Drug trafficking and immigration: Impact on the borderlands culture of South Texas.

Abstract

Mexico borderlands milieu has been described as interdependent. Recent changes resulting from drug trafficking, immigration, and border security have been viewed as a threat to that cooperative milieu. This 10-year intergenerational longitudinal study in 5 nonmetropolitan U.S.-Mexico border communities in South Texas investigated the relation between (a) drug trafficking and related violence, recent immigration from Mexico, and increased border security measures, and (b) frequency of cross-border travel among native Mexican Americans. Phase I (1998 -2000) was part of a larger study (56 families) on the relation of acculturation to health. Interviews and demographic questionnaires were administered to participants from 10 families (consisting of at least 1 adolescent and grandparent and 2 parents). Perceptions of negative changes to the borderlands milieu were assessed. Drug violence was viewed as most important in reducing cross-border travel and in contributing to distrust of recent immigrants from Mexico. Phase II, completed 10 years after Phase I in 2011-2012, included an additional 20 families, along with the 10 from Phase I, and confirmed a continuing reduction in frequency of cross-border travel and alienation between native Mexican Americans and new immigrants. The findings provide insight into the transformation of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands of South Texas from cultural interdependence to alienation.

Factors Explaining Variation in Alcohol Use Disorder Prevalence Across Border and Nonborder Communities in Texas

“…The borderlands have been the focus of substantial recent media attention due to elevated drug trafficking and drug‐related violence, and remain an area of high policy and legal tension (Ramirez et al., ). Until recently, however, large‐scale epidemiological studies focusing on alcohol and drugs have been lacking.…”

The Relation of Drug Trafficking Fears and Cultural Identity to Attitudes Toward Mexican Immigrants in Five South Texas Communities

“…Our findings indicate that in the drug wars era, native borderlander Mexican Americans are associating new immigrants from Mexico with drug trafficking and related crimes (Ramirez, Argueta, and Grasso 2013). They also strongly believe that the newcomers are defrauding government assistance programs (Miller, Polinard, and Wrinkle 1984; Polinard, Wrinkle, and de la Garza 1984; De la Garza et al 1991; Binder, Polinard, and Wrinkle 1997).…”

“…More recently, Schaan (2009) has noted that drug trafficking and violence in Mexico are having a spill-over effect that is changing the milieu of US borderlands communities. Ramirez, Argueta, and Grasso (2013) found that US–Mexico borderland community residents perceived that drug violence on the Mexican side of the border was spilling over into the US. Furthermore, this belief was related to their distrust of recent immigrants from Mexico, fearing that many of them might be associated with the cartels.…”

“…With the advent of the drug wars era (Payan 2006) and the resulting spill-over effects from drug crimes and violence (Ramirez, Argueta, and Grasso 2013; Schaan 2009), these attitudes are likely to be even more diverse and complex. Compounding this problem may be the fact that the data for the relation of cultural identity to attitudes toward immigrants could be confounded because cultural identity measures on borderlander participants have been limited to assessing Mexican identity while ignoring identity with Anglo culture.…”