How Long Is The Us Mexican Border In Miles

The United states of america-Mexico border fence stretches into the countryside near Nogales, Arizona, in March 2013.

The United states of america' southern border with Mexico is one,933 miles long, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the tip of South Texas.

Some 700 of those miles have fencing in identify.

That's not enough for President Donald Trump, who promised during his campaign to build a border wall.

Photographer John Moore has driven "every inch" of the border while covering the immigration issue for over a decade. He's spent time on both sides, tagging forth with Border Patrol agents and migrants.

Through his photos, you tin can run into how the fencing varies greatly on dissimilar parts of the border.

People in Tijuana, Mexico, enjoy a late afternoon on the embankment in September 2016.

A fog hovers over the Rio Grande almost La Grulla, Texas, in December 2015.

Out west, between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, in that location'due south high double fencing to deter people from crossing illegally. Part of the fence goes correct through the beach and continues into a section of the Pacific Ocean.

Further east, in Texas, there's often no fencing at all. The Rio Grande and the rugged terrain around the river serve as a natural barrier.

In between, at that place's an array of fences with different shapes, sizes and materials. These fences do non all connect to grade one continuous line. In that location are some areas that have no fencing at all.

A United states of america Edge Patrol vehicle monitors an opening in the edge fence virtually McAllen, Texas, in January 2017.

But Usa Border Patrol agents have all sorts of high-tech surveillance equipment to help them, from motion-sensor cameras to drones to tethered aerostat balloons that fly high over the border and provide a 360-degree view of the edge 24/7.

"There's no doubt that fencing is a deterrent, but it's only part of a larger, more than holistic approach that Homeland Security takes toward border security," Moore said.

Here'due south what the edge looks like in different cities along its path, from west to e:

San Diego, California

The border fence separating San Diego from Tijuana, United mexican states, extends into the Pacific Ocean in May 2017. Moore said the surface area is heavily surveilled from the American side, with tower-mounted cameras and frequent helicopter patrols. "Occasionally someone tries to swim around the debate, but often they accept to get rescued or they are quickly taken into custody by Edge Patrol agents," he said. "It's one of the most secure spots of the entire United states of america-Mexico border."

The fence separating San Diego, left, from Tijuana stops at the side of a large hill in May 2017. "Community and Border Protection oft does not have agents all along the border," Moore said. "However, they know the terrain features of certain regions. So although many undocumented immigrants tin can actually cross over the border, the terrain often funnels people through sure areas. And that'due south where the Border Patrol oftentimes sets upwards its checkpoints."

Tijuana, Mexico

A Usa Coast Guard patrol is seen from Tijuana as it flies over border fencing in November 2018.

Migrants shower outside a temporary shelter that was set up near the border fence in November 2018.

Maria Elena Carrillo holds her 3-year-old daughter, Camilla Escalante, while speaking through the edge fence in Tijuana in May 2016. The US Edge Patrol tightly controls the San Diego side, and during specific weekend hours it allows visitors to speak to loved ones through the fence at an surface area chosen Friendship Park.

Jacumba Hot Springs, California

A United states Border Patrol vehicle patrols the argue in Jacumba Hot Springs, California, in September 2016. "In sure areas there however exists what'due south known as landing-mat fencing," Moore said. "The landing mats are corrugated metal of, in fact, surplus cloth from the Vietnam State of war, which originally were intended to be used equally landing mats for helicopters in Vietnam and was later repurposed as The states-United mexican states edge fencing. … The landing-mat fencing is shorter in pinnacle and you can't see through it, which causes difficulties for Border Patrol agents considering they tin can't physically meet what'southward on the other side."

The edge argue stops at a hillside in Jacumba Hot Springs in September 2016.

Mexicali, Mexico

A painting of an Aztec warrior adorns the Mexican side of this fence in September 2016. Since 2007, Moore said, the U.s. government has been working to replace this kind of landing-mat fencing because of the dangers it poses to Border Patrol agents. One danger is "rocking incidents," where people on one side of the debate throw large rocks at agents who can't see them from the other side.

Felicity, California

A US Edge Patrol agent walks along the border at the Purple Sand Dunes, near Felicity, California, in November 2016. The 15-foot edge fence, also known as the "floating argue," sits atop the dunes and moves with the shifting sands.

Mexico is seen over the border fence at the Purple Sand Dunes in November 2016.

Tohono O'odham Reservation, Arizona

Young men walk along the Mexican side of the contend in a remote area of the Sonoran Desert, almost the Tohono O'odham Reservation in Arizona in Dec 2010. "In Arizona, I've photographed hundreds of miles of what'due south known every bit a vehicle bulwark," Moore said. "Information technology's essentially a series of bars in the ground that keep vehicles from coming across. Simply they exercise aught to stop people. This type of fencing is mostly used in remote areas."

Nogales, Arizona

Children on the Mexican side of the contend expect into Nogales, Arizona, in July 2018.

U.s.a. Border Patrol ranch liaison John "Cody" Jackson, right, rides with cattle rancher Dan Bell on Bell's ZZ Cattle Ranch in March 2013. Jackson meets regularly with local ranchers to coordinate the agency'southward efforts on border issues.

The border fence is seen at sunset in Nogales in July 2018.

Sunland Park, New Mexico

Different forms of fencing meet at the border nearly Sunland Park, New United mexican states, in Baronial 2017.

A border marking stands along the fence in October 2016. Workers were upgrading the fencing in the area to combat smugglers and illegal crossings.

El Paso, Texas

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, is seen from the Texas side of the border in October 2016. The Rio Grande serves as the border here. "The Rio Grande is a natural border, has been since 1848, and the ties betwixt cities and towns on either side are stiff," CNN'due south Gregory Krieg reported.

Fort Hancock, Texas

The U.S.-Mexico border fence stops while passing through farmland virtually Fort Hancock, Texas, in October 2016. Throughout vast stretches of West Texas, the fence starts and stops along the bank of the Rio Grande, which is frequently almost drained due to crop irrigation.

Lajitas, Texas

Golfers play near the edge in October 2016. The tiptop-rated class Black Jack's Crossing, at the luxury Lajitas Golf Resort, was opened in 2012 and built on the banks of the Rio Grande in Texas' remote and rugged Big Curve region.

The Rio Grande winds through the Santa Elena Coulee in the Big Bend region nearly Lajitas in August 2017. Big Bend is a formidable natural bulwark, Moore said, that doesn't crave the manpower and border security of more urban areas. Simply some people still try to cross it "considering that'southward where the Border Patrol is not. So even every bit we've seen the number of border crossers decrease over the last 20 years, the number of deaths while crossing the border has not decreased."

La Joya, Texas

United states of america Edge Patrol agent Sal De Leon stands nearly a department of the edge fence while on a patrol in La Joya, Texas, in April 2013. La Joya is in the Rio Grande Valley, which Moore says has sporadic fencing because of the river and is the No. 1 expanse for border crossings.

Mission, Texas

A man returns to the Mexican side of the border afterward washing his horse in the Rio Grande, near Mission, Texas, in July 2014. Migrants typically cross the river by raft, Moore said.

A Customs and Border Protection helicopter flies over the border in Mission in November 2018.

McAllen, Texas

US Border Patrol agents question undocumented immigrant families while taking them into custody virtually McAllen, Texas, in February 2018. A group of men, women and children from Fundamental America had crossed the Rio Grande to seek asylum.

A US Edge Patrol agent removes a ladder that undocumented immigrants used to climb a border fence near McAllen in October 2016. "One of the challenges with relying on fences and potentially walls is that bigger ladders can be congenital," Moore said.

Brownsville, Texas

The Mexican border town of Matamoros is seen on the Rio Grande, across the edge from Brownsville, Texas, in May 2013. The Rio Grande Valley has lots of dense mesquite thickets near decorated population centers, and that often provides easy hiding spots for people trying to cross the river, Moore wrote in his recent book "Undocumented."

John Moore is a Getty Images photographer based in New York. He has spent the past decade covering immigration from both sides of the United states of america-United mexican states border. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter.

Photo editor: Brett Roegiers