Collaborative cross-border security infrastructure and systems: Identifying policy, managerial and technological challenges

A long-standing problem in the US-Mexico bilateral agenda is migration. Although both countries have important agreements to promote economic exchange and trade, the events of 9/11 and other acts of terrorism have increased concerns about border security. Since the US-Mexico border is one of the most important borders in the world in terms of activity, securing it without interfering with the legitimate flow of people and goods, poses an important challenge. The purpose of this paper is to propose conceptual frameworks and models to facilitate collaboration across national borders, by discussing and considering key factors for collaborative US-Mexico Border Security Infrastructure and Systems. Border security technical solutions pose an interesting domain because there are a myriad of concerns (e.g., political, economic, social and cultural) outside the technical implementation that must be deliberated and examined. In this conceptual study, unique aspects of trust, governance, information sharing, culture, and technical infrastructure are identified as the key ingredients in a cross-border collaboration effort. A bi-national organizational network appears to be an effective institutional design to develop a better understanding of the problem, as well as required policies and technologies. This approach is consistent with experiments, research, and conclusions found in the European Union.