The Border

You can see the Mexican border problem in a different perspective if you read Jorge Ramos’s op-ed  in the online New York Times. He tells of how when he was in elementary school in Mexico City he learned that in 1848, with the end of the Mexican-American war, Mexico was forced to cede 55 percent of its territory to the U.S. for 15 million dollars. Thereupon, Ramos notes, a lot of Mexicans didn’t cross the border, the border crossed them.

America desperately needs an enlightened immigration policy. Despite President Biden’s good intentions, it seems unlikely that one will materialize. Ramos commented that in 1997 the Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes described the U.S. – Mexico border as a “bleeding scar.” It’s hard to see how it can be healed until the U.S. heals itself.