Among the many issues that there appears to be little consensus on how to address in the U.S. is illegal immigration, and the influx of Mexicans into the U.S.
Unless something stunning happens soon, any serious attempt at comprehensive immigration reform that the U.S. Senate engaged in in 2006 and 2007 is off the table until 2013 at the earliest, in all probability.
Meanwhile, more Latinos – legal and illegal – continue to grow in population in the U.S. More on that in a moment, but why don't we look at why there is no momentum for such a bill in Congress right now. It's because many Republicans in Congress say need to increase border security before doing anything else on this issue. Even though the President has done that to an extent, it hasn't satisfied his critics.
Then what are we to make of the cover story in USA Today this Friday that reports that rates of violent crime in U.S. border cities have been falling for years – and that was before the U.S. security buildup that has included thousands of law enforcement officers and expansion of a massive fence along the border.
This article appears in Jul 14-20, 2011.