KATE GOWMAN

During the summers of 2011 & 2012, Kate was granted access to document conceivably the most significant and debated stretch of the US / Mexican borderlands. Capturing several zones that are now closed off indefinitely to non US Government employees. In the beginning of the 20th century, a simple line was first enforced on the US / Mexico border, followed by a wire and then, a fence. Nearing the end of the century, for many along the divide, the border had expanded into a wall. In 2006, US Congress passed the Secure Fence Act, instructing the Department of Homeland Security to provide for at least 2 layers of reinforced fencing, the installation of additional physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and sensors through 700 miles of the US / Mexico borderlands. Under the force of the REAL ID Act, Homeland Security was allowed to waive regulations, acts and laws.  As well as, pursuing construction without publicizing plans or public comment periods, thus making the precise location and construction of the fencing difficult for the public to ascertain. Patchworks of physical barriers and fences have been erected through remote deserts, mountains, urban streetscapes, and sand dunes, eventually plummeting into the Pacific Ocean. These new spatiality’s of sovereign power in the U.S. are having significant impacts, dramatically reconfiguring the land, its natural movement of wildlife, nature and water; as well as the relationship between law, federal government, its citizens and neighboring country of Mexico. As more Bills are passed, politicians seize more power. In 2013, when discussing the future goal of the US / Mexican border, Senator John McCain stated; “We'll be the most militarized border since the fall of the Berlin Wall”.

Repurposed from raw military material, this corrugated steel was once used as portable touchdown pads for helicopters operating in Vietnam.  The panels are 12 feet long, 20 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick, welded to steel pipes buried 8 feet deep, typically standing 10ft tall. A mile of fencing requires 3080 panels costing about $5,000. Landing Mat is the oldest and most common border fence still in use in every border state except Texas. Incidentally, agents cannot see the possible dangers on the Mexican side and are frequently attacked by rock throwers. The USBP often cut holes into lower segments of the fence, to help reveal if someone is directly on the other side. Because of its inefficiency, Landing Mat is high on the list for replacement and/or additional fencing. 

The Gulch is a steep canyon formed by two mesas, which includes California's last salt marsh, and is home to over 350 bird species (Sierra Club, 2008). To complete its fencing project, United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) proposed to fill Smugglers Gulch by leveling the tops of the two mesas and in-filling the canyon with 2.1 million yards of earth (CCC, 2003). The California Coastal Commission argued that INS proposal would cause “significant adverse effects” to the areas Multiple Species Conservation Program, the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, endangered species, multiple wetland and upland habitats, public recreation areas and other public benefits. The Commissions primary concern was that the movement of this massive quantity of earth would cause erosion that would substantially change the ecosystem surrounding the Gulch (CCC, 2003).  In September 2005, DHS Secretary Chertoff announced that he was making use of the REAL ID Acts waiver authority to suspend National Environmental Protection Agency and about 40 other related regulations /acts in order to complete the fence.  In July of 2008, the construction began, dramatically reshaping the topography.  More then any other US border area, Smugglers Gulch demonstrates how border infrastructure is manipulating political, legal, and physical processes in the borderlands. 

Fortifying the coastal US / Mexican border stands an 18-foot tall steel fence barrier, which plunges 300 feet into the Pacific Ocean. The fence is made of 6-inch steel slats, coated with rustproof material, combined with tight iron mesh, which makes it impossible to pass objects through. A posted sign reads: “Peligro Fierros Bajo Del Agua / Danger Objects Under Water”, to discourage any thoughts of swimming to the other side. In 1971 the US dedicated this "Friendship Park", allowing friends and family from each border side to meet and share hugs, food, flowers, under USBP watch, through a once less substantial fence. Despite the new secured infrastructure, people from both nations have continued to gather.