A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent scans the U.S.-Mexico border from a helicopter patrol on October 18, 2016 near McAllen, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents fly near the U.S.-Mexico border while a helicopter patrol on October 18, 2016 near McAllen, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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A Customs and Border Protection agent scans the Rio Grande on the U.S.-Mexico border on October 18, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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An armed U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent scans the banks of the Rio Grand at the border between the United States and Mexico on October 18, 2016 in Hidalgo, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter patrol flies over a border fence near crossing between the United States and Mexico on October 18, 2016 in Hidalgo, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter patrol flies over a border fence by a bridge between the United States and Mexico on October 18, 2016 in Hidalgo, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents fly near the U.S.-Mexico border on a helicopter patrol on October 18, 2016 near McAllen, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection pilot flies near the U.S.-Mexico border on a helicopter patrol on October 18, 2016 near McAllen, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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A Texas state trooper and a U.S. Border Patrol agent detain undocumented immigrants on October 18, 2016 near McAllen, Texas. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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A U.S. Border Patrol agent detains a group of undocumented immigrants on October 18, 2016 near McAllen, Texas. Border Patrol agents coordinate with U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents who fly over border areas to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the United States. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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Undocumented immigrants try to hide from U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agents on October 18, 2016 near McAllen, Texas. Border Patrol agents coordinate with U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents who fly over border areas to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the United States. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents fly near the U.S.-Mexico border on a helicopter patrol on October 18, 2016 near McAllen, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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A U.S. Border Patrol agent removes a ladder used by undocumented immigrants to climb a border fence on October 18, 2016 near McAllen, Texas. Border Patrol agents coordinate with U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents who fly over border areas to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the United States. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent flies near the U.S.-Mexico border on a helicopter patrol on October 18, 2016 near McAllen, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents fly over a border fence at the U.S.-Mexico border on a helicopter patrol on October 18, 2016 near McAllen, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent scans the U.S.-Mexico border from a helicopter patrol on October 18, 2016 near McAllen, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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Photographer captures view of Texas-Mexico border from above

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter pilot with night vision goggles patrols over the U.S.-Mexico border in McAllen, Texas, in October.  

Keep clicking to see more images of the border.

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The Rio Grande flows along the U.S.-Mexico border, as seen from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter during a patrol over the U.S.-Mexico border on October 18, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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U.S. Border Patrol agents with a K-9 unit detain undocumented immigrants after they illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on October 18, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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A spotlight from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter shines on women and children seeking asylum on October 18, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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A spotlight from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter shines women and children seeking asylum on October 18, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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Seen on an infrared camera, U.S. Border Patrol agents detain undocumented immigrants after they illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on October 18, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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U.S. Border Patrol agents with a K-9 unit detain undocumented immigrants after they illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on October 18, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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U.S. Border Patrol agents with a K-9 unit detain undocumented immigrants after they illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on October 18, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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U.S. Border Patrol agents detain an undocumented immigrant after he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on October 18, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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A spotlight from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter shines on women and children seeking asylum on October 18, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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U.S. Border Patrol agents with a K-9 unit detain undocumented immigrants after they illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on October 18, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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A spotlight from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter shines women and children seeking asylum on October 18, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents on the ground to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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U.S. Border Patrol agents detain undocumented immigrants after they illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on October 18, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter lasers the location of undocumented immigrants for Border Patrol agents on the ground during a patrol over the U.S.-Mexico border on October 18, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. U.S. Air and Marine Operations agents fly over border areas, coordinating with Border Patrol agents to stop undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. Immigration and border security have become major issues in the American Presidential campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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Click ahead to see a small border barricade that does exist and why it can’t be extended
“The border wall separates Jacumba, Calif., from Jacume, Mexico, in the high desert,” writes James Whitlow Delano for National Geographic. “Even after the first border barricade was built here in the mid-1990s to disrupt human and drug traffickers, residents of Jacume could cross freely into Jacumba to buy groceries or to work, and children would be brought across to go to school or to the health clinic.”
Source: News.nationalgeographic.com less

“When I first visited this spot in San Diego, where the border meets the Pacific Ocean, in 1982, there was a single corrugated steel wall that ended at the top of the beach. Helicopters circled above, but it was still physically possible to walk straight into Mexico or vice-versa. At the very end of the wall, on the Tijuana side, someone had spray painted “sin fronteras” (“without borders”). Now the wall extends into the breaking waves.”
Source: News.nationalgeographic.com less

“This wall separates Calexico, California from Mexicali, Mexico. As their names imply, the two are sister cities, and the wall was not always this big. In the 1980s, there was a rickety corrugated steel wall that didn’t even extend to the edge of the cities. But in 2008, when I visited again, U.S. crews were extending and reinforcing the barrier. Mexicali has a notorious reputation, but there were prosperous suburbs south of the city, complete with shopping malls and Starbucks.”

Source: News.nationalgeographic.com

KEEP CLICKING TO SEE MORE EXAMPLES OF HOW CITIES ARE SEPARATED BY THE U.S. MEXICO BORDER WALL

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While some politicians like to paint a picture of the U.S.-Mexican border as a pre-militarized zone waiting for a wall and a soldier to keep it safe, in many cases the border resembles a neighborhood much like any other. less

What the U.S./Mexican border really looks like
While the border is often depicted as a desert wasteland filled cacti and rattlesnakes, in many cases the border resembles a neighborhood much like any other: some nice houses on one side of a street, some more nice houses on the other side of the street. See some of the more interesting cross-border pairings between the neighboring countries. less

Laredo, Texas
The city of Laredo has not one, but two, baseball parks overlooking the Rio Grande and Nuevo Laredo on its western shore: the community-friendly Father Charles M. McNaboe Park seen here and the Anna Baseball Park to its south. A school ballpark also sits near the river. less

Antelope Wells, New Mexico – El Berrendo, Mexico
The only residents of Antelope Wells, New Mexico are the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents who protect the smallest of 43 border entry points along the U.S.-Mexico border. less

Eagle Pass, Texas
During the Mexican-American War, the U.S. government established Camp Eagle Pass as a militia outpost to protect Texas from Mexican forces. More than 150 years later, the same government had to sue the city of Eagle Pass in 2008 in order to turn over land to build a border fence through the town. Today, some of the city’s finest homes enjoy Rio Grande River views. less

Riverside Middle School, El Paso, Texas
On the corner of Midway Drive and Cesar E. Chavez Border Highway sits this middle school, home to the Riverside Rebels. The high school’s baseball and football stadium’s sit just east; Ciudad Juarez, Mexico sits just west. less