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Mexico & USA are Coming Together Not Apart says ‘Vanishing Frontiers’ Author
< < Back toAs we feel racial tension from the White House and hear immigration horror stories from President Donald Trump’s Administration, it is refreshing to have a true scholar publish a book that is well researched and has an optimistic slant on the same issues.
That is what Dr. Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute and former executive vice-president of the Wilson Center has done in his new book: “Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together.”
Dr. Selee concludes that our two cultures have entwined together as well as our economies and that both countries rely on trade agreements such as NAFTA for mutual growth and dependencies.
We are involved in a number of manufacturing projects together as well as agricultural trade. He says tariffs and potential trade wars will only blow-up the progress that has been made.
He notes that Mexican immigration to the United States is down but that other Central and South American countries are funneling people to the USA through Mexico. He states, however, that the Mexican government is bulking up its own immigration enforcement measures to discourage wholesale immigration attempts to the U.S.
Dr. Selee laments that children are now being separated from parents who are attempting to enter the country by less than legal means. He thinks this is not what was intended by Congressional legislation or policies of our country.
He also notes that the “Dreamers” – those children born in the United States to illegal aliens – are still in limbo since the President and Congress cannot agree on a course of action to protect them. Dreamer legislation is being held hostage by the demands of the President for money to build a wall along the Mexican border.
Dr. Selee notes that about one-third of the wall has already been built by other administrations and the remaining portions promoted by Trump are either unneeded or purely symbolic. Instead of walls, Selee promotes international cooperation. He describes how San Diego and Tijuana have worked together to develop a number of joint projects including an international airport located just across the Mexican border.
Dr. Selee also states that Mexican immigrants have lower crime rates than other American groups and they have an entrepreneurial spirit. They are two times more like to start their own businesses than other groups – including American citizens, says Selee.