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Column 092506 Brewer

Monday, September 25, 2006

Mexico, the U.S., and The Tortilla Curtain Anew

By Jerry Brewer

Although our tired Lady Liberty still stands in New York

Harbor, lifting her lamp beside the golden door,
hallowed ground nearby is missing twin towers.
However Emma Lazarus’ famous lines inscribed on the
Statue of Liberty continue to express what America has
meant to millions of people. “… Give me your tired,
your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe
free….”

It is indeed those words that continue to stir such

passion on the issue of immigration. It remains a
sensitive topic that demands attention by our legislators
and executive branch of government. It is a
complicated issue with no easy solutions that has gone
on for decades, and we are no closer to resolving the
issues today.

Border security is the hot topic in partisan politics as

this year’s elections near, yet the real issue is
immigration. Is there a legitimate fear of terrorists
attacking from our southern border? The answer is
probably not, as terrorist networks or cells already
reside in our cities, and recent history reminds us that
the strikes came from the skies and not ground attacks
from the border.

The fact is that illegal immigration is a problem that

demands coherent policies as to who and who cannot
be admitted into the United States, and how many
immigrants can be admitted. Everyone who lives in the
U.S., or their ancestors, came from somewhere else
and we simply cannot, with a straight face, address
immigration without a little guilt. And obviously our
ancestors were victims of earlier attempts to exclude
newcomers.

It will be a nightmare to ponder in what manner and

what criteria will be used to make the choices of who
stays and who goes. Ideals must be balanced against
reality.

The whole truth of the issue of immigration is that the

incentives are far too great for walls and fences to stop
the flow of those seeking a better future. Nowhere in
the world is there such a disparity in income between
two countries that share a common border such as
Mexico and the U.S.

Walls and fences have become the national cry of many

in the United States. Securing our borders against
terrorism is the convenient phrase to pacify those who
have no real plan in mind that might solve the dilemma.

So what should be done to end the decades of

handwringing and frustration?

Immigration requires complex diplomacy and genuine

economic problem solving. The best conceivable short-
term solution is an early start on the long-term
solution.

In short, Mexico has lucrative natural resources in oil,

gas, and minerals, plus of course labor, whereas the
United States has capital and technology. So helping
Mexico to expand its industry and agriculture would be
a proactive panacea, and skilled Mexican workers would
not need to emigrate, even temporarily. In lieu of
billions of dollars worth of walls and fences that will do
little more than divert the wind, those funds could be
better used as an investment in the future of both
nations. Too, the initiatives would render a barricaded
border impractical.

Diplomats on both sides of the border would need to

ensure that Mexico is carrying out social and economic
policies that benefit the working classes, and that the
nation’s wealth is not just enriching the elite. Helping
Mexico to expand its industry and agriculture would
create jobs and new opportunities. Too, Mexico would
be encouraged to match U.S. funding at appropriate
and agreed upon rates.

Without doubt the issue of millions of immigrants who

are currently in the United States will remain. And their
status will need to be resolved, either by voluntary
return to their country, guest worker status or amnesty
programs.

Identification systems must be designed for recognition

needs and registration, and this must not be done in
such a way that would allow fraud and forgery. Yet this
can, in fact, be solved with existing identification,
fingerprint and DNA typing technologies. But here the
first issue to rise in the crucial proof testing will be
protests of civil liberty violations and intrusion on
privacy.

The alternatives however would mean decades more of

indecision, and billions of dollars spent on barricades
and more border patrol agents manning a 2000-mile
line in the sand. Walls did not and will not stop
terrorists who come as students and visitors to the
United States, while Mexican migrants cross the border
to work.

——————————
Jerry Brewer, the Vice President of Criminal Justice
International Associates, a global risk mitigation firm
headquartered in Miami, Florida, is a guest columnist with
MexiData.info. He can be reached via e-mail at
Cjiaincusa@aol.com. jbrewer@cjiausa.org