The battle between two diverging schools of thought on immigration and borders, and their corresponding narratives have been playing out in some the nation’s most esteemed universities and in local high schools for decades, if not for centuries.  

The frontera communities of Ambos Nogales and Sweet Grass, Mont./Coutts, Alberta, look very distinct. The opinions of the borderlanders of the north and south about undocumented immigrants are quite different as well.

The U.S. government has poured billions of taxpayer dollars into border infrastructure along the country’s northern and southern boundaries. However, militarization on the southern border along the 110th meridian is far more noticeable.

The landscape and demographics of the U.S. northern border region are extremely different than those that define the southern border, but for the peoples who live in Ambos Nogales and Sweet Grass, Mont./Coutts, Alberta, economic struggles and strategies for survival are quite similar.