Google Maps has been lauded as one of the most useful tools in the world: it helps people find their location anywhere in the world and lets them find the quickest path from "Point A" to "Point B." However the patrol guards at the U.S.- Mexico border might be soon singing a different tune.
As it turns out, Google Maps can be used for more than just finding your location, it can also be used to track the locations of other people. A series of user-published Google maps illustrates this by pointing out the locations of known border patrol checkpoints and stations along the U.S.-Mexico border, with one goal in mind: to help illegal aliens evade border patrol.
Relatively few people know about this, but at the very least, those who need this information do. One map titled "Routes to Avoid," has more than 650,000 views. Using a service known as "Google My Maps," which allows users to create and publish maps of their own, the creator marked various checkpoints and border stations along the U.S.-Mexico border.
"These are known locations of known border patrol checkpoints some are permanent and some are temporary; these can be placed along stretches of highway near the border zone," the map's description reads.
The map goes into greater detail, with each marker displaying a short description - sometimes associated with a link that leads to a map or information about the specific place. For example, a marker at the Sierra Blanca, TX 1-10 - Border Patrol Checkpoint, reads, "Mile Marker 102 - I-10. Checks all Eastbound traffic. Five miles West of Sierra Blanca." That description is followed by a link that leads to a Google Open Forum about route I-10 and another that leads to an official Google Map that lists a series of government buildings across the border.
A "Related Maps" button links to several other maps with info regarding specific sectors of the border, some of which is public information while other parts are based off of experience or hearsay.
This revelation though shocking for some, shouldn't be too surprising. The Internet has long been used as a means to evade rules and regulations, such as buying drugs or hiring prostitutes or hitmen. It just goes to show that while some politicians might try to build a wall on the border, no wall can be built to block the Internet.
