Border Patrol as a U.S. Institution

Kelly Lytle Hernández’s work provides the reader with an interesting, concise, yet detailed account of U.S. and Mexico border development. Hernandez tells this story from a political standpoint; focusing on the challenges the early border patrol had to encounter on a day to day basis. She backs up her writing with extensive research from a variety of different sources, many of which have been undiscovered for years.

Hernandez mentions throughout this book about the various border patrol acts that were established. For example, the original establishment of the U.S. Border patrol on May 28, 1924. An Immigration Act in 1882 “that banned all lunatics, idiots, convicts, those liable to become public charges, and those suffering from contagious diseases” (p. 35).

There is a lot of first-hand accounts of the early Border Patrol, with specific details mentioned about specific individuals. There is a detailed story concerning and individual named Jefferson Davis, who joined the Immigration Service as a Mounted Chinese Inspector and was a mature sixty-three years old when the Border Patrol was established in 1924 “is remembered as the father of the U.S. Border Patrol” (p. 49).

The personal stories that Hernandez provides throughout this reading are of great interest to any Borderlands historian. Hernandez provides a detailed account of two men — John and James Cottingham. They were Border Patrol workers and were very close brothers. James was shot by a Mexican liquor smuggler. As an act of revenge, John killed every person in sight on the Mexican side of the river. In mentioning stories like this, Hernandez “exemplifies the social entanglements of Border Patrol violence” (p. 71).

Hernandez also brings up the fiscal issues of the Border Patrol and how the funding for this department was not generously funded. There was mention that funding to keep Mexican’s on the other side of the border was not deemed as fiscally responsible.

Mexican Labor Emigration was an important topic during this era and Hernandez does well in explaining its importance in the history of the borderlands. A lot of the information on in this section was not widely publicized. Hernandez even points this out by stating, “this chapter tells the little-known story of how the tightening of U.S. immigration control forced Mexican authorities to take a new look at how they managed Mexican labor emigration to the United States” (p. 99). She then mentions where she got her information for this section.

Hernandez drew upon a lot of resources when she wrote this book and it shows. There are quite a few first-hand accounts and personal stories woven throughout this great work. Hernandez continues to mention the sources on which she drew upon to gain the information. Her writing is very detailed and from my point of view, does not seem to downplay any perspectives. Her examination of border policies does add to our understanding of the complexities of border development through a thorough and detailed search of various source documents, and first-hand accounts from people that had lived through this time — both on the receiving and giving end of Border Politics.

Hernandez, K. L. (2010). Migra!: A history of the U.S. border patrol. University of California Press.