Timeline: History of the border

The border is nearly 2,000 miles long and covers four U.S. and six Mexican states. It's the most frequently crossed international border in the world, with some 350 million people crossing legally every year, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico says.

1836 -- Texas gains independence from Mexico; Rio Grande becomes its southern border.

1848 -- At the end of the Mexican-American War, officials sign the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, in which Mexico gives up nearly half its territory, including modern-day California, most of Arizona and New Mexico and parts of Colorado, Nevada and Utah.

1853 -- Under the Gadsden Purchase, the United States pays $10 million for about 30,000 square miles that runs south of the Gila River, east to El Paso and west to California. The purchase includes Tucson.

1904 -- The first border patrol is established to stop Asian workers from entering the U.S. through Mexico.

1910 -- The Mexican Revolution begins. Thousands of Mexicans cross the border for safety.

1921 -- The Immigration Act of 1921 restricts the immigration of Southern and Eastern Europeans. Agriculture lobbyists rally to exempt Mexicans.

1924 -- The Immigration Act of 1924 establishes the U.S. Border Patrol, halts the flow of other immigrant groups, establishes border stations to formally admit Mexican workers and sets a tax on each entry.

1942 -- The Bracero program begins in response to worker shortages brought on by World War II, allowing Mexicans to work temporarily in the United States, mostly in agricultural areas.

1953 -- "Operation Wetback" takes place, during which the U.S. Immigration Service deports more than 3.8 million people of Mexican heritage.

1963 -- The United States and Mexico sign the Chamizal Treaty to divide land around the Rio Grande in El Paso. As part of the treaty, a 167-foot-wide, 15-foot-deep concrete channel is constructed to prevent the Rio Grande from blurring the international boundary in the future.

1986 -- Congress passes the Immigration Reform and Control Act, granting amnesty to an estimated 3 million illegal immigrants and making it illegal to knowingly hire illegal workers.

1993 -- Then-El Paso Border Patrol chief and current U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, puts into place the first deterrence strategy along the border with "Operation Hold the Line."

1994 -- NAFTA — the North American Free Trade Agreement — goes into effect, stimulating U.S.-Mexican trade. Massive increases in border populations occur. Operation Gatekeeper begins in San Ysidro/ Tijuana, the beginning of Border Patrol's national deterrence strategy.

2001 -- Attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon cause the country to re-examine immigration policies.

2003 -- The Department of Homeland Security becomes operational, incorporating parts of 22 agencies, including the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which is abolished; immigration functions are divided between Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Citizenship and Immigration Services.

2005 -- House Bill 4437 is passed, calling for 700 miles of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border at an estimated cost of $2.2 billion, and making illegal crossing into the United States a felony.

The governors of Arizona and New Mexico declare states of emergency in their counties along the border.

2006 -- Senate Bill 2611 is passed, calling for 370 miles of fencing and 500 miles of vehicle barriers on the border and 2,400 more Border Patrol agents per year through 2011. It also creates a guest-worker program.

Sources: PBS — The Border; Migration Policy Institute; Encyclopedia Britannica

There is an awakening of Mexican and U.S. nationals of Mexican heritage, that sees them wanting to restore Mexican status to the Southwestern United States. (Link 58% believe) They believe that this region was stolen from the Aztec decendents and should be returned. That is a flawed premise. I'll explain why later.

This movement is most recognizable by the name Aztlan, and the attempt to create it using California as the cornerstone, then branching out. Notable California politicians have at one point been members of organizations agreeing with this plan.

Califronia Lt. Governor Cruse Bustamante was one. The current Los Angeles Mayor, Antonio R. Villaraigosa was another. There have been/are others.

In truth, the Aztec empire was located in what is today central Mexico. Map It's influence did not impact the territory that is now the Western United States. That's just a pipe dream that some have been led to believe, to further a cause.

In 1521, Spain colonized the Aztec region of what is today Mexico. Some people refer to that region as Mexica, evidently the last period prior to Spanish colonization. From 1521 onward, Cortez began an effort to expant Spanish influence northword. At one point it eveidently stretched out to New Orleans, Kansas and toward the Canadian border. Spanish names extend across the region to varying degrees.

In 1825, Spain relinquished it's grip on Mexico and granted it independence. From 1825 to around 1852 or 54, depending, Mexico did have claim to the Mexican territories. It is not true that they had claim to them predating Spanish colonization. They held those territories for around 25 to 30 years. That is all. Thus the claim of wanting to return Aztec lands to the decendants of the Aztecs, is poorly focused. The only way that could happen, is if today Mexico itself were to cede land back to the indiginous Aztec decendents in central Mexico.

California would obviously not be a part of that land. Had Spain not colonized Mexica and pushed ever outward as it did, it's a hard sell to claim Mexico would have. It wasn't that organized. It didn't have that much conquestive drive.

The PBS timeline left all this out. I find it a bit strange that Mexican independence would be left out of the timeline. Wouldn't you think 1825 would be an important date to start a timeline about Mexico? I do.

Then the timeline leaves out most mentions of illegal aliens flooding into the United States.

For instance, it leaves out the promises leading up to the 1986 amensty plan. Those promises included the claim that only 1 million illegal immigrants were inside the United States. Not only was that wrong, but the actual figure of those naturalized during the naturalization process was 2.7 to 3.5 million. Little known trailing amnesties pushed these numbers up even higher.

There's no mention of the 8 to 10 million illegal immigrants inside the United States as of 2000. There is no mention of the increased flow of illegal immigrants reaching 2 to 3 million per hear by 2004.

How can you give a timeline of the border and leave out Mexican Independence and upwards of 15 million illegal immigrants inside our nation, perhaps as high as 22.5 to 30 million?

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