NDN Blog

With the first week of the Senate Judiciary Mark-Up behind us, it is clear the Senate Immigration Bill (S.744) retains significant bipartisan momentum. While there were many amendments offered to the Title I Border Enforcement section of the Senate legislation, the “Gang of Eight” was able to retain the balance of enforcement and investment in the critical needs of staffing at our ports of entry at the border. In the House, the Committee on Homeland Security, has quietly been marking up their own Border Enforcement legislation, and thus far has kept the balance of enforcement/investment at the border established by the Senate intact.

These developments can be attributed to a couple of very important developments at our southern border.

Border Communities Are Safer: Since 2008, the budget for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has grown from $9.3 billion to $11.8 billion in 2012. That is 2.5 billion dollars invested in the the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol alone. Within CBP, the amount of money allocated to the U.S. Border Patrol grew from $1.5 billion in FY 2003 to $3 billion in FY 2010 and continues to grow today. As a result of greater investment, cooperation with Mexico and better strategy has also resulted in an increase in apprehension rates in high traffic crossing areas. A December report from the Government Accountability Office reported that of the Border Patrol’s nine southwest-border sectors, five had more than 30,000 apprehensions in fiscal 2011, making them a “high traffic” corridor. Of these five, San Diego, CA had a 92 percent apprehension rate, El Centro, CA 91 percent, Tucson, AZ 87 percent, Laredo, TX 84 percent and the Rio Grande corridor in Texas was 71 percent. As such the Senate legislation acknowledges these gains in security by balancing enforcement and economic investment in the region.

The U.S.-Mexico relationship is essentially a commercial one: For years the U.S. has viewed our relationship through the prism, today while there are certainly security issues on the Mexico side of the border, there is now an equally compelling economic story to be told. In a new NDN/New Policy Institute report “Realizing the Strategic National Value of our Trade, Tourism and Ports of Entry with Mexico” we note: Six million U.S. jobs depend on our trade with Mexico. Mexico is our nation’s number two export market in the world and our number three trading partner overall. Mexico is our nation’s second most important foreign tourism market as well as the fourth-ranked in terms of spending by tourists.

The bipartisan “Gang of Eight’s” Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 proposes the addition of 3,500 additional Customs and Border Protection officers to staff the ports of entry on the southern border. Twenty-three states have Mexico as their number one or number two trading partner. As such it should come as no surprise that after the first week of markup the additional staffing has remained in the legislation and is likely to be included or enhanced in the House version of the bill.

Bottom line: there is fairly broad bipartisan agreement in Congress on the need to improve our land ports of entry with Mexico, which are responsible for screening and facilitating legitimate trade and travel. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is sponsoring a bill in the Senate that enables public-private partnerships at the ports of entry; in the House, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX 28) is sponsoring an identical bill.

This additional staffing is badly needed to relieve commercial, passenger and pedestrian congestion at our ports of entry with Mexico. A continued shift in attitude and approach, a bit of investment and some creative thinking on how to most efficiently and safely move people, goods and services between our two countries through our numerous, highly congested land ports of entry would greatly improve this already robust economic relationship.

A version of this piece was orginally published on VOXXI and can be read here

Your Daily Border Bulletin is up: 

Veteran Senator Emerges as Player on Immigration Overhaul Supporters of immigration reform look to Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah for needed Republican support as the markup of the Senate bill continues. Gaining that support may mean making compromises with Senator Hatch on issues of finance and H-1B visas.

Immigration Officials Say Safeguards Were Added DHS and the Obama administration push back on erroneous reports that security requirements were insufficient for adequately checking the backgrounds of millions of immigrants in the Senate immigration legislation.

Arizona Desert Swallows Migrants on Riskier Paths Despite declining apprehension rates in recent years, the numbers of migrant deaths along the US-Mexico border have remained high. As border security has increased, migrants have sought more dangerous paths to cross the border, with more fatal results. The difficulty of identifying the bodies found points to the complexity of the immigration issue.

With the Senate Judiciary Committee continuing its third week of markup on S. 744, The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, NDN and NPI's 21st Century Border Initiative hosted a special lunchtime keynote address today featuring Senator Michael Bennet (D-Col.), joined by Congressman Joe Garcia (D, FL-26), on the progress of immigration legislation in Congress. 

Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the “Gang of Eight” that drafted the Senate border and immigration bill, began by reflecting on experience from his own state: “I don’t think this is a Democrat or a Republican issue at all. I think it is a big Colorado issue, and a big issue for our economy.” He emphasized that immigration reform is important to all economic sectors across the United States and should be a nonpartisan unifying issue. He complimented the “extraordinary leadership” of the four Republican members of the Gang of Eight, Senators Rubio, McCain, Graham, and Flake. Passing the proposed immigration reform legislation would create a “new architecture” in gridlocked Washington. Senator Bennet also established the importance of creating a pathway to citizenship: “We created a chance for people who pass a background check and pay taxes to have a chance for lawful status in the United States, to work and pay taxes and come out of the shadows.” He expressed every expectation that the Senate bill will leave committee this week, commended the work and transparency of Judiciary Committee, and hoped the House will strongly consider the Senate proposal.

Congressman Joe Garcia, member of the House Judiciary Sub-Committee on Immigration and Border Security, echoed Senator Bennet’s praise for bipartisan action, sense of the importance of immigration reform, and optimism that legislation will pass in the House as well as the Senate. Even if the House must go through its own process, “we all want immigration reform.” He compared the current situation with the failed reform of 2007 saying Congress has advanced to “more substantative debate” because, in addition to all other reasons, comprehensive “immigration reform makes sense on an economic basis.” He concluded saying, “This is something huge, something that needs to be done, and the alternative is unacceptable.”

Simon Rosenberg, President of NDN and the New Policy Institute, introduced the event and Congressional members and gave a 21st Century Border Initiative presentation entitled “Immigration Reform: How The Landscape Has Changed Since McCain Kennedy Was Introduced in 2005.” The report uses statistics to narrate how the improvements in the US immigration system, US politics, and Mexico’s economy make this the ideal and necessary time for comprehensive immigration reform. Firmly supporting the Senate bill, he concluded, “It would be a reminder that Washington can do big things.” For the a copy of powerpoint presentation Simon gave at the event please see below. The presentation, Immigration Reform: How The Landscape Has Changed Since McCain/Kennedy Was Introduced in 2005 can be seen HERE.

For background on the event be sure to read NDN and NPI's 21st Century Border Initiative new report, "Realizing the Strategic National Value of our Trade, Tourism and Ports of Entry with Mexico." This new report will build on two previous papers produced with NPI by ASU's Erik Lee, "Realizing the Value of Crossborder Trade With Mexico" and "Realizing the Full Value of Tourism from Mexico to The United States." Simon’s recent Huffington Post Op-ed, “The Border is Safer, Our Immigration System is Better;” Kristian's recent NBC Latino Op-Ed "Want to make the border safer? Pass common sense gun violence legislation;" see our round-up of our most important work on these issues; and stay in touch with us via our website 21border.com. 

Your Daily Border Bulletin is up:

House Group Agrees on Immigration Reform The House’s own bipartisan “Gang of Eight” has announced that it reached an “agreement in principle” on immigration reform legislation.

Vast Majority of Small Businesses Want Immigration Reform When surveyed, the majority of American small businesses favor immigration reform and an E-Verify program that does not affect their bottom line.

Immigration Vote Looms In Senate Judiciary Committee The Senate Judiciary Committee hopes to finish markup on S. 744, The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, by the end of this week. However, disputes over amendments on high-skilled immigrant visas and green cards for foreign-born gay spouses are yet to be resolved.

So we are two days into the Senate Judiciary Committee mark-up of its border and immigration bill, S744, and the strong bi-partisan and pragmatic sensibility which helped draft this thoughtful bill continues to win the day. 

Of the votes yesterday, one was of particular interest to us – Hatch Amendment 9, which called for more funding of STEM education here in the US.  The idea is simple – why we need to fill high tech jobs with skilled immigrants today, as a matter of national strategy, it would be better to fill these jobs with Americans.   This strategy will help do that over time, and we are pleased that it passed. 

Of the Amendments we took positions on this week, the following remain to be voted on later this week:

NDN Does Not Support the Following Amendments:

Senator Orin Hatch’s Amendment # 19:  would exempt employers of temporary workers from complying with labor and employment laws.

Senator Orin Hatch’s Amendment # 20 would strike the term “any person’’ and insert the following: ‘‘an aggrieved applicant, employee, or non-immigrant (or a person acting on such person’s behalf).

Senator Grassley's Amendments #73 & #74  would restrict temporary workers (new "W" visa recipients) from renewing their visas, and would require all temporary workers to provide proof that they can and are paying for their own health insurance, which could effectively prevent almost all temporary workers from entering the U.S.

NDN Does Support the Following Amendments

Senator Blumenthal’s Amendment # 13 Would provide whistleblower protections for temporary workers.

Senator Blumenthal’s Amendment # 17 would ensure that workers have the right to a pay stub so that they can prove employment status for the pathway to citizenship.

Senator Schumer's Amendment #5  Would help workers change employers without the risk of losing their visa, and would provide an electronic monitoring system for the program.

Hatch Amendment #10 corrects the current H-1b escalator formula, increasing the number of H-1b visas, job creating U.S. innovators are seeking.

Hatch Amendment #11 leaves in rules regarding the management of the foreign professional, but also do away with attestation, and replace it with a fee that contributes to training U.S. workers.

Hatch Amendment #12 achieves the goal of protecting U.S. job creation AND U.S. workers by stripping out burdensome regulation from job creators.

Hatch Amendment #13 fixes ambiguous standards for job creators by changing language penalizing innovators by not allowing them to hire any foreign professionals for 6 months if they have had net layoffs.   

Hatch Amendment #17 accounts for hiring delays caused by onerous processing applications, improves the system for good employers, by pointing out the practical application of the law.

And you can find our previous takes on the SJC markup process here.

On Tuesday, May 14, the Senate Judiciary Committee will be considering amendments relating to employment-based visas in the bipartisan immigration bill, S. 744. Judiciary.  After a thorough review of the purposed Amendments, NDN urges adoption and defeat of the following 13 Amendments:  

We do not support the following:

Senator Orin Hatch’s Amendment # 19:  would exempt employers of temporary workers from complying with labor and employment laws.

Senator Orin Hatch’s Amendment # 20 would strike the term “any person’’ and insert the following: ‘‘an aggrieved applicant, employee, or non-immigrant (or a person acting on such person’s behalf).

Senator Grassley's Amendments #73 & #74  would restrict temporary workers (new "W" visa recipients) from renewing their visas, and would require all temporary workers to provide proof that they can and are paying for their own health insurance, which could effectively prevent almost all temporary workers from entering the U.S.

We support

Senator Blumenthal’s Amendment # 13 Would provide whistleblower protections for temporary workers.

Senator Blumenthal’s Amendment # 17 would ensure that workers have the right to a pay stub so that they can prove employment status for the pathway to citizenship.

Senator Schumer's Amendment #5  Would help workers change employers without the risk of losing their visa, and would provide an electronic monitoring system for the program.

Hatch Amendment #9  creates a STEM fund focused on K-12, post-secondary, and continuing education programs that will help reverse trends contributing to today's STEM shortages, making our long-term economic needs a priority.

Amendment #10 corrects the current H-1b escalator formula, increasing the number of H-1b visas, job creating U.S. innovators are seeking.

Amendment #11 leaves in rules regarding the management of the foreign professional, but also do away with attestation, and replace it with a fee that contributes to training U.S. workers.

Amendment #12 achieves the goal of protecting U.S. job creation AND U.S. workers by stripping out burdensome regulation from job creators.

Amendment #13 fixes ambiguous standards for job creators by changing language penalizing innovators by not allowing them to hire any foreign professionals for 6 months if they have had net layoffs.   

Amendment #17 accounts for hiring delays caused by onerous processing applications, improves the system for good employers, by pointing out the practical application of the law.

Hatch Amendments 9-13 and 17 are particularly important as they ensure that the high-skilled visa reform envisioned in the Senate Gang of Eight bill is workable, and does not become too difficult to implement for well-intentioned US companies.  

And be sure to review NDN’s take on the first day of the Senate Judiciary Committee Mark-Up.

From NDN’s Kristian Ramos:

“After the first day of Senate Judiciary Mark-Up, it is clear the Senate Immigration Bill (S.744) retains significant bipartisan momentum.   Some smart amendments were added to the bill, but more importantly bad ones were rejected.   The thoughtful bipartisan core of the bill remains intact.  The adept management of this early stage of the Committee process leaves us optimistic about the bill’s passage.  Some additional observations:

The Grassley amendment Extending the Higher Border Apprehension Goals To The Whole Border – The Gang of Eight Bill called for new border security targets of 100% surveillance and 90% apprehension rate of people attempting to cross the border in what are called “high traffic” corridors where most of the north-bound flow lies.   Senator Chuck Grassley’s amendment #1 adopted yesterday extended that goal to the entire border.  

It remains to be seen if this is a good idea.   The original target appears achievable with the amount of money allocated, the time required (5 years) to achieve these goals, and taking into account where these apprehension rates are today.   A December report from the Government Accountability Office reported that of the Border Patrol’s nine southwest-border sectors, five had more than 30,000 apprehensions in fiscal 2011, making them a “high traffic” corridor.  Of these five, San Diego, CA had a 92% apprehension rate, El Centro, CA 91%, Tucson, AZ 87%, Laredo, TX 84 % and the Rio Grande corridor in Texas was 71%.

Given where things stand now, it seems reasonable that with the time allotted and additional resources the 5 high traffic corridors, where the overwhelming majority of the north bound flow lies, can hit the new 90% apprehension rate target.  Whether it is prudent to extend that goal to areas where far fewer migrants pass, and in places that are often remote and difficult to police, is something that deserves debate in the coming months. 

The Feinstein Infrastructure amendment - We were further heartened to see that Senator Diane Feinstein’s amendment #10, was adopted. This important amendment would allow the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the governors of the States in the Southwest border region and the Northern border region to establish a grant program “to construct transportation and support infrastructure improvements at existing and new international border crossings necessary to facilitate safe, secure, and efficient cross border movement of people, motor vehicles, and cargo.”

Coupled with the far-sighted commitment in the Senate Bill to add an additional 3,500 new customs agents, the improved legislation makes a truly significant commitment to investing in expanding legal trade and travel with Mexico.  As our new paper, Realizing the Strategic National Value of our Trade, Tourism and Ports of Entry with Mexico details, the economic relationship between the US and Mexico has become one of the most important in the world.  In just the past 4 years, trade between US and Mexico has grown from $300 billion to $536 billion last year.  Mexico is now our 3rd largest trading partner, 2nd largest export market.  23 states in the US count Mexico as their number 1 or 2 export market of all the countries in the world.  The smart investments in this bill directed towards border infrastructure investment will help ensure that this explosive trade relationship continues to expand, and jobs on both sides of the border continue to be created.   

Bad Amendments Rejected, A Few More Good Ones Get Through –  Thankfully Senator John Cornyn’s amendment #1 and Ted Cruz’s amendment #1 calling for significant increases in US Border Patrol, and  gratuitous new border triggers, were rejected.  

Another positive note was the Committee's acceptance of Senator Chuck Grassley amendment #2 and Senator Jeff Flake’s amendment #2, each of which added greater oversight and accountability to the border provisions of the legislation. Finally, Senator Cornyn ‘s Amendment #6 enhances data collection and increases penalties on human trafficking.

President Obama’s recent trip to Mexico emphasized the growing economic relationship between our two countries. In this spirit NDN and NPI's 21st Century Border Initiative is proud to release a new report, "Realizing the Strategic National Value of our Trade, Tourism and Ports of Entry with Mexico." This new report will build on two previous papers produced with NPI by ASU's Erik Lee, "Realizing the Value of Crossborder Trade With Mexico" and "Realizing the Full Value of Tourism from Mexico to The United States."

As the report states: “Trade between Mexico and the United States is among one of the great untold success stories of the last four years. Key policies and investment in infrastructure can either help or hinder the enormous economic exchange between our countries. The current negotiations in Congress on comprehensive immigration reform offer a key window of opportunity to expand our ability to facilitate legitimate trade and tourism with Mexico and grow our economy in the process.” Below please find some key statistics featured in the report:

• Six million U.S. jobs depend on our trade with Mexico. Trade relationship is critically important to our economic activity.  Bilateral trade is estimated to have reached $535.9 billion in 2012, nearly double the amount of trade since the President took office.

• Mexico is on the rise, economic growth integral to Americas Economy. Mexico has a $1.76 trillion dollar economy, the twelfth largest in the world (measured by GDP purchasing power parity)

• Investment in Infrastructure is Key.  Twenty-three states have Mexico as their number one or number two trading partner, multiplying jobs in both countries. Forty-seven U.S.-Mexico land ports of entry facilitate several hundreds of billions dollars in U.S.-Mexico trade every year

NDN President Simon Rosenberg, noted:

"Our report shines a light on one of the most important economic stories of the last decade, one more American policy makers need to pay attention to - the rise of the Mexican economy, and the exploding trade relationship between Mexico and the United States.  Our report finds that trade between the US and Mexico was a staggering $536b last year up from $300b just 4 years ago.  These extraordinary results, validating the hemispheric ambition of NAFTA, has turned the US-Mexican economic relationship into one of the largest, and most important, in the world today."

Erik Lee, associate Director at Arizona State University’s North American Center for Transborder Studies (NACTS) and author of the report:

"U.S.-Mexico bilateral trade hit $535.9 billion in 2012 and is an economic force that all of us need to appreciate and understand better. President Obama’s extensive references to this enormous economic relationship last week essentially confirmed what we have known for years: the U.S.-Mexico relationship is essentially a commercial relationship, rather a security-based relationship.. We have a window of opportunity to increase this economic bonanza that includes key legislation (including immigration reform), new trade agreements and important pending infrastructure investments to facilitate trade and tourism. If we can get this done, we can set the stage for tremendous future shared prosperity."

For background on the event be sure to read Simon’s recent Huffington Post Op-ed, “The Border is Safer, Our Immigration System is Better;” Kristian's recent NBC Latino Op-Ed "Want to make the border safer? Pass common sense gun violence legislation;" see our round-up of our most important work on these issues; read some of our key reports, "Realizing the Value of Crossborder Trade With Mexico" and "Realizing the Full Value of Tourism from Mexico to The United States." Also, stay in touch with us via our website 21border.com. 

Please join NDN and NPI's 21st Century Border Initiative for a special event where we will release a new report, "Realizing the Strategic National Value of our Trade, Tourism and Ports of Entry with Mexico."  

The event is timed to provide perspective on President Obama’s visit to Mexico this week, and on the current debate about the border and immigration here in the United States.   Joining us for the release will is a terrific group of experts and elected officials to discuss the contents of the report:

Filemon Vela, Congressman (TX-34), whose district lies along the border and is co-chair of the House Border Caucus

Jonathan Rothschild, Mayor of Tucson, AZ

Erik Lee, Associate Director at Arizona State University’s North American Center for Transborder Studies (NACTS)

The discussion will take place at NDN's event space, just a block from the White House, at 729 15th Street, NW, Washington. We'll serve lunch at noon, and the program will begin promptly at 12:15, ending at 1:30pm. In case you cannot join us in person, we will also be streaming the event online. 

This new report will build on two previous papers produced by ASU’s Erik Lee, "Realizing the Value of Crossborder Trade With Mexico" and "Realizing the Full Value of Tourism from Mexico to The United States." 

Please RSVP here and we look forward to seeing you on May 8th!

NDN and its affiliate, the New Policy Institute (NPI), have been long-time thought leaders on the policy and politics of immigration reform and US-Mexico relations. Ahead of the President’s trip to Mexico Simon Rosenberg, President of NDN and NPI recently met with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.  Be sure to check out some of the work we have done in this space: 

Events/Briefings/Op-Ed's

April -Event Mexican Ambassador Medina Mora Talks US-Mexico, Border, Immigration Reform: With the President announcing a May trip to Mexico, members of the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” taking a constructive trip to the border, and the Senate set to announce their bi-partisan immigration legislation, please take a moment to watch our timely event on U.S.- Mexico relations, our southwest border and immigration.

April - Web Briefing: Understanding Modern Mexico - To take a deeper look at how Mexico is modernizing and growing, NPI Policy Direcotor of the 21st Century Border Initiative hosted a live web video briefing, with former Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan and noted Mexican economist and author, Jorge Suarez-Velez.  Two recent articles by Tom Friedman about the growth and progress Mexico has seen over the past generation has sparked a vibrant bi-national debate, which our discussion will reference and expand upon. To watch the full video click here.

April – Web Briefing "Immigration Reform: How The Landscape Has Changed Since the House Last Voted in 2005 – Our Border Is Safer, Our Immigration System Is Better and Mexico Is Modernizing and Growing." - Simon delivers his new presentation on how the immigration debate has changed since 2005. This original work tells how immigration, the safety along the border, and the complex economic relationship between the U.S. and Mexico have improved since 2004. The fifteen to twenty minute presentation wasl followed by an extended Q&A session. To see the powerpoint please click here.

April - Kristian Publishes Op-ed on Gun Legislation and Immigration Reform - Kristian weighs in on how sensible solutions to reduce gun violence could help build on the progress in recent years in make the US-Mexican border even safer. Bottom line - more must be done to stop the illegal gun flow into Mexico. To read the full op-ed please click here.

March - Simon Speaks At Trilateral Border Issues Symposium At Arizona State University Simon Rosenberg will be speaking at the Tri Lateral Border Issues Conference at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona. With the recent issuance by the Department of Homeland Security of the Northern Border Strategy a number of border issues have been framed that this symposium will examine in the context of Canada-United States-Mexico trade and security. To read more about his speech please click here.

March - NDN Backgrounder: How The Immigration Reform Landscape Has Changed Since 2005: Simon recently briefed the House New Democrat Coalition, a group of 51 Members of Congress, on immigration reform and border issues. I wanted to share with you the Power Point we developed for the briefing. If you are interested in learning more about some of the issues at the heart of our current immigration debate this is a great place to start. To see the powerpoint please click here.

March -Kristian's Op-Ed Published in the Huffington Post: Kristian Ramos, Policy Director of the 21st Century Border Initiative wrote an op-ed titled: The Reality of Our Safer Border Makes Immigration Reform Possible, in which he describes how the progress made at our southwest border coupled with Mexicos remarkable transformation makes the prospects of immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship much brighter. Kristian's full op-ed can be read here.

February - NDN Statement on House Border Caucus Letter to White House: NDN and the New Policy Institute released the following statement applauding a letter from the House Border Caucus Chairmen Reps. Grijalva and Vela letter to the President. The letter outlines three critical priorities for the US-Mexico border region: more customs agents to increase legal trade and tourism while aiding in critical enforcement needs; more investment in border infrastructure to modernize our aging port system in particular; and better Federal management of the complex economic and security opportunities and challenges of the region. To read the Mayor of Las Cruces letter to the White House please click here.

February - Simon's Op-Ed Published in the Huffington Post: NDN President Simon Rosenberg wrote an op-ed titled "The Immigration System is Better, the Border is Safer, But More To Do," in which he describes today's novel immigration landscape and the steps that we must take as a nation to institute effective, lasting immigration reform. Simon's full piece can be found here.

January - Simon Talks Immigration Reform on PBS NewsHour: In an extended interview with Christina Bellantoni of PBS NewsHour, Simon offered his thoughts on immigration reform. Simon discusses our improved border security apparatus and advances in interior enforcement, and emphasizes the need to account for our changing economic dynamic in crafting new immigration legislation. A recording of Simon's interview can be found here.

January - NDN Event “Perspectives from the US-Mexico Border Region,” NDN/New Policy Institute hosted another salient event,  which focused on opportunities and challenges unique to our shared border. Simon moderated the discussion between Mayors Greg Stanton of Phoenix, Raul Salinas of Laredo, Ken Miyagishima of Las Cruces, and Eduardo Olmos of Torreon, Mexico. C-SPAN’s live recording of the event can be found here.

Reports

March 2012 -Realizing the Full Value of Tourism from Mexico to the United States: The New Policy Institute and ASU published a seminal report, which argues that increasing tourism from Mexico should be a major priority for our new national tourism strategy. Please read the full report here.

December 2011 Realizing the Value of Crossborder Trade with Mexico: This New Policy Institute paper, researched by The North American Center for Transborder Studies (NACTS) at Arizona State University, explores the important and growing economic relationship between the United States and Mexico.  Among the paper’s more interesting findings is that, remarkably, 22 states now count Mexico as their first or second largest export market, including our two biggest states, California and Texas. Please read the full report here.