Tale of Two Borders: Mexicanization of the Canadian Border

• In Event: Understanding Prosecution in Federal and International Contexts

Abstract

Border protection has emerged as a major issue in the 2014 U.S. Presidential elections-an issue dear to most voters: Republicans, Democrats, Independents. The unilateral actions by Texas Governor Greg Abbot to use the National Guard to police portions of the US/Mexico border adjacent to Texas directly challenges the jurisdiction of the federal Border Patrol while additionally challenging the Supreme Court's 1990 Perpich v. U.S. Department of Defense decision to federal supremacy in use of the Guard as an authorized militia. Adding to this State vs. Federal border authority is the actions of New Hampshire Governor, Chris Sununu who not only openly supports the Texas initiative, but want a similar militarization of New Hampshire's 58-mile section of the "Swanton Section" of the border with Quebec, Canada. Sununu also authorized $850,000 for the deployment of 15 NH Army National Guard members to assist Texas in defending Eagle Pass. Our study provides and analysis of these actions.

Authors

• Laurence Armand French, University of New Hampshire

• Magdaleno Manzanarez, Western New Mexico University