The Role of Mexican-American Border Relations in the Political Process

In the early nineteenth century, Americans sought to resolve their political disputes through compromise. When faced with the politically tender issue of slavery, America made compromises trying to please both sides. This was first demonstrated when the Union was faced with Missouri wanting to join the Union which would upset the balance between the pro and anti-slavery sides of the Union in the Senate. Skills at compromise and pacification were also presented during the Nullification Crisis, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. However by the election of 1860 attempts to compromise had ended and civil war began.

Raat, W. Dirk, and Michael M. Brescia. Mexico and the United States : Ambivalent Vistas (4th Edition). Athens, GA, USA: University of Georgia Press, 2010.

Gutiérrez’s analysis spans almost a century worth of history between Mexican Americans and Mexicans and how their relationship developed. Throughout his discussion he argues that the root of the conflict between these two groups long existed. He argues that “although most Mexican Americans retained their Mexican cultural orientations and maintained strong affinities to Mexico,” factors of American assimilation and essentially ideals of nativism

The writer, Maribel Garcia Ochoa, begins her piece with making the claim that because of Donald Trump being elected, California shaped this “defensive” attitude. Then Ochoa supported her claim with the evidence of the immigration policy issue. In addition, she believes that, “SB 54 would prevent the use of state and local resources to assist federal deportation efforts.” In fact, SB 54 has been recently amended in Senate on March 6, 2017. Another claim that Ochoa made was that California’s immigration policy was not completely for Asians it was also towards Mexicans. Ochoa used statistics, “Early into the ’30s, over 15 million Americans, about one quarter of all wage earners, were unemployed,” to show that once Mexicans entered California the unemployment rate of whites skyrocketed.

On the South Western border of the United States roughly 2000 immigrants cross the border illegally from Mexico every day. The vast majority of these immigrants are seeking financial security and a safer life in the United States however, some are coming over to traffic weapons and drugs for gangs and cartels. It is these few individuals that have caused the U.S. government to pursue a multi-billion dollar defense along the border.

Although events such as San Bernardino in 2015 provide anecdotal evidence of immigrants committing acts of extreme violence, these events are extremely rare. Nonetheless, tragedies such as these inevitably grab headlines and capture the attention of millions of Americans across the country. Tragedies such as the attack in San Bernardino hold strong emotional appeal to proponents for restrictive immigration policy. However, these rare and uncontrollable events should not provide the base of logic for America’s national immigration policy as they are not a proxy for immigrant behavior as a whole. Various statistics regarding crime among immigrants may reveal an underlying reason for lower crime rates, which is that the majority of immigrants understand the implications of committing a crime and know that it would not be in their best interest as a new member of the country they wish to call home. Natives, moreover, have crime rates five times that of immigrants. This demonstrates the potential positive externalities that immigrants contribute to the social sphere by lowering the crime rate and acting as models within urban America.

”Image in a self portrait generally communicates to the viewer information about the identity, character, environment, feelings and interests of the artist.” In the case if “Between the Borderline of Mexico and The United States” Frida Kahlo expresses her feeling that she holds towards hr alien environment, and her cultural identity. This will now be proven through analyzing the portrait to prove the above quote.

The reforming of America?s immigration policy is something that can no longer be avoided and must be dealt with as soon as possible. Years of neglect by governmental agencies and policies makers have now made this issue one of the biggest in American politics. First of it must be understood that immigration does no only effect curtain areas of the country and curtain aspect of public life but rather all of American life. Both legal and illegal immigration affect major issues such as jobs availability for all citizens, wages, education in public schools system and in general, health care issues, and the homeland security.

This year’s election cycle brought heated debates and discussions about many things; “the wall”, free trade, NAFTA, immigration issues, borders security and policy issues. Regardless of which side of the political isle you stand, which way the political winds sway in Washington D.C., one thing is certain not to change with the election cycle, and that is, the actual physical border between The United States and Mexico. Therefore, if we can’t change that, and we can’t, then there needs to be solutions to problems that continue to exist between the two sovereign countries. Trade and Security are two of the most important factors for neighboring countries and they must not be ignored. Beyond just good political, diplomatic, and strategic vision it is important to understand there are cultural, education and diversity complexities which takes tremendous and often times delicate maneuvering to come together for the greater good of both economies and governments, as millions of people rely on successful trade agreements and security.

According to “Immigrants in California,” by Marisol Cuellar Mejia and Hans P. Johnson, California has the most immigration than any other state, where “more than 30% of the population of seven California counties” are foreign born. A large contributor to these statistics are Hispanic immigrants that migrate to the United States in hope of achieving the “American Dream.” Los Angeles has become the most popular destination for these immigrants as this city alone contains 4.9 million Hispanics, making it 9% of the nation’s Hispanic population (Brown and Hugo). Although Hispanic immigrants have settled in Los Angeles, they encounter many urban struggles as they try to adjust to this new life style.

It is proven that immigrants are far more afraid and less likely to as well participate in any crime involved activities, quit their jobs, shoplift, hurt others in any way, shape or form, or do something that could get them arrested. It’s the sense of fear they have for getting deported, but it may also be that good spirit in which they truly came here to start a better life with no problems. Many comparisons between cities, communities and counties are done by economists to differentiate the links of local concentration of immigrants and the rates of crime and violence in that specified area. Results showed that the higher number concentration of immigrants, the lower crime rate. There is no proven connection found between immigrants and higher crime

As many are aware, depression may often lead to suicide and New Jersey has had the lowest suicide rate in the nation for several years. However, according to data released by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide has risen to its highest levels within the last three decades. In 2012, New Jersey has had the lowest suicide rate as stated by the CDR, but they have been increasing dramatically. Suicide has increased by thirteen percent and there are 8.8 deaths in every 100,000 people in New Jersey alone. Most recent suicide records from 2014 has shown New Jersey was tied for second place with Massachusetts. The rate has risen the most rapidly with girls from ages ten to fourteen and with men from the ages of forty-five to sixty-four.

The United States has led the fight against criminal activities from Mexican borders for many years. Criminal activities along the United States and Mexican border range from drug trafficking, human smuggling and an economy that disruptive. These are illegal activities scholars have argued could lead to the failure of Mexico as a country and the spread of violence to the United States. The illegal activities are not only a threat to the economy of Mexico and United States but also to the rest of the world due the impacts associated. The border between Mexico and US is of essential significance because it provides the link between the two countries. The border provides passageways through which either country can access the other via land or air means. Although the border is of significance to both countries, smuggling of drugs and trafficking human are main causes of violence between the countries. Drug cartels in Mexico smuggle drugs into the United States and this drives a war between them and the US government. The economy and the peace between Mexico and US is also affected significantly due to the illegal activities. To minimize the violence caused by these illegal activities, the US government need to act against the activities. The United States needs to increase the economic aid and military intervention to Mexico to fight the drug cartels, otherwise it could become a failed state; spreading more violence across the US border.

Throughout history of the United States and Mexican border there has been multiple depths of changes and immigration. From the area trading country ownership to population changes to having a fence line created on it. Seen in Figure1, the U.S.-

Unquestionably, the most resented and controversial aspect of America’s immigration policy has been the growing concern over illegal immigration and its effects on the economy. During the mid 1990’s, public fury over illegal immigration reached new heights especially in the state of California, which borders Mexico. It was during this time when the United States witnessed one of the highest profile immigration bills in United States history emerge. Proposition 187, also known as the “Save Our State” initiative, appeared on the 1994 California ballot (Migration Dialogue 1994). Proposition 187 sought to restrict illegal immigrants from receiving public education, non-emergency medical care, and publically funded social services. Even though California voters passed this bill by a narrow margin, it was eventually overturned and never went into effect.