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The Best Episodes of Border Wars

Every episode of Border Wars ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Border Wars!

Binge this in Unknown•Peaking at 9.1/10

Border Wars is an American documentary television series on the National Geographic Channel. The program follows agents of the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and other divisions of

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Border Wars Season 2 Episode 1 - Death on the Rio Grande
    9.1/10(8 votes)

    #1 - Death on the Rio Grande

    S2:E1

    A young man drowns trying to cross the Rio Grande, and agents must now identify him and return his body to his family. Next, agents and officers target a human smuggling operation and raid a safe house containing more than 20 illegal immigrants living in cramped, unsuitable conditions. And inspection of a bell pepper shipment finds tiny invasive snails that could destroy thousands of acres of cropland if introduced into the U.S.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 13 - High-Speed Chase
    9.0/10(5 votes)

    #2 - High-Speed Chase

    S2:E13

    In Laredo, Texas, officers and agents of the Department of Homeland Security target drug smuggling and illegal immigration. In this episode of Border Wars, agents chase down a car filled with illegal immigrants heading north. When the group bails from their vehicle, agents must run through thick brush in search of the immigrants, who face imminent dehydration in the south Texas heat. At the Laredo Port of Entry, a group of officers uncover a spare tire thats loaded with a massive currency seizure - money likely headed into cartel hands south of the border. Meanwhile, the Laredo SWAT team prepares for a bust on a suspected gang members home in search of cocaine and black tar heroin.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Border Wars Season 1 Episode 4 - The Front Lines
    8.8/10(7 votes)

    #3 - The Front Lines

    S1:E4

    Officer Hector Navarro stops a silver pickup truck at the Nogales port of entry. The driver is acting suspiciously and traveling alone, which is a red flag. A police canine is called in to sniff for narcotics, and a cleverly hidden trove of heroin is uncovered - breaking an all-time record for drug busts at this port of entry.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 12 - Gang Task Force
    8.8/10(7 votes)

    #4 - Gang Task Force

    S2:E12

    In this episode of Border Wars, Miami and Puerto Rico, agents and officers with the Department of Homeland Security and the Drug Enforcement Administration intercept a boat with a multi-million dollar drug load, apprehend an alleged member of a transnational gang, and destroy a marijuana grow house. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from a violent gang task force apprehend an alleged member of a dangerous gang to see if he will give them valuable inside information. Hours later, a DEA agent leads a raid on a marijuana grow house operation in West Palm Beach. At the same time, off the coast of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepts a fishing boat carrying what turns out to be more than 500 pounds of cocaine.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Border Wars Season 3 Episode 9 - Going Underground
    8.8/10(5 votes)

    #5 - Going Underground

    S3:E9

    Agents and officers work around the clock to secure the border between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Border Wars Season 1 Episode 3 - Dead of Night
    8.7/10(10 votes)

    #6 - Dead of Night

    S1:E3

    Aviation Enforcement Pilot John Manheimer and his Black Hawk team patrol the Sonoran Desert searching for illegal border crossers and drug smugglers. After an unmanned aerial vehicle spots suspected illegal border crossers in the mountains, Aviation Enforcement Officer Oscar Peru and his crew deploy to round them up in the rugged terrain. From a remote border patrol station, teams of five agents do seven-day rotations and are on call 24/7.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Border Wars

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  7. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 5 - Dirty Money
    8.7/10(7 votes)

    #7 - Dirty Money

    S2:E5

    New agents get their first taste of action; officers seize tens of thousands of dollars in suspected drug cartel money; special agents seek out corruption within their ranks.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 3 - Contraband Highway
    8.6/10(5 votes)

    #8 - Contraband Highway

    S2:E3

    At the border checkpoint in Hidalgo, Texas, a seemingly ordinary car is found to have firearms and ammunition hidden in its console and under its bumpers. Members of BORTAC, the tactical unit that identifies smuggling routes, discover what could be a remote transfer point for illicit goods. Further surveillance supports their theory, and the team hopes to close in on an active operation - if they can avoid detection by cartel scouts.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Border Wars Season 3 Episode 2 - Cocaine Sting
    8.6/10(5 votes)

    #9 - Cocaine Sting

    S3:E2

    Along the El Paso-Juarez border, agents and officers of the Department of Homeland Security investigate a young couple who are suspected human smugglers, uncover a floor of marijuana in an SUV, and target a high-level supplier in a drug sting.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Border Wars Season 1 Episode 1 - Last Defense
    8.3/10(12 votes)

    #10 - Last Defense

    S1:E1

    Border Patrol Agents William Ortiz and Eduardo Berlanga try to intercept a pickup truck filled with people who have crossed illegally from Mexico. When they reach the vehicle, they realize that two of the passengers are young twin girls. The situation heats up when they learn that the man claiming to be their father apparently is not being truthful.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 7 - Hidden Narcotics
    8.2/10(6 votes)

    #11 - Hidden Narcotics

    S2:E7

    In this episode of Border Wars, officers and agents of U.S. Customs and Border Protection work 24/7 to patrol the border between San Diego, California and the Mexican city of Tijuana. These men and women traverse rugged San Ysidro Mountain in search of illegal border crossers, stage an undercover sting operation to infiltrate a human smuggling organization, and uncover hidden narcotics inside a car passing through the San Ysidro port of entry - the busiest land border crossing in the world.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 10 - 3,000-Pound Coke Bust
    8.2/10(6 votes)

    #12 - 3,000-Pound Coke Bust

    S2:E10

    Witness one of the Caribbean's largest drug busts of the year -- over 1.5 tons of cocaine worth more than $40 million found aboard a Panamanian fishing boat heading to the U.S. As the State Department negotiates for possession of the ship, the DEA and Coast Guard stand guard over the cargo. When a suspected smuggler requires medical attention, the situation becomes urgent in a scramble to get medication on board. Next, enter the underworld of North Miami Beach as officers patrol the streets.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Border Wars Season 1 Episode 2 - City Under Siege
    8.1/10(9 votes)

    #13 - City Under Siege

    S1:E2

    A special undercover group shuts down a house in Nogales where illegal immigrants are believed to be living. After the house is surrounded and its occupants apprehended, agents must pick out the human smugglers, or "coyotes," and get these suspected criminals off the streets

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 4 - Lost in the River
    8.0/10(5 votes)

    #14 - Lost in the River

    S2:E4

    A group of suspected drug smugglers is tracked by the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) night unit at Rio Grande City Station. No sooner are they apprehended than the agents must call in reinforcements from the CBP's air unit, Omaha, to track down a group of illegal immigrants hiding in the brush. Another team of agents searches for nine people missing in the Rio Grande, initially finding only one body. The search becomes more urgent when they find two more bodies the next day.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 2 - Checkpoint Texas
    7.4/10(8 votes)

    #15 - Checkpoint Texas

    S2:E2

    An 18-wheeler carrying more than 1,000 pounds of concealed marijuana is discovered by a rookie agent and his canine partner. Meanwhile, a group of illegal crossers takes agents on a four-hour chase. An Ecuadorian woman and her young daughter - injured, dehydrated and famished - are rescued from the harsh terrain after being abandoned by smugglers, and face deportation unless the mother can prove they have reason to fear for their lives back home.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Border Wars Season 1 Episode 5 - No End in Sight
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - No End in Sight

    S1:E5

    A report on illegal immigration follows drug smugglers and job seekers as they risk their lives attempting to cross the Mexico-U.S. border. Also: a look inside the U.S. Border Patrol. AKA Inside US Border Wars

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 6 - Fog of War
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Fog of War

    S2:E6

    Working the varied terrain of San Diego, California are officers and agents of the Department of Homeland Security; men and women dedicated to their duty of defending the United States busiest border crossing. Three components of U.S. Customs and Border Protection watch over this 66-mile stretch of the border and beyond from the air, on the ground, and at the ports of entry. Their mission is to secure the border against smuggling of contraband and unlawful entry into the U.S. In this episode of Border Wars, officers and agents in San Diego discover thirty people elaborately concealed in a tractor-trailer, race to prevent people from illegally crossing the border under the cover of a blinding fog, and unearth a payload of hundreds of pounds of marijuana carefully hidden behind the cab of a tractor-trailer.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 8 - Manhunt
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Manhunt

    S2:E8

    On the U.S.-Mexico border, officers and agents work to fight the threat of terrorism while remaining vigilant against illegal immigration and contraband smuggling. In this episode of Border Wars, agents launch an uncover sting to stop an illegal human smuggling ring, chase down suspected illegal immigrants through the desert on foot, and discover a woman who hired smugglers to hide her in a car, saying her only goal is to be reunited with her son.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 9 - Walk the Line
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Walk the Line

    S2:E9

    Meet the Shadow Wolves, an elite unit of just 12 Native American federal agents who hunt down drug smugglers crossing into the US through a desert the size of Connecticut using ancient techniques.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 11 - Murder on the Lake
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Murder on the Lake

    S2:E11

    Examining the Sept. 30, 2010, death of American tourist David Hartley, who was allegedly shot by Mexican pirates during a sightseeing trip on Falcon Lake near the Texas-Mexico border.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 14 - Cartel Crackdown
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Cartel Crackdown

    S2:E14

    In this episode of Border Wars, Border Patrol Agents and Customs and Border Protection Officers in Laredo, Texas, work around the clock to stop illicit drugs and undocumented immigrants from slipping into the United States through the countrys largest inland port. Horse Patrol and Air Support team up to track a group of immigrants hiking through private ranchland just north of the border; Agents at the Rio Grande face off with smugglers to stop a group of suspected immigrants from rafting across the river into the United States; Customs and Border Protection Officers at a Port of Entry bridge uncover a dangerous drug rarely seen here; and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers team up with a Laredo SWAT team to bust a suspected coke house.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 15 - Storm Surge
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Storm Surge

    S2:E15

    A truck with canned jalapenos is found to have marijuana; a human smuggler will not give up stranded immigrants; agents raid a suspected stash house.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 16 - Weed Warehouse
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - Weed Warehouse

    S2:E16

    A stolen vehicle is abandoned after it flips over during a high-speed chase, and a huge load of marijuana is found inside

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Border Wars Season 2 Episode 17 - Super Sunday
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #24 - Super Sunday

    S2:E17

    Agents beef up security in Miami in preparation for Super Bowl XLIV, while also patrolling the rest of the city for drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Border Wars Season 3 Episode 1 - Seize and Destroy
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #25 - Seize and Destroy

    S3:E1

    Drugs, guns, cars and money are just some of the items confiscated on a typical day by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). But what happens to this contraband after it is seized?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Death on the Rio Grande" is the best rated episode of "Border Wars". It scored 9.1/10 based on 8 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 8/29/2010. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "High-Speed Chase".