Caught in the middle – research in the U.S.-Mexico border region

The U.S.-Mexico border is a region of significant biological and cultural diversity that is of interest to scientists from a wide variety of disciplines. It is also an area of humanitarian crisis and contentious politics. U.S. and Mexican researchers who conduct fieldwork on both sides of the border are faced with ethical and logistical challenges in the course of their daily work. To better understand these complex dynamics, we review survey results that provide a window into the relationship between recent U.S. border policy and the attitudes and behavior of researchers working in the U.S.-Mexico border region. Researchers are faced with challenges ranging from difficulty in obtaining permits and accessing lands in border regions, to fear and intimidation along the militarized zones. Furthermore, in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, the research community is left caught in the middle when their work intersects with civil and human rights.