From governments to business and organized crime, scholars from both Mexico and the United States introduce a sophisticated approach beyond diplomatic communiqués to tell the story of how Mexico became the wall that Donald Trump promised to build. This is a story of how governments defended their sovereignty in their discourse, only to pave the way for punitive policies that hurt their fellow citizens. The inequalities brought by the extractive economy, the homicides and displacement wrought by the systemic violence, the exodus pushed by environmental degradation and the political crisis generated by economic, political, and military elites need to be addressed to make the transborder region livable for its own population. will be of interest to scholars and students of international relations and Latin American Studies. It will also be of interest to policymakers, practitioners, and general readers who are following US-Mexico and US-Central America relations.