A questão da securitização das migrações, enquanto problema de pesquisa, surgiu no contexto dos debates acerca da ampliação do conceito de segurança que tomou corpo no pós-Guerra Fria, dadas as grandes transformações que se sucederam a este evento-chave da política internacional contemporânea. No caso da fronteira Estados Unidos-México, este é um fenômeno que, de fato, pode ser observado desde o final dos anos 1970, tendo atingido o seu ápice no pós-Onze de Setembro. A partir deste cenário, o objetivo do presente trabalho de pesquisa é o de analisar a dinâmica da securitização dos fluxos migratórios no contexto da fronteira Estados Unidos-México; em especial, o caso dos imigrantes indocumentados, que são o alvo primário das práticas securitizantes. Para tanto, será empregado o ferramental teórico desenvolvido pela Escola de Copenhague; em especial, a teoria de securitização e o conceito de segurança societal. Ao final, buscar-se-á problematizar a questão, tendo-se em vista as reflexões desenvolvidas ao longo do trabalho, bem como avaliar as possibilidades de desenvolvimento da mesma, assumindo como pressuposto que o ideal seria a progressiva desecuritização do tema e a adoção de uma política migratória, por parte dos EUA, mais moderna, pragmática e humana, e que a questão da segurança fosse tratada separadamente, considerando a questão migratória mas sem elevá-la ao nível do excepcional, que é o que justifica a securitização, a qual tem um enorme potencial para gerar, nesta seara, graves consequências de caráter humanitário. / The securitization of migrations issue as a research problem has arisen in the context of the debates on broadening the concept of security in the post-Cold War era, taking in consideration the significant changes that followed this key-event in the contemporary international politics. In the case of the United States-Mexico border, this is a phenomenon that, in fact, can be observed since the late 1970s, having reached its apex in the post-09/11. In this scenario, the aim of the current research work is to assess the dynamics of the securitization of migrations flows in the context of the United States-Mexico border; mainly, the case of the undocumented immigrants, who are the primary targets of the securitization practices. Theoretical methodology developed by the Copenhagen School; mainly the securitization theory and the concept of societal security, will be utilized as assessment tools in the current research work. At the end, the objective will be to problematize the question, taking in consideration the reflections raised during the research work, as well as evaluating the development possibilities, assuming as an ideal scenario the progressive desecuritization and the adoption of a more modern, pragmatic, and human migratory policy by the United States; and that the security issue be treated separately, considering the migratory issue but without elevating it to the exceptional level, which justifies the securitization, and has an enormous potential of generating severe humanitarian consequences in this field.

A questão da securitização das migrações, enquanto problema de pesquisa, surgiu no contexto dos debates acerca da ampliação do conceito de segurança que tomou corpo no pós-Guerra Fria, dadas as grandes transformações que se sucederam a este evento-chave da política internacional contemporânea. No caso da fronteira Estados Unidos-México, este é um fenômeno que, de fato, pode ser observado desde o final dos anos 1970, tendo atingido o seu ápice no pós-Onze de Setembro. A partir deste cenário, o objetivo do presente trabalho de pesquisa é o de analisar a dinâmica da securitização dos fluxos migratórios no contexto da fronteira Estados Unidos-México; em especial, o caso dos imigrantes indocumentados, que são o alvo primário das práticas securitizantes. Para tanto, será empregado o ferramental teórico desenvolvido pela Escola de Copenhague; em especial, a teoria de securitização e o conceito de segurança societal. Ao final, buscar-se-á problematizar a questão, tendo-se em vista as reflexões desenvolvidas ao longo do trabalho, bem como avaliar as possibilidades de desenvolvimento da mesma, assumindo como pressuposto que o ideal seria a progressiva desecuritização do tema e a adoção de uma política migratória, por parte dos EUA, mais moderna, pragmática e humana, e que a questão da segurança fosse tratada separadamente, considerando a questão migratória mas sem elevá-la ao nível do excepcional, que é o que justifica a securitização, a qual tem um enorme potencial para gerar, nesta seara, graves consequências de caráter humanitário. / The securitization of migrations issue as a research problem has arisen in the context of the debates on broadening the concept of security in the post-Cold War era, taking in consideration the significant changes that followed this key-event in the contemporary international politics. In the case of the United States-Mexico border, this is a phenomenon that, in fact, can be observed since the late 1970s, having reached its apex in the post-09/11. In this scenario, the aim of the current research work is to assess the dynamics of the securitization of migrations flows in the context of the United States-Mexico border; mainly, the case of the undocumented immigrants, who are the primary targets of the securitization practices. Theoretical methodology developed by the Copenhagen School; mainly the securitization theory and the concept of societal security, will be utilized as assessment tools in the current research work. At the end, the objective will be to problematize the question, taking in consideration the reflections raised during the research work, as well as evaluating the development possibilities, assuming as an ideal scenario the progressive desecuritization and the adoption of a more modern, pragmatic, and human migratory policy by the United States; and that the security issue be treated separately, considering the migratory issue but without elevating it to the exceptional level, which justifies the securitization, and has an enormous potential of generating severe humanitarian consequences in this field.

The vitality of international transborder natural resources is important for the preservation of wildlife corridors, clean water, clean air, and working lands. In particular, not only does the Texas Rio Grande Valley Region in the United States (U.S.), on the U.S.-Mexico border, offer critical habitat important to North American migratory species, the area also provides substantial agricultural goods (i.e., sugarcane, sorghum, melons, onions, citrus, carrots, cabbage, and cattle). Hence, the dilemma between consumptive and non-consumptive uses of natural resources along a large geographic expanse separated by sociopolitical and sociocultural differences, is further complicated. Latinos of Mexican descent along the southwestern U.S. are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the U.S., yet their influence on U.S. natural resource allocation and management has been largely ignored. For this reason, the purpose of my study was threefold: (1) to determine public perceptions toward natural resources, the environment, and conservation; (2) to assess general environmental behaviors; and (3) to determine general recreational behaviors among three student population groups along the U.S.Mexico border region. The student groups were comprised of Texas students (Texas Latino and Texas non-Latino white), and Mexican students from three northern Mexico states, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas. A survey was derived from three of the most frequently used environmental concern, behavior, and recreation indices used for research in the discipline. Predictors of environmental concern, behavior, and outdoor recreation participation for my sample varied across sociodemographic and sociopolitical variables for each student group. A review of environmental attitudes found Mexican students were more environmentally friendly (~ 2.35 odds; P < 0.05) than their U.S. counterparts. Among the three student groups, basic environmental behaviors (environmental conservation contribution; avoiding environmentally harmful products; changing car oil; and lawn responsibility) were influenced (P &lt; 0.05) by environmental orientation, political candidate's environmental position, father and mother's educational attainment, place of origin, sex, and combined parent income. Outdoor recreation participation and constraints to outdoor recreation participation among the student groups were influenced (P &lt; 0.05) by parent income, age, place of origin, and environmental orientation. Examples of constraints were: not enough money, personal health reasons, inadequate transportation, and personal safety reasons. Findings from my study benefit natural resource and environmental organizations pursuing collaborative program development and implementation along the U.S.-Mexico border and other transborder regions.

Background: Compared to the general United States (U.S.) population, Arizona counties along the U.S.-Mexico border have a higher prevalence of dental caries, which can be reduced with adequate fluoride exposure. Because of concern regarding local tap water quality, fluoride-free bottled water consumption is common in this region, raising concern that families are not receiving adequate fluoride to promote dental health. Objective: To evaluate the levels of fluoride in tap and bottled water as well as the use of fluoride supplements in an Arizona border community. Methods: Low-income Latino households (n = 90) who report use of bottled water as their primary source of water intake were recruited. Participants completed a questionnaire about their and their children's dental histories and use of fluoride supplements. Water samples (bottled and tap) were collected from a subset of households (n = 30) for analysis of fluoride. Results: Fluoride detection levels were significantly greater (p = 0.02, Fisher's exact test) in tap water (average = 0.49 mg/dL) than in bottled water, yet, the majority (22/30) were below the range for optimal dental health (0.7-1.2 mg/L). Concentration of fluoride in the majority (29/30) of bottled water samples was below the quantitative detection limit of 0.4 mg/L. Children were significantly less likely to have dental caries if they received fluoride varnishing treatments (p = 0.01, Fisher's exact test), lived in households that reported using fluoridated mouthwash (p < 0.001, Fisher's exact test), their parents received fluoride education (p = 0.01, Fisher's exact test), and their parents reported visiting a dentist yearly (p < 0.001, Fisher's exact test). Furthermore, none of the participants reported receiving recommendations from health-care providers about fluoride supplementation or variance in content by the type of water consumed. Conclusion: Although fluoride was significantly more likely to be detected in tap than bottled water, neither water source in this border community is likely to provide enough fluoride for optimal dental health. Low-income children in this region may benefit from regular access to fluoride varnishing treatments and/or use of fluoridated mouthwash, interventions that could be tested in future well-designed trials.

Water resource management is a multifaceted issue that becomes more complex when considering multiple nations’ interdependence upon a single shared transboundary river basin. With over 200 transboundary river basins worldwide shared by two or more countries, it is important to develop tools to allow riparian countries to cooperatively manage these shared and often limited water resources. Cooperative game theory provides tools for determining if cooperation can exist across jurisdictional boundaries through a suite of mathematical tools that measure the benefits of cooperation among basin stakeholders. Cooperative game theory is also useful for transboundary negotiation because it provides a range of solutions which will satisfy all players in the game and provides methods to fairly and equitably allocate the gains of that cooperation to all participating stakeholders, if that cooperation is shown to be possible. This dissertation applies cooperative game theory concepts to the Rio Grande/Bravo basin in North America as a case study. The Rio Grande/Bravo forms the 1,200 km border between the United States and Mexico. A comprehensive water resources planning model was developed for the basin including the major water users, water related infrastructure including reservoirs, and water policy logic related to the bi-national water sharing agreements. The water planning model is used to calculate the characteristic functions for the cooperative game analysis. For the Water Demand Reduction Game, the largest agricultural users, District 005, District 025 and the Texas Watermaster Section below Falcon were defined individual players. The cooperative analysis was between the individual players rather than the countries. In addition to the cooperative analysis, performance measures for water deliveries were calculated to determine if water delivery was improved to each player under the cooperative game. The results show that the amount of additional water to the downstream players may not be large enough to induce cooperation. The small amount of increase in water deliveries is related to the large system losses as the water travels downstream over a long distance and a division of water under the 1944 Treaty between the United States and Mexico. / text