[2] The Jacumba Valley is the land of the Kumeyaay people, who have been divided by the border wall built through the region, what is commonly referred to as the US and Mexico.
[3] Jacumba Hot Springs, located in the valley, has played a significant role in Kumeyaay tradition, specifically within the myth of Tuchaipa and Yokomatis, two brothers who emerge from the land and traverse its terrain.
[6] After being pushed out of their land in Jacumba Hot Springs, many Kumeyaay people migrated to Mexico, some returning around 1910 to the Campo Reservation, located just east of the valley.
When the US gained parts of Mexico's northern lands in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the border as it is drawn today was established and legislation such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 increased surveillance efforts along the boundary line in order to counter unauthorized crossings.
[11] Operation Gatekeeper began at this time and additional fortifications were added to what already existed of the wall, some materials used being left over steel from the Vietnam War.
Residents of Jacume who crossed to do grocery shopping were cut off and their lack of access resulted in the Jacumba economy losing much of the stimulation it once relied upon.
[17] In addition to the militarism of the Border Patrol, the region has turned into a violent, pseudo-war zone with active militias, including the Minutemen, who seek to assist in the apprehension of migrants crossing the desert into the US without authorization.