Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together
The Mexico Institute and the Migration Policy Institute invite you to a discussion marking the release of MPI President Andrew Selee's latest book, "Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together."
Event Sponsor
Overview
There may be no story today with a wider gap between fact and fiction than the relationship between the United States and Mexico. Deeply intertwined social, economic, cultural, and family relationships make the U.S.-Mexico border more seam than barrier, weaving together two economies, societies, and cultures.
Mexico has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past two decades that has made it a more educated, prosperous, and innovative nation than most Americans realize. And this emerging Mexico increasingly influences our daily lives in the United States in surprising ways 鈥 the jobs we do, the goods we consume, and even the new technology and entertainment we enjoy.听
At this discussion, marking the release of MPI President Andrew Selee's latest book, speakers explored the emerging trends in migration, economic interdependence, technology innovation, and cultural exchange that are transforming the relationship between the United States and Mexico, and the policy implications of these changes for our future.
Selected Quotes
Andrew Selee
鈥淭he idea was trying to tell the story about how two countries 鈥 Mexico and the United States 鈥 had become so deeply integrated and so deeply interrelated in ways that we often miss鈥 and how this has become a truly intimate relationship.鈥
鈥淚f you look at the long term, I am very convinced鈥 you are going to find that this is a relationship that will grow closer 鈥 with or without the politicians.鈥
Jos茅 Antonio Zabalgoitia
鈥淭he most influential actors are our peoples and our societies. In this sense, governments are not the main drivers of our integration phenomenon. Sad as it may sound, our capitals鈥 involvement is marginal.鈥
鈥淲e must understand that no country can isolate from others and much less so if isolationism tries to contain forces pulling it towards its neighbors. The strongest integration forces are social and economic, not political.鈥
鈥淎s we think of Vanishing Frontiers, we must acknowledge the complexity of sharing such a vast land border. And also, we must remember that through joint efforts and a high level of cooperation, we have been able to avoid terrorists crossing our border. I am certain that another element of our countries' coming closer together is a deeper understanding of our shared interests and the new threats that we face together.鈥
Alan Bersin
鈥淢exico has grown into the thirteenth-largest economy in the world; it is no longer the sending country that we experienced over the last five or six decades. It has become a transit country, because the driving factors, the push factors, are now affecting Central Americans, particularly in the Northern Triangle of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.鈥
鈥淲e need to address downstream the two large issues: long term is the factors that drive people out of the Northern Triangle, and we [also] have to address the fact that we have a broken immigration system听鈥 which everyone agrees is broken, although we don鈥檛 seem to be able to come up with comprehensive immigration reform. Those are the two elements that have to be addressed.鈥
Amb. Carla Hills
鈥淭here is so much misinformation floating about between our governments, our people. If you walk outside the doors of this institute and ask the first 10 people you meet, 鈥榃hat do you think about the North American Free Trade Agreement?鈥 or 鈥榃hat do you think about the bilateral relationship with Mexico?鈥 or 鈥楬ow do you think that Canada, Mexico, and the United States work together?鈥 probably you鈥檇 get, 'Well, it doesn鈥檛 matter.鈥 Well, it does matter, and it matters hugely.鈥
鈥淵ou look around the world and there鈥檚 friction between the next door neighbor[s]... Here, we have a family, and we鈥檙e working together. We share investments, tourism, and trade and it鈥檚 something we need to hold on to. But if we鈥檙e to hold on to it, we need to educate the American people about exactly what is at stake.鈥澨
Antonio Ortiz-Mena
鈥淸There are] a lot of examples about Mexican investments in the U.S. and how that is positive for the U.S., but we need more U.S. companies speaking out, and speaking frankly, and sharing stories.鈥
鈥淣ow, we see the U.S. as our ally, our friend, our partner, as a BFF, as some people would say 鈥 and suddenly our BFF unfriends us鈥 I think Mexicans are in shock, like 鈥榃hat? What happened? We鈥檙e friends. We have to get along. All that complicated history is in the past. We need to get along now more than ever.鈥 So there is like a disbelief, a misunderstanding.鈥
Amb. Roberta Jacobson
鈥淲e really aren鈥檛 like neighbors because鈥 neighbors can move if you don鈥檛 like who鈥檚 living next door. We鈥檙e much more like family 鈥 and a dysfunctional family at times, at that, where you fight and you argue at the dinner table, but in the end, you鈥檙e stuck with each other, and actually, you love each other. And sometimes we need an intervention, but we need to work it out.鈥
鈥淚 do think that听鈥 as has been the case for a very long time听鈥 governments are inevitably behind the trends that their societies advance, and we are seeing a period of that yet again. I think Ambassador Hills will probably agree that when we negotiated NAFTA, as difficult as it was, we were in some ways codifying what existed, because forces in the economy and society had already pushed that relationship forward. I think right now, when we鈥檙e trying to update it, we are doing so cognizant that there really is no way back.鈥
Introduction
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Andrew Selee
President, MPI听
Duncan Wood
Director, Mexico Institute, Wilson Center听
Opening Remarks听
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Jos茅 Antonio Zabalgoitia
Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Mexico
Speakers
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Alan Bersin
Former Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (2012-2017), and former Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (2010-2011)
Amb. Carla Hills
Chair & CEO, Hills & Company, and former U.S. Trade Representative (1989-1993)听
Antonio Ortiz-Mena
Senior Vice President, Albright Stonebridge Group
Professor, Georgetown University & CIDE
Closing Remarks听
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Amb. Roberta Jacobson听
Former听U.S. Ambassador to Mexico (2016-2018)听
Adjournment听
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Doris Meissner听
Senior Fellow and Director, U.S. Immigration Policy Program, MPI听
Please Note:听This event will take place at the听Migration Policy Institute.听
Co-sponsored by:听
Hosted By
Mexico Institute
The Mexico Institute seeks to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship. A binational Advisory Board, chaired by Luis T茅llez and Earl Anthony Wayne, oversees the work of the Mexico Institute.听 Read more
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