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Line. Fence. Wall.
The U.S. - Mexico border, according to a video on the official White House website, is very quiet: nothing but tires crunching on gravel and the wind whistling around a high, solid-looking wall. But that's not the whole story. Today on the show, how that border went from a line in the sand, to a fence, to a wall.Guests:Rachel St. John, associate professor of history at U.C. Davis, and author of Line in the Sand: A History of the Western US Mexico BorderMiguel Levario, associate professor of history at Texas Tech University and author of Militarizing the Border: When Mexicans Became the EnemySilvestre Reyes, former Congressman (D-TX), and former Border Patrol Sector Chief Eduardo Contreras, realtor in Brownsville, TexasTo access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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Line. Fence. Wall.
September 11, 20253:05 AM ET
[Ramtin Arablouei, co-host and co-producer of Throughline.]
Line. Fence. Wall.
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49:05
49:05
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Transcript](https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5536953)
<iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5536953/nx-s1-mx-5711206" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
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Transcript](https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5536953)