The Administration's Border Strategy Is Working

For the past several months NDN/NPI has been marshaling the evidence that the new "21st Century Border" strategy advanced by the Obama Administration these past two years is working.  At events we've conducted in Arizona, San Diego and Washington, DC we've heard from leading Administration figures from the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, including DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.  We've hosted the mayors of El Paso, Nogales, San Diego, Tijuana, Mexico and Yuma who have shared their experiences about how much safer the border is today.   We've heard from officials from the Mexican government, including the Ambassador from Mexico to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan, about their unprecedented commitment to bringing greater prosperity and security to our common 2,000 mile border region.  And we've heard from business and law enforcement leaders, academics and other ngo leaders from the region who have eloquently described both the great successes they've seen, and the challenges which remain.

Any reasonable look at the data from the past several years makes clear that the new joint Mexican-US strategy towards the common border region is working.  Deportations of criminal immigrants, southbound seizures of bulk cash and illegal guns are way up.  The number of illegal migrants crossing the border, the number of undocumented immigrants in the US, crime rates all along the US side of the border are all down.  By some measures cities like El Paso and San Diego are some of the safest big cities in America today.  While the violence on the Mexican side of the border is still at unacceptable levels, there has been no measurable spillover of the cartel violence into the United States.  So while the things we don't want happening along the US side of the border are decreasing, the things we do want - trade and legal traffic of people - are increasing.  The 2,000 mile border between our countries sees hundreds of millions of legal crossings each year, and is now has the single busiest border crossing in the world.   Increased trade with Mexico has made our southern neighbor the 3rd largest trading partner with the US of any country in the world, and annual trade with Mexico now equals that of our trade with China, and is about the same as our trade annually with the Germany, Japan and the UK combined.   While much more must be done, it is clear that significant advances have been made along the border region in recent years.

If you are interested in learning more about the success of the Administration's "21st Century Border" strategy, please visit 21border.com our new website.  We've also included a sample of the video, analyses, speeches available for further study below.  Our page now features video of interviews with several border mayors and sheriffs who can attest to the progress which has been made.   All of them would be available to you for further discussion.

Feel free to contact me directly if you would like to talk about what NDN believes is one of the least understood, important successes of the Obama Administration these last few years.

Background
 
Progress Made In The Government's Border Strategy 02/01/2011
Analysis from NDN/NPI  on the progress made in making the border safer. After years of investment by the federal government along the border between the United States and Mexico there has been significant progress in creating a more harmonious region.  This has happened due to unprecedented amounts of resources allocated to the southwest border. This has led to a drop in crime along the US side of the border with little spillover of violence from Mexican cartels, a historic number of deportations of criminal undocumented immigrants and an increase in narcotics seizures and a drop in illegal migration into the U.S.   
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's Speech on Creating  a 21st Century Border 04/04/11
NDN/NPI hosted a major speech from Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano where she outlined the positive progress made in making the Southwest Border safer. In her speech the Secretary emphasized that the Department of Homeland Security has made significant steps towards creating a "21st Century Border," in which the United States and Mexico shared responsibility for making the border more secure for the movement of both legal commerce of labor.  Also for further context on this remarkable speech please read Secretary Napolitano's previous address "The State of America's Homeland Security, Making The Border More Secure."
 
Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan on Why The 21st Century Border Initiative Is So Vitally Important To Our Region 4/22/11
In a speech at NDN Mexican Ambassador Sarukhan,  outlined why the 21st Century Border is a key part of the United States and Mexico's intermestic relationship .He did so by contextualizing the current relationship between the United States and Mexico in a historical way, then highlighting the positive economic ties between our two countries, finally concluding with the improvements in security along the border.

The U.S. Border Strategy Is Working 03/01/2011
A memo from NDN President Simon Rosenberg on how the U.S. strategy on the border is working.  President Felipe Calderon of Mexico recently visited Washington D.C.to meet with President Obama.  Simon's take on why the progress being made along the border between the United States and Mexico is so critical to the long term prosperity of not only the region but for the country as a whole.
 
The 21st Century Border: A Declaration of Cooperation Between The United States and Mexico On The Border 5/20/2010
The Declaration of the 21st Century Border Initiative is a memorandum agreement between the United States and Mexico which pledged both countries to strengthen cooperation along the southwest border. This memorandum is integral in understanding the positive steps made in creating a safer border. In this document, both countries outline ways in which they can create a more harmonious region for the economic benefit of the region.

Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan and Commissioner Alan Bersin: A Conversation on a "21st Century Border" 5/24/2010                                                                                                                                                NDN/NPI was proud to host Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan and Chairman of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Alan Bersin as they had a discussion on the merits of the just announced 21st Century Border Initiative

Background Video – Mayors, Sheriffs, and Administration

U.S. Border Mayors Discuss Progress Made Along the Border:
 
Mayor John F. Cook, El Paso, Texas - LINK

Mayor Alan L. Krieger, Yuma, Arizona -LINK

Vice Mayor, Richard Fimbres, Tucson, Arizona - LINK

Mayor Arturo R. Garino, Nogales, AZ - LINK

Statements From Border Mayors On The Safety Of U.S. - Mexico Border - A roundtable discussion with the Vice Mayor of Tucson Richard Fimbres, the Mayor of San Diego, Jerry Sanders, the Mayor of Laredo Raul Salinas, and Sarah Gonzales representative from Rio Bravo, Mexico talking about issues they face on the border -  LINK

Law Enforcement Officials Discuss Progress Made Along The Border: 

William Bratton, Vice Chair, Homeland Security Advisory Council - LINK

Ralph E. Ogden, Sheriff, Yuma County, AZ - LINK

Tony Estrada, Sheriff, Santa Cruz County, AZ - LINK

Clarence Dupnik, Sheriff, Pima County, AZ - LINK

DHS Sec. Napolitano & Distinguished Panel on a 21st Century Border - Following Secretary Napolitano's key note speech, a distinguished panel met and gave remarks followed by a session of Q and A. The panel included: John Morton, Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Alejandro Mayorkas, Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, David V. Aguilar, Deputy Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Alan Krieger, Mayor, Yuma, AZ and Al Zapanta, President, U.S. Mexico Chamber of Commerce - LINK