Author: Staff

Professor makes case for U.S.-Mexico border without walls

Posted by | Mar 19, 2013 | |

As the United States reconsiders immigration policy reform – particularly between the United States and Mexico – the focus should be on immigration and integration instead of tougher border security,  says University of California, Berkeley, professor of city and regional planning Michael Dear, the author of the new book, “Why Walls Won’t Work: Repairing the US-Mexico Divide.”Dear logged nearly 10,000 miles visiting both sides of the border, from Tijuana/San Diego at the Pacific Ocean to Matamoros/Brownsville on the Gulf of Mexico.During his journeys, he witnessed the construction of the border fortifications and the rapid expansion of “the U.S. border industrial complex.” He also recorded the wall’s detrimental effects on lives and communities, as well as how the affected communities adjusted to the changes brought by the barrier.In “Why Walls Won’t Work,” Dear shares his accounts of present borderland realities and everyday life, illuminated by sharp insights into U.S. geopolitics, immigration issues, Mexico’s current challenges and a deep knowledge of centuries of the intercultural history of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.via Professor makes case for U.S.-Mexico border without...

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6 Misconceptions About The U.S.-Mexico Border And Illegal Immigration (SLIDESHOW)

6 Misconceptions About The U.S.-Mexico Border And Illegal Immigration (SLIDESHOW)

Posted by | Mar 7, 2013 | |

Now that talks are under way in Washington to iron out a proposal for bipartisan immigration reform, the issue promises to draw sustained attention.The success or failure of immigration reform will depend in part on how comfortable politicians and the public feel about the security of the U.S.-Mexico border. But as the Washington Office on Latin America, the National Journal and others have pointed out, there’s a lot of misunderstanding about the border and how secure it is.Many immigration proposals are based on flawed premises. Is illegal immigration increasing or decreasing? How much does the federal government already spend...

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Is US-Mexico border secure enough? Immigration reform could hinge on answer. – CSMonitor.com

Is US-Mexico border secure enough? Immigration reform could hinge on answer. – CSMonitor.com

Posted by | Mar 6, 2013 | |

Travelers on Interstate 19 don’t need any “Welcome to Mexico” signs to know that the border is near.Twenty-five miles north of the line, a giant white canopy stretches over the northbound lanes, with green-shirted border patrol agents and drug-sniffing dogs buzzing around the checkpoint. Farther south in Nogales, Ariz., green-and-white border patrol vehicles are as conspicuous as yellow cabs in New York, and stadium lights trained on the border fence dwarf the rustic Sonoran homes below….via Is US-Mexico border secure enough? Immigration reform could hinge on answer. –...

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Border Security – Hard to Achieve, and Harder to Measure – NYTimes.com

Border Security – Hard to Achieve, and Harder to Measure – NYTimes.com

Posted by | Mar 4, 2013 | |

The border fence behind Manuel Zamora’s home suggests strength and protection, its steel poles perfectly aligned just beyond the winding Rio Grande. But every night, the crossers come. After dark and at sunup, too, dozens of immigrants scale the wall or walk around it, their arrival announced by the angry yelps of backyard dogs.“Look,” Mr. Zamora said early one recent morning, “here they come now.” He pointed toward his neighbor’s yard, where a young man in a dark sweatshirt and white sneakers sprinted toward the road, his breath visible in the winter dawn. Three others followed, rushing into a...

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Marco Cáceres: The Darker Side of Free Trade

Marco Cáceres: The Darker Side of Free Trade

Posted by | Feb 28, 2013 | , |

It’s obvious that what is fueling the crime and violence in Central America and Mexico is the lucrative market for illegal drugs in the United States. This is not an excuse for the problems that plague the region; it is simply a fact. Without the huge U.S. demand for pot, cocaine, and synthetic drugs from South America, there would still exist massive poverty, unemployment, corruption, and violence in Central America… but there would not be anywhere near as much organized crime, and the drug cartels and gangs would not have so much dominion over the lives of so many...

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