bout by the U.S. entry into World War II. (The Bracero Program, 1996) Furthermore, the INS practice of legalizing unauthorized migrants and turning them into braceros, or ‘drying out the wetbacks,’ increased unauthorized immigration from Mexico as the news spread that the easiest manner to obtain a bracero contract was to enter the U.S. illegally. When the U.S. Congress officially ended the program in 1964, the previously legal migratory flow simply went underground. As the 1970’s approached, calls to enhance enforcement along the U.S. and Mexico boundary increased significantly. (The Bracero Program, 1996) From U.S. perspective, the modern U.S. – Mexico border has always represented a line of control; one that contains the national body politic and that regulates the flow of goods and people from without. Needless to say, there has long been a huge gap between this territorial-state-centric ideal and the reality of a transnational world. That said, the U.S. has long made efforts, albeit inconsistent ones, to achieve this ideal as part of its efforts to realize national sovereignty. In 1921, the U.S. government passed the first quantitative immigration restrictions in U.S. history. As a result, the U.S. congress established the Border Patrol in 1924. (Martinez, 1995) The U.S. Border Patrol is the organization that polices the entry of illegal immigrants into our country. The official mission of the United States Border Patrol is to protect the boundaries of the United States by preventing illegal entry, and by detecting, interdicting, and apprehending illegal aliens, smugglers, and contraband. Today, the United States Border Patrol consists of 21 sectors. A Chief Patrol Agent heads each Border Patrol Sector. There are 145 stations located throughout the continental United States, and in Puerto Rico. The Border Patrol controls the border by land, sea, and air. It has jurisdiction across all United States borders a...
