# Potential Squat-able Land Areas on the US/MEX border.



## Deleted member 20 (Sep 16, 2019)

I have found two small parcels of Mexican land located on the US side of the Rio Grande. The land seems to be routinely & potentially traversed by the USPB as it has a border road that runs parallel to the River Google Maps - https://goo.gl/maps/fH8k8ETHJ9oiLAzi9

What I do not see is the cross jurisdictional travel & or enforcement by the Mexican authorities on the US side. They seem to be landlocked Islands of Mexican sovereign land located right off of US public roads. This area could be classified as a US constitution free zone as it technically is in Mexico but how often do USBP/Military patrol Mexican Sovereign land? With the 100 mile jurisdiction that is routinely used to patrol additional sovereign "tribal lands" does this allow for traversing & enforcing US laws on Terra Firma in Mexico? I do not think that this provision allows them to patroll for even 1 mile south of the established international border. Most likely there is some sort of written & established diplomatic agreement between these two countries but I am not sure?

Such an endeavor would take a group with brass balls as it would technically require the repeated sneaking in to & occupying acres of borderland wasteland in Mexico. One may not actually have to leave the territorial US to do this, without actually crossing the Rio Grande or using/needing a border checkpoint. For US citizens with proper ID, I would expect harassment but can not see much more. Once a US citizen is on US soil From my point of view: the burden would be on the Mexican authorities to actually try to enforce illegal immigration on a spit of land that they do not have access to by land. It is doubtful that even the Mexican military could access these lands easily & or without good reason. If there is no ability for the Mex authorities & could be argued and squatted away from the US maybe even using Mex squatting & adverse obsession laws.

it seems that it could be a transborder style community enclave. There would be no limiting the abuses of power, destroying & confiscating of property, harassment & or illegal detainment. How could they actually punish US citizens who routinely squatted these lands? It would be impossible to deport US citizens or be prosecuted for violating Mexican laws in the US. I would love to see a Slab city style community emerge in these lands. The are of land to the west in Presidio, TX appears to be used for driving offroad trucks, atvs etc where the easterly area seems more natural. How great would these areas be to have many RV/tent sites sprout up with eventual collective community infrastructure. Water could be obtained from the Rio Grande. All travel & supplies would need to be done via the US side. It appears that these multiple acres are simply on the wrong side of the natural border so the US CPB simply uses them as their own. I cannot see the US in having the jurisdictional ability to evict residents or even prevent the traveling to & from these disputed lands.

Obviously the southern border is becoming more hostile & inhospitable due to the militarism under the current & past US Presidents. To think that back in 1920s-1930s that the idea of Joint Mexico/United States boundary parks were planned to be established along this shared border for conservation and wildlife refuge. Now with drugs, one way immigration these areas resemble a war zone. Could a self regulated DIY community form & thrive in a war zone? Surely such an undertaking would have inherent complications that may not be practical; especially since there is so much vacant land in both the US & Mexico. Maybe this could be a place to host a gathering?


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## NewMexicoJim (Sep 16, 2019)

Go to Terlingua, down Hwy 170 and talk to the people there. The community is eclectic and better informed to answer your questions. Your chances of succes are likely near zero in that area. You would be constantly hassled or kicked off within a day. You might meet someone in Terlingua who is open to you squatting. There are many private parcels in the area, some never visited by the owners. Just a thought.


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## Deleted member 20 (Sep 16, 2019)

I have friends from San Antonio who have camped on hundreds of acres of land in Terlingua for decades. Not a bad idea but not really for what I imagine. The remoteness of boondock camping in places like Terlingua almost exclusively requires owning a vehicle and camper maybe a 4wd/atvs & being fully self contained.

The proximity being but a few miles walking/biking distance to Presidio stores & public roads in such a seemingly remote & or unused parcel of land seems appealing.

I like the idea of challenging the legality of being harassed, questioned, detained, relocated & or arrested on another countries sovereign land by a foreign government with no jurisdiction. One would think that by enforcing US laws in Mexico; the Border Patrol would not legally have jurisdiction. The hypocrisy of the US repeatedly violating the sovereignty of other nations while ignoring established borders for convenience & expedience is simply criminal.

Most likely I am not gonna be the sacrificial lamb to challenge such laws.

This could just be academic but even if this was used as a place to have hundreds if not thousands descend on such a parcel for a weekend event/gathering. Imagine if a group of guerrilla burning man/traveler types assembled for a festival called something like El Paramo de la Frontera Fiesta (roughly translated: Border Wasteland Festival). Just as the proposed Area 51/Alienstock event has many attending, such an event could end badly but also be lots of fun.

Maybe I just want "safe havens" to exist that are complicated by the policies of national governments. Can the US simply take such land by International Eminent Domain or most likely have some sort of limited one sided easement?


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## void gaze (Sep 28, 2019)

this is very interesting in some respects but it does seem to have major practical issues. i'm pretty confused that first of all it seems to hinge on the mexican authorities supposedly not being able to get across a river....??? without even getting into how intensely surveilled and policed the border is from the u.s. side. you would need to carry your passport anytime you went back into TX, for example, and i'm really not sure the u.s. would be so hesitant to cross into this tiny piece of land, illegally or not. ("international eminent domain" is not a thing btw, not that the u.s. has any great history of respecting others' sovereignty)

i do want to say i think the idea of an autonomous cross-border enclave is beautiful, but at the same time seems incredibly unlikely esp. given the present situation. americans illegally entering and squatting in mexico seems like it could really be taken as insult to injury right now, and incidnetally, is exactly what led to the texan war of independence /mexican-american war.


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## outskirts (Oct 17, 2019)

The U.S. - Mexico border has a long history of border disputes. One would think that the Rio Grande would be an easily set border, but rivers are tricky like that, they like to change course every now and then leaving borders with a little slice of chaos. The Rio Grande stretch of the border has had it's share of border disputes. The Chamizal dispute being the highest profile one. I think squatting in such a spot might be asking for trouble especially with the current political climate. Although I must admit, such an endeavor would be pretty awesome if it were taken on by a combination of American and Mexican squatters working together to make a statement about the border.


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