‘The Bridge’ straddles U.S., Mexico border

Los Angeles Times, 5/24/2013

FX’s new summer drama “The Bridge” has many common elements of contemporary thrillers: a sadistic serial killer, mismatched detectives and a desperate race against time. But “The Bridge” is distinguished by a hot-button issue that brings an edgy topicality to the usual formula — the politics and controversy behind the border between the United States and Mexico.

In this drama, the detectives aren’t the only ones at odds. It’s a tale of two cities that couldn’t be more different: the serene metropolis of El Paso and the more dangerous region of Ciudad Juárez in Chihuahua, Mexico, where large drug cartels wreak havoc and murderous mayhem. “It’s such a high-stakes situation that just seems ripe for human stories,” said executive producer Meredith Stiehm. “I feel like it’s been in the news for a long time, but we haven’t seen it dramatized successfully.”

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Cardena’s lawyer executed in Dallas, Texas (SPANISH)

Reforma, 5/23/2013

Osiel Cardena’s lawyer, Juan Jesús Guerrero Chapa, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on Wednesday afternoon by an armed man after shopping in a local mall. He also defended other drug kingpins such as Gilberto “El June” García Mena, Juan García Ábrego, and his brother  Humberto.

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Quality of life gap between U.S. & Mexican border communities decreased between 2000 & 2010 – #MexFacts

To learn more, join us TOMORROW, Thursday, May 23 beginning at 3:30pm (EDT) for the launch of “The State of the Border Report.”

Live webcast: http://bit.ly/StateofBorder

Op-ed: Accountable border security helps build public trust

By Edward Alden, Bryan Robers and John Whitley, Politico, 5/21/2013

The immigration reform bill before the Senate is called the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. The order is no accident. Border security is the linchpin, and few Republicans will support the broader legislation unless they are convinced the border can be secured and that the United States will not see another surge in illegal immigration as it did following the 1986 reform bill.

But how can Congress know whether the borders are secure? Despite an enormous buildup of Border Patrol agents, fencing and technology over the past two decades, the U.S. government has yet to assess whether these expenditures have actually been effective in reducing illegal immigration. In a new report for the Council on Foreign Relations titled “Managing Illegal Immigration to the United States: How Effective is Enforcement?” we argue that the administration can gain congressional and public trust only by developing and publicly reporting real measures of the effectiveness of border enforcement. Such accountability, coupled with better congressional oversight, would help reassure a skeptical public that the U.S. government is indeed serious about controlling illegal migration.

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Long & unpredictable border wait times cost billions of dollars a year – #MexFacts

Interested in learning more about “The State of the Border”?Join us this Thursday, May 23 starting at 3:30pm (EDT): http://bit.ly/StateofBorder

U.S.-Mexico trade grew from $71 billion in 1995 to $255 billion in 2010 – #MexFacts

Interested in learning more about “The State of the Border”?

Join us Thursday, May 23, 2013 starting at 3:30pm:

http://bit.ly/StateofBorder

Border Cities Demonstrate Importance Of U.S.-Mexico Relations

VOXXI, 5/19/2013

For those who live along the U.S.-Mexico border, especially in large cities, the relationship between the two countries is different than for those who live elsewhere in the U.S. It’s difficult for those outside this area to understand, because despite the line that legally separates the two countries, the people both north and south of it, are neighbors. They depend on each other for economic vibrancy, personal relationships and cultural attachment. In spite of the backlash against illegal immigration and the fear of out-of-control drug violence along the Mexican side of the border, border cities in the U.S. have a unique relationship with their neighbor to the south.

Recently, San Diego’s Mayor Bob Filner looked across the border to Tijuana as a new business partner. For him, as for most of the politicians in the San Diego area, it’s not about “us versus them.” It’s about all of us. Together. According to a recent New York Times article, Filner has opened a satellite office in Tijuana. He also says he plans to place a bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics to be hosted jointly with Tijuana. When either Filner or the Mayor of Tijuana, Carlos Bustamante, refer to the area, they speak of us—not of “us and them.”

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EVENT: Launch of The State of the Border Report

Thursday, May 23, 2013 / 3:30 – 5:30 pm / Wilson Center

Details & RSVP: http://bit.ly/StateofBorder

In conjunction with the North American Center for Transborder Studies and El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, The Woodrow Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute is pleased to invite you to the launch of The State of the Border Report.

The report provides a comprehensive look at the state of affairs in the management of the U.S.-Mexico border and the border region, focusing on four core areas: trade and competitiveness, security, sustainability, and quality of life.

A border fence will hurt the economic relationship of Mexico and U.S.

Photo: Guillermo Arias

Voxxi, 5/13/2013

Mexico is the United States’ third largest trading partner, after Canada and China, in terms of total trade in goods, while the U.S. is Mexico’s largest trading partner. As such, the economic ties of the U.S. and Mexico are significantly important to the economy and society in both countries.

Further, the U.S.-Mexico border is not a static line drawn on a map, but a dynamic and ever-evolving place along which substantial daily interaction takes place. Yet the resounding refrain we repeatedly hear from some members of Congress is that building a 1,969-mile fence to separate us from one of our largest economic partners, and the eleventh largest economy in the world, is a key component to solving the issues presented by an outdated immigration system and a requirement that must be completed before moving forward with proposed immigration reforms. To be clear, there is a need for secure borders, but there is also a need for further streamlining and efficiently facilitating the daily cross-border flows of people, goods and services important to the bi-national economic relationship of the United States and Mexico — an economic relationship the following facts highlight.

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US President Obama returns to Latin America

Aljazeera, 5/2/2013

United States President Barack Obama travels to Latin America today for a three-day visit with stops in Mexico where he will meet with the newly-inaugurated President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and in San Jose, Costa Rica, where he will meet with the presidents of Central America and the Dominican Republic. While Mexican, Central American and US leaders look to broaden the discussion points beyond a narrow focus on security, noticeably absent in their public pronouncements have been questions about democracy and human rights.

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