Agency Fragmentation and Its Effects on Impact: A Borderlands Case

In: Policy studies journal: an international journal of public policy, Band 8, Heft 6, S. 862-870

Abstract

The US-Mexico border is both a line of separation & a span of contact between cultures. National & local perceptions about this boundary often differ, & so the formulation & implementation of border policy is subject to many conflicting pressures, not the least of which are those generated by government agencies with border responsibilities. Attitudes & policies of local, border, & field offices, combined with interagency rivalry & uncertain jurisdictions, lead to border management operations that are inconsistent with national policy. This is illustrated by the complex bureaucracy in El Paso, Tex, the largest border city. Proposed solutions cluster around improvement of the existing structure (with better equipment, budgets, & staffing), or reorganization of the primary border agencies. Recent government efforts to introduce changes based on both these approaches have been markedly unsuccessful, reflecting a continuing inability to resolve fundamental differences of opinion about border policy. Modified HA.