El Paso–Juárez,–Juá also known as Juárez–El Paso, the Borderplex or Paso del Norte, is a transborder agglomeration, on the border between Mexico and the United States. The region is centered on two large cities: Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, U.S. Additionally, nearby Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S., is sometimes included as part of the region, referred to as El Paso–Juárez–Las Cruces or El Paso–Juárez–Southern New Mexico. With over 2.7 million people, this binational region is the 2nd largest conurbation (San Diego–Tijuana being the largest) on the United States–Mexico border. The El Paso–Juárez region is the largest bilingual, binational work force in the Western Hemisphere.
This region is commonly subdivided into the Juárez Metropolitan Area (Zona Metropolitana de Juárez) in Chihuahua, Greater El Paso in Texas and Greater Las Cruces in New Mexico. These sub-regions are typically defined by state borders, even though some New Mexico towns in the region like Sunland Park are significantly closer to El Paso than to Las Cruces.
Demographics
Ciudad Juárez is the largest city in the region (population 1,321,004 as of 2010). El Paso is the next largest (682,669 as of 2018), and Las Cruces is the third largest (102,296 as of 2018).
Major American suburbs are Fabens, Texas; San Elizario, Texas; Socorro, Texas; and Sunland Park, New Mexico. Smaller communities include Anthony, New Mexico; Anthony, Texas; Canutillo, Texas; Chaparral, New Mexico; Horizon City, Texas; Mesilla, New Mexico; Santa Teresa, New Mexico; University Park, New Mexico; Vado, New Mexico; and Westway, Texas.
The population of El Paso has historically been dominated by both Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic white Americans; in recent decades the former group has come to dominate the population. In 1970 El Paso was 57.3% Hispanic and 40.4% non-Hispanic white; in 2010 it was 80.7% Hispanic and 14.2% non-Hispanic white. In the same year El Paso County was 82.2% Hispanic.
History
The Franklin Mountains region has had human settlement for thousands of years, as evidenced by Folsom points from hunter-gatherers found at Hueco Tanks. The earliest known cultures in the region were maize farmers. At the time of the arrival of the Spanish the Manso, Suma, and Jumano tribes populated the area and today form the basis of the Mestizo culture in the area. The Mescalero Apache roamed the region as well.
Spanish explorer Don Juan de Oñate was the first European explorer to arrive at the Rio Grande near modern Ciudad Juárez and El Paso in 1598, celebrating Thanksgiving Mass there on April 30, 1598 (several decades before the Pilgrims' Thanksgiving). El Paso del Norte (the present-day Ciudad Juárez), was founded on the south bank of the Río Bravo del Norte (Rio Grande) in 1659 by Spanish conquistadors. The Mission Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe became its first major settlement. Being a grassland then, agriculture flourished and vineyards and fruits constituted the bulk of the regional production. The Spanish Crown and the local authorities of El Paso del Norte had made several land concessions to bring agricultural production to the northern bank of the river in present-day El Paso. However, the Apaches dissuaded settlement and development across the river. The water provided a natural defense against them.
El Paso became the southernmost locality of the Provincia de Nuevo Mexico (modern New Mexico). It remained largest city in New Mexico until its north side was ceded to the US in 1850. It communicated with Santa Fe and Mexico City by the Royal Road. American spies, traders and fur trappers visited the area since 1804 and some intermarried with the area's Hispanic elite. Although there was no combat in the region during the Mexican War of Independence, El Paso del Norte experienced the negative effects it had on its wine trade.
The Texas Revolution (1836) was not felt in the region as the area was never considered part of Texas until 1848. Given the blurry reclamations of the Texas Republic that wanted a chunk of the Santa Fe trade, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo effectively made the settlements on the north bank of the river a formal American settlement, separate from Old El Paso del Norte on the Mexican side. The present Texas-New Mexico boundary placing El Paso on the Texas side was drawn in the Compromise of 1850.