Immigration, Environment, and Security on the U.S.-Mexico Border

Description

This book examines the convergence of conservation and security efforts along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona. The author presents a unique analysis of the history of Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, a federally protected border wilderness area. Beginning in the early 1990s, changes to U.S. immigration policy dramatically altered the political and natural landscape in and around Cabeza Prieta. In particular, the increasing presence of Border Patrol has contributed to environmental degradation in wilderness. Complicated human rights concerns are also explored in the book. Protecting wildlife in an area with high rates of undocumented border-crossing and smuggling results in complex and sometimes controversial conservation policies. Ultimately, the observations and analysis presented in this book illustrate ways in which the politics of race and nationalism are subtly, but significantly, interwoven into border environmental and security policies. Front Matter ....Pages i-xxi Introduction: Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge (Lisa Meierotto)....Pages 1-16 A Disciplined Space (Lisa Meierotto)....Pages 17-31 The Environmental and Political History of Cabeza Prieta: People in Wilderness (Lisa Meierotto)....Pages 33-70 Perceptions of Environmental Degradation (Lisa Meierotto)....Pages 71-96 Human Rights in Border Conservation: Access to Water at Cabeza Prieta (Lisa Meierotto)....Pages 97-115 Saving Sonoran Pronghorn: Science, Policy, and Endangered Species (Lisa Meierotto)....Pages 117-140 The Future of Cabeza Prieta and Significance for Global Conservation (Lisa Meierotto)....Pages 141-156 Back Matter ....Pages 157-187