Along the U.S. - Mexico border fence Jacumba, United States Photography by Mike Blake. Reporting by Lisa Baertlein. Updated 8 Nov 2016 23 images Advertisement Building a wall along the U.S.- Mexico border has been a contentious subject in this year’s U.S. presidential election. In parts of California and Arizona, a wall already exists. 8 Oct 2016. Buttercup Sand Dunes, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake It runs across rocky deserts, flowing sand dunes and miles of agricultural land. 9 Oct 2016. Nogales, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake Pedestrians make their way into the the United States from Mexico at the pedestrian border. The wall splits towns and families, marking a boundary between two countries that used to be one. Busy land ports of entry and signs written in both Spanish and English attest to an interdependence that still exists in the bifurcated cities, faded mining towns and eccentric art outposts that punctuate the arid landscape. The border between Mexico and the United States spans some 2,000 miles between San Diego, California and Brownsville, Texas. 8 Oct 2016. Calexico, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake A U.S. customs and border patrol truck drives past the fence that marks the border between U.S. and Mexico. Monitored around the clock with ground sensors, cameras and hundreds of customs and border patrol officers, the wall is composed of a mash-up of materials: formidable cement slabs, steel mesh, rusty corrugated metal. 7 Oct 2016. Jacumba, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake There are oddities along the fence: a home surrounded by life-sized space alien mannequins and toy UFOs; the statue of a cow mounted high above the ground near a cattle ranch; and gaps in the fence occur sporadically without explanation. 8 Oct 2016. San Luis, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake A man rode a tricycle in a small California border town past a grocery store with a one percent sign hanging on the wall. 9 Oct 2016. Nogales, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake In Nogales, Arizona's largest international border community, the wall neatly divides the city. Little else distinguishes the hillside homes stacked on either side. Drivers entering Mexico are warned by a sign that firearms and ammunition are prohibited. At night, a bright neon yellow McDonald's sign stands out. 14 Oct 2016. San Ysidro, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake U.S. customs and border patrol officers inspect a vehicle entering the U.S. from Mexico at the border crossing in San Ysidro. Some who live near the border in California and Arizona agree with U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his demand that Mexico pay the cost for construction of a wall on the border between the two countries. Others are deeply disturbed by it, like Mexico's government. 10 Oct 2016. Douglas, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake A road abruptly ends next to a sign for a cattle ranch near Douglas. "It's been stigmatised pretty bad," said Jaime Alvarez, a retired Army auditor running for Arizona Senate. He works out of the Democratic party office in the city of Douglas. Alvarez said residents are worried that too much talk about border control will distract people from having other important discussions about education, poverty and healthcare. 1 / 14 Slideshow 14 Oct 2016. San Ysidro, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake U.S. customs and border patrol officers inspect a vehicle entering the U.S. from Mexico at the border crossing in San Ysidro. 14 Oct 2016. San Ysidro, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake Recent arrivals from Mexico wait to board a greyhound bus. 8 Oct 2016. Calexico, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake Men talk on a street in the town of Calexico. 9 Oct 2016. Nogales, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake A sign warning drivers that firearms and ammunition are prohibited in Mexico is seen at the U.S.-Mexico border in Nogales, Arizona. 7 Oct 2016. Calexico, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake Pedestrians wait to cross the street in Calexico. 7 Oct 2016. Calexico, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake Electronic items are displayed in a shop window in Calexico. 10 Oct 2016. Bisbee, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake The town of Bisbee in Arizona. 7 Oct 2016. Jacumba, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake An abandoned car sits off the side of a road near Jacumba. 10 Oct 2016. Lowell, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake An old refurbished gas station is seen in Lowell, Arizona. 9 Oct 2016. Nogales, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake Buildings in Nogales, Mexico (right) are separated by a border fence from Nogales, Arizona. 8 Oct 2016. Felicity, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake A church at the Museum of History in Granite is seen in Felicity. 9 Oct 2016. Nogales, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake A residential home is seen in Nogales, Arizona. 8 Oct 2016. Calexico, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake A man drives a tractor plowing a field at sunrise near Calexico. 10 Oct 2016. Gila Bend, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Mike Blake A truck drives west towards California along highway 8 near Gila Bend, Arizona.