The pre-contact legacy and economic lifestyles of the Oʼodham gave them a "transnational identity", but the new borders brought other consequences. Land theft and forced assimilation decreased the numbers of southern Oʼodham and alienated them from their northern counterparts. By 1910, it was estimated that only 1,000 Oʼodham remained in Mexico. The disparities in wealth between the two sides also led to cultural shifts. The traditional practice of lending between Oʼodham decreased as many Arizona Oʼodham felt that those on the Mexican side would not be able to pay loans back. During WWI concerns were raised about the proximity of the Oʼodham to the border, but the U.S. government ignored requests for additional military presence and trans-border smuggling thrived in the 1910s and 1920s. This included liquor, food, and guns. The War Department attempted to halt these illegal activities, but the reporting system on such a wide area of land was slow and ineffective. Ironically, the Oʼodham were accused of participating in the Yaquis' international weapons smuggling. As Mexicans were deported during the Great Depression, the Mexican government gave them Oʼodham tribal lands. Notions of isolation were further intensified during WWII as the U.S. Mexico border was militarized to protect against potential invasions via the Sea of Cortez, and tribal lands in Sonora were privatized to increase government production. In 1977 the Los Angeles Times published a scathing article, writing that Mexican O'odham were taking advantage of medical facilities and welfare checks on the Arizona side of the border. An increase in militarization occurred again in the 1980s and 1990s, and further inhibited the ability of tribal members to travel back and forth and slowed migration. The Mexican government made gestures to improve the condition of the O'odham in Mexico by opening the office of the National Indian Institute, but the office struggled with inadequate resources and institutionalized corruption. In the 1980s, O'odham in Sonora responded to decades of land theft and bureaucratic failure by staging an occupation at the "weak and underfunded" National Indian Institute offices. the tribal constitution ratified in 1986 reads: "All members of the Tohono O'odham Nation shall be given equal opportunity to participate in the economic resources and activities of the Tohono O'odham Nation." However, many tribal members felt that these promises were not guaranteed for them. At the end of the decade, O'odham on the Mexican side of the border wrote an "open letter" to O'odham on the American side.