About Us

The U.S. – Mexico Border Area

The 1983 La Paz Agreement, links to an external website, opens in a new tab defined the United States - Mexico border region as the area 100 kilometers (62.5 miles) north and south of the international boundary. Stretching approximately 2,000 miles from the southern tip of Texas to California, the region includes 44 counties in four U.S. states—Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas, and 80 municipalities in six Mexican states—Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Sonora, and Tamaulipas. Data and statistics about the border may appear different depending on how the geographic area is defined.

Map of the border area as defined in the La Paz agreement of 1983.

The U.S. side of the border is made up of over 19 million people, 4 million of whom are documented migrants. Over half of the population is Hispanic or Latino, 4 percent are Black or African American, one in ten people identify as Asian or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and 33 percent are White. Border diversity varies among the four states; for example, 81 percent of Texans living at the border identify as Hispanic, compared to 38 percent of Arizonans at the border. Overall, each border state is more diverse than the national average.¹

The border population is younger than the U.S. average, with a median age of 37 years old. Seventy-seven (77) percent of the border population is U.S.-born. California has the highest share of immigrants in the border area, with 23 percent born in another country. In Texas, 21 percent of border residents are immigrants, 13 percent of New Mexicans and 12 percent of Arizonans. Of the more than 4.4 million immigrants in the region, 67 percent are proficient in English.²

The U.S. - Mexico border region has healthcare challenges due to a shortage of healthcare professionals and inadequate medical services. There are significant health and social issues related to higher rates of uninsured individuals, migration, inequitable health conditions, and widespread poverty. 

Commission Functions

The Commission’s role includes the following functions as outlined in the Agreement Between the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and MEXICO, links to an external website, opens in a new tab:

• Conduct public health needs assessments in the United States-Mexico Border Area, and conduct or support investigations, research or studies designed to identify and monitor Health Problems;
• Provide financial, technical or administrative support to assist the efforts of public and private nonprofit entities to prevent and resolve Health Problems;
• Conduct or support health promotion and disease prevention activities in the United States-Mexico Border Area; and
• Conduct or support the establishment of an extensive and coordinated system, which uses advanced technologies to the extent possible, for gathering health-related data and monitoring Health Problems in the United States-Mexico Border Area.

The U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission consists of:

U.S. Section

• The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, or his/her delegate as Commissioner,
• Two individuals, also known as Special Government Employees (SGEs), from each of the border states, who are nominated by their respective governors and appointed by the President of the U.S., and
• The State Health Officer from Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas, or their respective delegates.

Mexico Section

• The Mexico Secretary of Health or his/her delegate, as Commissioner,
• One individual from each of the six border states, whom the Secretary of Health designates for the Government of the United Mexican States, and
• The State Secretaries of Health of Baja California Norte, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and Nuevo León, or their respective delegates.

To learn more about the Mexico Section, please visit their website, Salud Fronteriza (saludfronterizamx.org), links to an external website, opens in a new tab