How crossing the US-Mexico border became a crime

Criminalisation of informal border crossings occurred amid an immigration boom from Mexico

It was not always a crime to enter the United States without authorisation.

In fact, for most of American history, immigrants could enter the United States without official permission and not fear criminal prosecution by the federal government.

That changed in 1929. On its surface, Congress’s new prohibitions on informal border crossings simply modernised the U.S. immigration system by compelling all immigrants to apply for entry. However, in my new book “City of Inmates,” I detail how Congress outlawed border crossings with the specific intent of criminalising, prosecuting and imprisoning Mexican immigrants.

Knowing this history is important