Every day, 40,000 commuters cross the U.S. Mexico border at Tijuana San Diego to go to work. Untold numbers cross illegally. Since NAFTA was signed into law, the border has become a greater obstacle for people moving between countries. Transnational powers have exerted greater control over the flow of goods, services, information, and people.

Mexican Voices of the Border Region examines the flow of people, commercial traffic, and the development of relationships across this border. Through first-person narratives, Laura Velasco Ortiz and Oscar F. Contreras show that since NAFTA, Tijuana has become a dynamic and significant place for both nations in terms of jobs and residents. The authors emphasize that the border itself has different meanings whether one crosses it frequently or not at all. The interviews probe into matters of race, class, gender, ethnicity, place, violence, and political economy as well as the individual's sense of agency.

Laura Velasco Ortiz is Professor in the Department of Cultural Studies at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte. She is the author of Mixtec Transnational Identity, an updated translation of her book El regreso de la comunidad: Migración indígena y agentes étnicos. Los mixtecos en la frontera México–Estados Unidos.

Oscar F. Contreras is a Professor in the Department of Social Studies at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte. He is the author of many articles and books, most recently Aprendizaje tecnológico y desarrollo local: La industria automotriz en el norte de México.