About U.S.-Mexico Border and Binational Health

Key points

• The United States and Mexico are connected through border and binational communities that share social and environmental conditions.
• CDC works with U.S. and Mexico partners to prevent, detect, and control infectious diseases that impact the health of U.S.-Mexico border region communities, travelers, and binational populations.

Overview

The United States and Mexico share a dynamic history of social, cultural, and economic ties. This interconnectedness creates binational communities of people who live throughout the United States and Mexico.

There are unique challenges and opportunities for preventing the spread of infectious diseases in the border region

Terms to know

U.S.-Mexico border health refers to health consequences, issues, and risks that affect people who live in or transit through the border region. It addresses factors related to cross-border connectedness, including personal contact, travel or migration, or exposure to products or environmental conditions from each neighboring country.

U.S.-Mexico b****inational health refers to the health consequences, issues, and risks affecting the communities throughout the United States and Mexico that have close social ties to, travel between, and consumption of products from both countries.

Border crossings

• There were 187.8 million northbound border crossings at official land ports of entry

Tourism

• Mexico is a top foreign tourist destination for U.S. travelers and the United States is the primary destination for Mexican travelers.
• In 2023, 29.5 million people traveled from the United States to Mexico

Border region residents and expatriates

• In 2020, 8 million people lived in the U.S. border region
• Mexico is the number one country of residence for U.S.-born persons living outside of the United States. In 2020, 799,000 U.S. citizens lived in Mexico
• In 2021, the United States was home to 10.7 million people born in Mexico

Temporary workers

• About 560,000 seasonal agricultural workers and almost 100,000 seasonal non-agricultural workers from Mexico came to the United States for temporary work in 2021

Trade

• Mexico is the United States’ largest agricultural trading partner in terms of combined exports and imports.
• In 2021, Mexico accounted for 15.5% of U.S. agricultural exports and 22.3% of U.S. agricultural imports

What CDC is doing

CDC's Division of Global Migration Health, Southern Border Health and Migration Branch collaborates with health officials in the United States and Mexico at local, state, and federal levels to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious diseases that impact the health of U.S.-Mexico border region, binational populations, and other mobile populations.

Resources

Infectious Disease Prioritization for Multijurisdictional Engagement at the United States Southern Border Region

Declaration between the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States of America and the Secretariat of Health of the United Mexican States

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