Embedded Files
Total in y-axes in the graphs below represent the total number of Border Crossing.
Looked at which border has the most number of border crossings and found out that US-Mexico has almost 7 billions border crossing whereas US-Canada has about 3 billion. This was surprising because there are more number of entry points (ports) in US-Canada border compared to that of US-Mexico border.
Also looked at the number of border crossings each year by border. Noticed that there is an overall decreasing trend in the number of border crossings. Initially expected to see a decreasing trend in the number of people coming in from Mexico during 2016-2019 because of the strict border rules enforced by Trump administration, however, analysis showed evidence against it. Also, there seems to be something going on in the year 2011 because there is a sudden fall in border crossings especially in the US-Mexico border.
Next, Explored the border crossings by state. Found out that all the 15 border states have an overall decreasing trend in the number of border crossings.
Saw that especially in TX, the border crossing plummeted to all time lowest during 2011 before it started depicting the usual trend again. A simple Google search "What happened in Texas in 2011?" indicated that there were a series of destructive wildfire in the state of Texas in 2011. According to Wikipedia, "During 2011 in Texas, around 31,453 fires had burned 4,000,000 acres or 16,190 square kilometres[3] (about double the previous record), 2,947 homes[3] (1,939 of which were destroyed over the Labor Day weekend), and over 2,700 other structures.[4] 47.3% of all acreage burned in the United States in 2011 was burned in Texas."
Found out that Texas and California are the two states that has the highest number of border crossing till date. In general, states bordering with Mexico has the most number of border entry. In fact, among the 15 states, we looked, TX, CA, and AZ are the first three borders in terms of number of border crossings and these are also the states that border with Mexico.
The graph below in the right indicate that Personal Vehicle is the most common means of Transportation used for border-entry across both borders. The graph below in the left indicate that almost almost all Pedestrians entering the US is from Mexico. Pedestrian entering the US from the US-Canada border is very less. Moreover, large number of people enter the US in Personal Vehicles through Mexico in comparison to Canada. Comparatively, more Trucks, Rails, and Trains enter the US through Canada.
The graph below shows the distribution of means of transportation in each state. It seems, generally, Personal Vehicle is the most common means of transportation across all states. However, in states closer to Canada, there are significantly more Rails, Trucks, and Train crossings than in states closer to Mexico.
The three graphs below show the number of border crossings by means of transportation in TX, AZ, and CA respectively (Mexico border).
The three graphs below show the number of border crossings by means of transportation in NY, ME, MN respectively (Canada border).
The graph below in the left suggests that Personal Vehicle and Pedestrian crossings is more common in the US-Mexico border. The graph in the right indicates an overall decreasing trend in Personal Vehicle and Pedestrian crossings across both borders. One interesting thing seen from the graph is that number of pedestrian crossings seem to be constant throughout the years in the US-Mexico border.
Page updated
Report abuse