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WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON AT THE US SOUTHERN BORDER: The Mounting Numbers Show Trends We Should Have Seen Coming By Evan Anderson _____ Why Read: The topic of the US's southern border with Mexico is coming up a lot lately. The enormous surge in crossings over the past two years has led to fear, political infighting, and concern about the intentions of those who might be coming across. There are many unknowns - but the data we do have suggests some interesting things about global security and stability, particularly in the top countries of origin. _____ The U.S.-Mexican border es una herida abierta [is an open wound] where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages again, the lifeblood of two worlds merging to form a third country - a border culture. - Gloria E. Anzalda, Borderlands / La Frontiera: The New Mestiza The US southern border has long been a contentious issue. Disagreement abounds regarding how to address the massive numbers of people who enter unlawfully each month. This upward swing - which isn't in question - raises valid concerns over what is sustainable for US social infrastructure, from immigration services to healthcare and local support systems.
Not covered as often (or as well) is who, exactly, is choosing this fraught path into the country, and why they make that choice. The regular reports of overwhelmed US immigration infrastructure only make sense by looking at the context of what causes people to leave their home country. No crisis can be solved without doing so. To understand the underlying economic and geopolitical issues that drive hundreds of thousands to make a perilous journey, we must first understand where they begin. Let's start with the obvious.
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