For the past hundred or so years, the border with Mexico has been a non-issue with most of us. If you wanted to cross, you could roll up your jeans and just wade across the Rio Grande. In fact, we encouraged people to cross. Migrant farm labor has been an important ingredient in America’s economy for years. My father grew tomatoes commercially, and as far back as I can remember the same migrant family followed the tomato harvest north and harvested our 20 acres every year.
Several factors have come together to radically change our perception.
The first was the scourge of illegal drugs and the sustained demand for them by U.S. users. We have been spending a huge amount of money fighting a war on drugs for a long time with little, if any, effect. Mexico has evolved into a major source of drug traffic, and with it all the negative consequences. The problem is not simply immigration; it’s also a porous border.
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Posted By: Ismael Armendariz; ES 135AC, summer 2010
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