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SUMMARY INTRODUCTION 258 I. BACKGROUND ON THE TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER WALL 259 A. History of Border Wall Legislation 259 B. Border Wall Construction Process 261 C. The Wall 266 D. Widespread Opposition to the Texas-Mexico Border Wall 271 II. THE HUMAN RIGHTS RESPONSE TO THE BORDER WALL 273 A. The University of Texas Working Group on Human Rights and Border Wall 273 B. Human Rights Impact of the Texas-Mexico Border Wall 275 1. Articles II and XXIII of the American Declaration 275 2. Article IV of the American Declaration 281 3. Articles V and XIII of the American Declaration 283 4. Article XVIIl of the American Declaration 284 III. EVALUATING THE HUMAN RIGHTS STRATEGY 285 IV. CONCLUSION 293 INTRODUCTION In the name of immigration control and national security, the U.S. began a massive project in 2006 to build physical barriers along segments of the border between the U.S. and Mexico with a mandate to construct 670 miles of reinforced wall. Opposition to the portions of the wall1 built along the Texas-Mexico border was particularly fierce and led to a number of efforts to challenge construction of the barrier in Texas. Yet, more than 100 miles of wall were built along the Texas-Mexico border in 2008 and 2009.2 The construction of the wall along the Texas-Mexico border has destroyed important environmental resources, has involved extensive taking of private lands owned by Latino small property owners along the border and has dramatically impacted the means of subsistence and way of life of persons living in border communities, including the members of several indigenous groups. This Article will explore the human rights approach adopted by academics at the University of Texas to examine the wall project. This paper focuses on the Texas-Mexico border wall, although wall segments also have been built along the border between Mexico and the states of California, New Mexico and Arizona. Construction in Texas, which took place in the last stage of border wall construction, engendered unique opposition that led to the adoption of the human rights approach analyzed in this article. This paper will first provide background on the legal framework for border wall construction and describe the manner in which the construction project unfolded. It will then explore the rationale for adoption of a human rights advocacy strategy to address the border wall issue. It will also describe the methodology used and the conclusions reached through the human rights analysis. Finally, it will make an effort to reflect critically on the decision to deploy international human rights law to challenge the border wall and on the effectiveness and limitations of that strategy as it played out. I. BACKGROUND ON THE TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER WALL A. History of Border Wall Legislation Historically, the U.S. and Mexico have not been separated by a physical wall or other barrier along most of the border.3 Border bridges and official land crossing points have existed at irregular intervals to control and facilitate cross-border movement. …
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