Here in the U.S., the Pentagon is expanding a program to train Mexican security forces fighting drug cartels. The program incorporates some of the same strategies that the U.S. military has used against al-Qaida.via U.S. Trains Mexico On Tactics Used Against Al-Qaida :...
Read MoreThere are plenty of reasons right here at home to support President Obama’s effort to reform the nation’s gun laws. But if Congress requires additional arguments, it should consider that easy access to guns is also undermining the United States’ avowed goal of combating drug trafficking and transnational gangs abroad.The U.S. has sent nearly $2 billion in aid to Mexico since 2007, much of that as part of the Merida Initiative, a counter-narcotics program designed to provide aid and equipment for that country’s drug war. Yet that assistance has been undermined by lax U.S. gun laws, which allow members of the drug cartels and their associates to buy weapons here and smuggle them across the border. At least 68,000 of the firearms seized in Mexico between 2007 and 2011 — and probably quite a lot more — came from the United States, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.The stricter gun laws proposed in recent weeks by the White House and some Democrats in Congress would help quell the flow. For instance, legislation sought by Obama and introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) this month would make it easier for federal officials to investigate so-called straw purchases of firearms, in which individuals purchase guns on behalf of others who are prohibited from owning weapons. The bill would also set tougher penalties for people who engage in...
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The nation’s capital is awash with ideas about how to fix America’s immigration policy. The sudden ferment on this issue, which was largely dormant since efforts at comprehensive reform were torpedoed five years ago, is as welcome as it is overdue. The growing consensus on both sides of the political aisle that something needs to be done should not be squandered, for such opportunities are rare and fleeting.Some policy makers are calling for piecemeal changes—such as issuing visas for high-skilled workers and investors, or conferring legal status on immigrants who were illegally brought into the country as children. Congress...
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Mexicans are engaged in national soul searching over their country’s flawed justice system as newly freed Florence Cassez, earlier convicted of and sentenced for being part of a kidnapping ring, makes the celebrity circuit in her native France.Although Cassez received a hero’s welcome home Thursday, many people in Mexico used the same word to describe their reaction to her release: “Indignation.” Mexican authorities moved to make sure that whatever went amiss with the Cassez case doesn’t happen again.via Mexico engages in legal soul searching after Frenchwoman convicted of kidnapping is freed – The Washington...
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As the country’s leaders gear up once again to overhaul the immigration system, a heated debate is expected on the creation of a guest worker program allowing future temporary immigrants to come legally.Politicians will take up various versions. Some say all they need to do is look north for an ideal model.Canada has had a guest worker program with Mexico since 1974. Though it’s not without critics, it’s generally hailed as well organized and worthy of being replicated.The process starts with Mexico screening potential workers on their education, health and skills. To ensure that they don’t overstay their employment...
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