U.S.–Mexico Border and Immigration & Demographic Change

Residents of San Diego County's South Bay and other border communities say they have been sickened for months by noxious odors and airborne toxins coming from the Tijuana River watershed, where raw sewage and industrial waste cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Local reporting and public-health complaints in recent weeks have documented thousands experiencing nausea, delirium, headaches and other acute symptoms after nightly episodes of foul air; federal officials say they are working with Mexico under a U.S.-Mexico agreement to curb the flows and restore beaches and public health protections. The crisis is tied to chronic cross-border wastewater discharges from the Tijuana metropolitan area and its industrial zones, and officials have signaled federal engagement even as residents press for faster action.