The militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border, 1978-1992: low-intensity conflict doctrine comes home

This monograph argues that during the 1978-1992 period, U.S. immigration and drug enforcement policies and practices in the U.S.-Mexico border region became increasingly militarized. Tim Dunn examines these policies and practices in detail, and considers them in light of the strategy and tactics of the Pentagon doctrine of low-intensity conflict. Developed during the 1980s for use in Central America and elsewhere, this doctrine is characterized by broad-ranging provisions for establishing social control over specific civilian populations, and its implementation has often been accompanied by widespread human-rights violations. The study reflects a deep concern for human-rights conditions in the U.S.-Mexico border region - which has a troubled history in that regard - and is informed by the belief that the official story is usually but one version of events and should never be accepted uncritically.