Hazy borders : legality and illegality across the US-Mexico border
Alberto Hernández
This paper analyzes the different trading networks, the flux of merchandise, and the actors involved in the act of crossing goods through the United States-Mexico border, particularly in the Tijuana-San Diego region. It argues that the line dividing both countries works differently depending on who travels through it, what kind of items are brought across, and which direction a person is going. These different patterns can be further analyzed when comparing northbound and southbound traffic; roughly speaking, products crossed into the US are usually prescription drugs, herbs, food, and cigarettes, among others; whereas, items crossed into Mexico are usually construction materials, electronics and electrodomestics, toys, marijuana, guns, and so forth. This paper proposes that the border is not a well-defined barrier when it comes to different types of merchandise, instead becoming hazy and allowing for the small-scale smuggling of products without incurring legal and/or problematic situations.
Year of publication: |
2021
|
---|---|
Authors: | Hernández Hernández, Alberto |
Published in: |
Journal of illicit economies and development : JIED. - London : LSE Press, ISSN 2516-7227, ZDB-ID 3008388-6. - Vol. 3.2021, 2, p. 285-297
|
Subject: | firearms | legality-illegality | narcotics | smuggling | US-Mexico border | Mexiko | Mexico | Grenzregion | Border region | Illegaler Handel | Illicit trade | Grenze | Political border | Illegale Migration | Illegal immigration |
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