Our southern border struggles

It’s natural for journalists to narrow the topic. The issue of immigration from our southern border could include a myriad of broad topics. People view the happenings with various perspectives. For American citizens living in the States of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, the view is up close and very personal.

It’s a delicate matter, socially. We do not wish to appear heartless and yet not all of us share the ancestral empathy. Our citizens seem very divided on the issue of immigration. It should worry us to see ourselves fracture so.

The subject of ethnic identity seems clear on this side of the border. Go south however and you will find immense ethnic divisions in the country of Mexico; class divides we can hardly imagine; add to this the people moving through Mexico on their way north from other countries who experience repression and bigotry.

We read narrowed, interesting articles related to:
- America’s agriculture that needs workers
- Drug-related cross border commerce
- People migrating for work and a better life
- The business of moving people…”human trafficking”
- Cartels, gangs transplanted thriving here
- Weapons business
- Education
- Government agencies on the border
- …the cost of securing the border
- States rights
- the stability of Mexico

Rarely can we grasp the complex inter-relationships of all of this. Often in narrowing the analysis, we miss how issues connect, with consequence.

Is this a war, with possible winners and losers? Should this not be our number one foreign policy, diplomatic effort? Are there not more casualties in this war than Iraq and Afghanistan?

Our southern neighbors have failing economies in desperate need of support.

My hope is that we soon focus more diplomatic and economic efforts and resources to support our neighbors. Alas, people on our southern border states see this as warfare, and perhaps their perspective is our emerging reality; a struggle for survival. We’re geographically close to this, but here in Kansas City, we may as well be in Toronto.