The US-MexicoBorder : Facts and Issues. A webquest
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico%E2%80%93United_States_border
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/05/on-the-border/100510/
1.
How long is this border? The border's length is 3,145 km.
2.
When was it designed? The border was designed according to the 1848 Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo between the two nations.
3.
There is a fence/ a barrier along parts of this border :
Who built it? The U.S. government (during the Bush administration).
What is its nickname? The wall of shame.
4.
The Rio Grande has another name in Mexico, what is it? Río Bravo del Norte.
5.
The four US States along the border are :
California
New Mexico
Arizona
Texas
6.
The Six Mexican states are: Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo
Leon and Tamaulipas.
7.
The border patrols :
How many border patrols agents are guarding this area? Where are they concentrated?
The border is guarded by more than twenty thousand border patrol agents who are
oncentrated around big border cities such as San Diego and El Paso.
What is the consequence of this concentration?
illegal immigrants choose to cross in more dangerous areas : rural mountainous and desert
areas, leading to several hundred migrant deaths along the Mexico–U.S. border.
8.
9.
The border cities
US : San Diego (California) Mexico : Tijuana
US : El Paso ( Texas) Mexico : Ciudad Juarez
US: Brownsville ( Texas) Mexico :Matamoros
http://geography.about.com/od/urbaneconomicgeography/a/maquiladoras.htm
What are maquiladoras? Maquiladoras are factories or export assembly plants in northern
Mexico, producing parts and products for the United States.
What are their assets? Mexican labor is inexpensive, taxes and custom fees are almost
nonexistent, which benefit the profits of corporations.
Are they Mexican owned or foreign-owned? They are owned by foreign companies,
mainly US-based.
Who work in those factories? Young women (underpaid and working long hours)
What do they produce? electronic equipment, clothing, plastics, furniture, appliances, and
auto parts.
What significant factor has caused the closing of some maquiladoras in the recent years?
Competition from China.
10.
Drug Trafficking :
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/mexico/1041727
3/Major-smuggling-tunnel-found-under-US-Mexico-border.html
How many narco-tunnels have been discovered since 2005 ?
More than 100 "narcotunnels" have been discovered along the US-Mexico border since
2005.
11.
Tourism : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Mexico
Why do tourists come to Mexico ? In particular, why do Americans go to Mexico ?
They come for the history of Mexico (Meso-American ruins, colonial cities,….), nature
reserves and the beach resorts. Many of the beach resort sites have become popular
destinations for college students from the United States (for the Spring and Summer breaks).
12.
Immigration trends between the US and Mexico :
Read the following article from paragraph 4 until 8:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/04/mexico-is-getting-better-and-fewermexicans-want-to-leave/275064/
What is the number of Mexican immigrants crossing the border each year nowadays? 300.000
people.
What can you say if you compare it to the beginning of the 2000s ? A huge decline since at
the beginning of the 2000s, there were 850.000 immigrants per year.
Why is America less attractive than before ? List the four main reasons.
a) The economic downturn in America has eliminated many low-wages jobs that used to
be taken by Mexicans.
b) Crime is falling in Mexico.
c) The population is aging so young Mexicans have less competition for jobs.
d) The general economic situation in Mexico is improving too. Its economic growth rivals
Brazil’s.