In the last generation we’ve moved past a U.S.-Mexico relationship that while friendly on the surface, and demilitarized for the most part, really was not a genuinely cooperative relationship.
ALAN BERSINThe Mexicans return the detained Central American migrants by bus or by air to the countries they come from.
More Alan Bersin Quotes
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The nationalism and the protectionism that was built into the Mexican Revolution in 1910 and that characterized the Mexican attitude to the United States for much of the 20th century were difficult to overcome. But that actually has occurred. And the cooperation.
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Mexico now has the 13th largest economy in the world.
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But in fact as Secretary of Homeland Security General John Kelly acknowledged at his confirmation hearing, walls and barriers alone are insufficient to insure security.
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We can’t defend the country by looking at the borderline as the first line of defense rather than as the last line of defense.
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And there are places on the border, such as the Arizona desert or the open terrain around the Big Bend in South Texas, where Mother Nature has created her own barrier that is not easily passable. Or if you do pass through it, you are easily detected.
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The air passenger screening system Mexico has in place involves these checks against US national security and criminal data bases.
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We need to realize that the economic situation between Mexico and the United States is not just one in which we trade with one another.
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Our security in a global world must be looked at on a continental basis.
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Four out of five border-crossers detained in South Texas are Guatemalan, Honduran or Salvadoran. They are driven by violence and poverty in their home countries and the desire for family reunification.
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America should be working more with the Mexicans to prevent the flow of guns going south into Mexico that have fueled so much of the violence there.
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We do a trillion dollars in trade among the three countries; more than 18,000 American companies are involved in foreign direct investment in Mexico and Canada.
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We have a combined population of half a billion people; peaceful trade-friendly borders that are the envy of the world.
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There are plainclothes US officers stationed at airports in Mexico working with Mexican immigration officials to protect the United States.
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Twenty-nine US states depend on Mexico as their primary export market.
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Today, the number of migrants crossing is at a 30-year low. That’s because of years of bipartisan work on this issue.
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