The Frame: On the fence: Pictures from the Mexican border

Powerful pictures from Associated Press photographer, Guillermo Arias, show us a glimpse of life at the border fence that is being built along the U.S.-Mexico frontier. As AP reporter, Traci Carl, writes, "The barriers, combined with high-tech security measures such as surveillance cameras and ground sensors, have made getting into the U.S. extremely difficult. And as security has increased in recent years, the number of people trying to cross has fallen dramatically. The downside, residents on both sides say, is that the border has become a violent battleground, shattering a shared American and Mexican history that is blind to things such as fences and borders." (14 images)

A man planning to cross into the U.S. illegally stands near the dry concrete-lined Tijuana River basin, on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border, in Tijuana, Mexico, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008. AP / Guillermo Arias

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A deported migrant sits on the levee near the dry, concrete-lined Tijuana River basin on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border, in Tijuana, Mexico, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008. AP / Guillermo Arias

A border patrol officer is seen running on the Tijuana River basin on the United States side of the U.S.-Mexico border as a man hides on the top of the fence in Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. AP / Guillermo Arias

Men are seen fleeing from the Mexican Police at the dry, concrete-lined Tijuana River basin on the U.S.-Mexico border, Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. AP / Guillermo Arias

A man rides his bicycle on the dry, concrete-lined Tijuana River basin on the United States side of the U.S.-Mexico border, in Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008. AP / Guillermo Arias

A Border Patrol agent sits on his ATV as he paused during patrol along the dry, concrete-lined Tijuana River basin on the Unites States side of the U.S.-Mexico border, from Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, Aug. 15, 2008. AP / Guillermo Arias

A man who identified himself as "El Morral", 19, sits on the dry, concrete-lined Tijuana River basin on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008. AP / Guillermo Arias

Juan Lopez ,28, aka "El Momia" shows his tattoos at the Tijuana River basin on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana as his friend, identified as "El Morral", left, looks on, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008. AP / Guillermo Arias

Carlos, 23, shows his Santa Muerte tattoo near the concrete-lined Tijuana River basin on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border, in Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, Aug. 15, 2008. Carlos, who was deported 2 months ago from Los Angeles, says he helped a woman to cross, for which he was paid two hundred dollars. AP / Guillermo Arias

Francisco Flores, aka "El Lagrimas"or "Tears", 42, who was deported in 1996 from the United States, gets a shot of heroin on the neck by "El Zacatecas" on the Tijuana River basin near the U.S.-Mexico border, in Tijuana, Mexico, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008. AP / Guillermo Arias

Men stand on the top of the dry, concrete-lined Tijuana River basin on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border as a U.S. border patrol vehicle passes in the background, in Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. AP / Guillermo Arias

A man who identified himself as "El Zacatecas", 27, writes his nickname on a baby shoe that he found on the dry, concrete-lined Tijuana River basin on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border, in Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, Aug. 15, 2008. AP / Guillermo Arias

A man sleeps near the Tijuana River basin on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border, in Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. AP / Guillermo Arias

A lookout working for smugglers watches out for U.S. border patrol movement at the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, Aug. 15, 2008. AP / Guillermo Arias

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The Frame

September 23, 2008

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