Consciously or not, those of us involved in Border Studies operate within a generally agreed parameter about what constitutes the U.S.-Mexico Border and its study. Today, representatives of various disciplines, as well as proponents of different perspectives and individuals in both countries, increasingly refer to a basic group of assumptions when discussing the region. Although much disagreement surrounds Border studies, some of it heated, research mostly departs from the same nucleus of premises. We mostly agree, for instance, that the Border that joins Mexico and the United States comprises far more than the strip of land contiguous to the international boundary. Most concur that it is a region whose identity, economic activities, cultural life, etc., supersedes its binational nature to be integrated in many respects. Although it appears to be a straightforward and self-evident concept from our vantage point, many years of convoluted research trails through parched deserts were necessary to reach that point.

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