What’s the big deal? Well, aside from the obvious issues regarding sovereignty, waste of tax dollars, and the unavoidable border politicking, this raises fundamental issues about our understanding and management of the border and its problems. If the erroneous erection of this vehicle barrier was an isolated event in history, it would be easier to turn the page on the incident after all the appropriate corrections. However, the history of this border is plagued with mistakes of this nature. Most of us know that the border as we know it today results from the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the 1853 Gadsden Purchase. Well, the exact delimitation and demarcation of the boundary line is the product of continuous encroachment in both directions, diplomatic negotiations, binational mapping commissions, and the establishment and constant readjustment of border monuments and markers taking place between 1821 and 1897. All this had to happen in order for both countries to get it together and figure out precisely where the boundary would sit. Throughout the 19th century, the border rocked north and south on the local’s whim. Sometimes, border markers were moved to justify land use, other times to appropriate it. Finally, in the late 1800s the International Boundary and Water Commission produced and mapped the border to the agreement and satisfaction of both countries. They also provided geographic coordinates, which enable both countries to abandon their reliance on topographic markers such as rivers, canyons and mountains. Not knowing or not agreeing on the location of the international boundary is a serious issue. It was a “misunderstanding” of this nature which launched the Mexican American war in 1846. Mexico recognized the Nueces River as Texan boundary, while the United States insisted it was the Rio Grande several miles south. When Mexico send troops to its understood border with Texas, President Polk considered it an invasion of newly designated American soil. We all know what happened next. A very famous thinker and theorist once said that history tends to repeat itself, “the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.” The history of the border now qualifies as a several-act farce. It is difficult to understand how, after making such a big deal and a media spectacle of these efforts to secure the border, an American vehicle barrier would end up being built in Mexico. In an age in which the topographic map and compass have been substituted by significantly more reliable GPS technologies, it is inconceivable that due care, attention, and precaution are not being put into building border infrastructure. If, when dealing with the border, we cannot even get its location right, what else are we getting wrong? Since the border is that elusive, perhaps it is time we stop what we are doing, take a look at where we have been and done, and finally put some brainpower into the management of our border. Rocio Magaña is a PhD candidate from the University of Chicago. Her research focuses on border safety and border security. She can be reached at magana@uchicago.edu Have an idea for a guest commentary? Let me know.