 23. For example see The Runner, 'Non-Indian Ban Continues in Three Southern Districts' (Oct. 1976) p. 2; 'Plane, Pott Seized South of Topawa' (October 1976) p. 5; 'Police Arrest Alien, Marijuana Seized' (March 1977) p. 5; 'Human Skull and Skeleton Found Near Kohatk, Linked' (May 1977) p. 6. 24. After R. K. Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 3rd ed., Applied Social Research Methods Series (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications 2003). 25. Their oversight includes reviewing drafts of the present work, although by no means should this be understood as an endorsement of my particular interpretations and conclusions. 26. Indeed, given the sometimes contentious interaction between academics and native peoples, my own research was not unanimously welcomed. This can be partly attributed to such cases as discussed by P. Rubin 'Indian Givers: The Havasupai Trusted the White Man to Help with a Diabetes Epidemic. Instead, ASU Tricked Them Into Bleeding for Academia' Phoenix New Times (27 May 2004). For more general discussions on this topic from an indigenous academic perspective, see A. D. Mihesuah, Natives and Academics: Researching and Writing about American Indians (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press 1998); and L. T. Smith, Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples (New York: Zed Books Ltd. 1999). 27. O. J. Martínez, Border People: Life and Society in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands (Tucson: The University of Arizona Press 1994). 28. P. Vila, Crossing Borders, Reinforcing Borders: Social Categories, Metaphors, and Narrative Identities on the U.S.-Mexico Frontier (Austin: University of Texas Press 2000). 29. In my long-term work, although not specifically in the present paper, I also place priority on collaborative projects of mutual interest and benefit. 30. J. Sterba, 'Treaty Separated O'odham: Border Security Policies, Land Encroachment in Mexico Create Tribal Hardships', Arizona Daily Star (12 February 2004). 31. In addition to the opening quote for this section, this is commonly recognized by local leaders in public Council sessions and hearings and who have also sometimes used the balloon analogy itself to explain what is happening. 32. An early version of this statistic was reported in K. D. Madsen and T. van Naerssen, 'Migration, Identity, and Belonging', Journal of Borderland Studies 18/1 (Spring 2003) p. 67; and more recently in Madsen (note 18) p. 167. Currently based on a non-scientific sampling of over 6,000 vehicles observed during daylight hours from November 2002 to September 2005, 9.95% were visibly marked as belonging to the Border Patrol. 33. The Runner, 'Council Supports Member Against Border Patrol', (30 September 2004) pp. 1–2; The Runner, 'San Miguel Couple Says Border Patrol Assaulted Them, Wants Agents Moved', (17 September 2004) pp. 1–2. 34. For more information on this topic, see L. A. Shively, 'Controversy Surrounds Transfer of Elite Customs Unit 'Shadow Wolves'', Indian Country Today (3 June 2003); Tohono O'odham Legislative Council, Resolution of the Tohono O'odham Legislative Council (Opposing the Transfer of Customs Patrol Officers (Shadow Wolves) to the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection ("BCBP")), Resolution No. 03-298 (25 June 2003). 35. Tohono O'odham Nation, The Tohono O'odham Nation and Homeland Security, Videocassette (Morning Light Productions 2003); see also H. A. Ramon, 'On Water Station Issue, O'odham Are Unfairly Maligned', Arizona Daily Star (11 May 2003). 36. Ramon (note 35). 37. This is partly a reflection of the crisis image being marketed to the public as outlined by Nevins (note 3). 38. By one estimate, up to a fifth of individual personal income may derive from smuggling activities. See Madsen (note 18) pp. 163–165. 39. See also E. P. Perramond, 'Desert Traffic: The Dynamics of the Drug Trade in Northwestern Mexico', in M. K. Steinberg, J. J. Hobbs, and K. Mathewson (eds.), Dangerous Harvest: Drug Plants and the Transformation of Indigenous Landscapes (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2004) pp. 209–217. 40. For discussion on the implications of a local economy dependent on such illicit traffic and its enforcement and how it might best be addressed, see J. Burnett, 'Cocaine Republics', National Public Radio (20–22 October 2004); J.-M. Guéhenno, The End of the Nation-State, translated by V. Elliott (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press 1995); P. A. Adler, Wheeling & Dealing: An Ethnography of An Upper-Level Drug Dealing and Smuggling Community, 2nd ed. (New York: Columbia University Press 1993). 41. Adler (note 40). 42. See Andreas (note 6) p. 8. 43. Ramon (note 35). 44. Tohono O'odham Nation (note 35). 45. For some relevant news coverage on the water conflict see R. Hoover, 'An Inhumane Policy: The O'odham Nation Refuses to Put Out Water to Aid Migrants,' Arizona Daily Star (27 April 2003); Ramon (note 35); M. Cowan, 'Letters: Apology is Owed,' Arizona Daily Star (11 May 2003); M. Marizco, 'O'odham Man's Migrant Aid Foiled: Reservation Water Bottles Slashed', Arizona Daily Star (22 September 2003); B. Winograd 'O'odham Land Gets 8 Rescue Beacons: Devices Rekindle Debate Over Aiding Illegal Migrants,' Tucson Citizen (4 January 2005). 46. Tohono O'odham Legislative Council, Resolution of the Tohono O'odham Legislative Council (Supporting Vehicle Barriers and All-weather Road Project Along the International Boundary within the Tohono O'odham Nation), Resolution No. 04-095 (8 March 2004). More recent resolutions have continued to support this project, as well as permit the presence of National Guard troops under President Bush's May 2006 proposal to further strengthen border law enforcement capabilities. 47. The death of a park ranger at the hands of drug smugglers in 2002 also dramatically raised the profile of this particular crossing point. See M. Tobin, 'Understaffing Tolerated - Until Disaster Strikes', Arizona Daily Star (8 September 2002). 48. Immigration and Naturalization Service, Fact Sheet: INS' Southwest Border Strategy (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice 1999), available at http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/unt/phsd/bpops.htm, accessed 3 December 2005. 49. For examples of this emerging shift in the popular press, see S. Kershaw, 'Violent New Front in Drug War Opens on the Canadian Border,' New York Times (5 March 2005); S. Saulny, 'Woman in Immigrant Smuggling Case Is Charged in the U.S.,' New York Times (2 July 2003); R. F. Worth, '20 Airport Workers Held in Smuggling of Drugs,' New York Times (26 Nov. 2003); K. Abourezk, 'State's Methamphetamine War Grows,' Lincoln Journal Star (4 Sep. 2001); D. Cooper, 'Phila. Raids Show Trend: Pot Growing Comes Inside,' Philadelphia Inquirer (12 May 2004)

Annals · Enforcement · Geography · Geopolitics · Law enforcement · Legislature · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Cross-Border Cooperation and Integration · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Public Administration

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub