Report: US/Mexico Border Counties Coalition
US/Mexico Border Counties Coalition
At the Cross Roads: US/Mexico Border Counties in Transition
March 2006
Former Texas Comptroller John Sharp’s 1998 publication Bordering the Future: Challenge and Opportunity in the Texas Border Region, provided a succinct and well-documented assessment of the economic, political, and social condition of the Texas border counties. The “Sharp Report,” as it is often referred to, made it very clear that border problems, such as high rates of unemployment and chronic illness, have significant consequences for the southwest border region and the United States. At the same time, the “Sharp Report” provided a single source of substantive Texas border county data that allowed for region-wide discussion of border issues. To follow-up on the report, the United States/Mexico Border Counties Coalition commissioned this report to further examine critical economic, political, and social issues facing the 24 counties that make up the U. S. southwest border (See Map 1.1).
The role of the United States’ border with Mexico has never been more critical to the economic and political stability of the United States. Often overlooked by policy makers, the southwestern border remains a strategic and relatively secure resource in support of international trade and homeland security. This has become more important since September 11th, as cross-border trade provides a critical and continual flow of goods and services into the United States. Cross-border activity results in more than Mexico’s dependency on the United States for trade and investment capital for industrial development. American industry and manufacturing require a stable and constant flow of components and parts to build a range of products, making the southwestern border a strategic resource in the calculus of the U.S. economy. These considerations and other concerns provided the basis for this report.
A variety of key policy issues exerting influence on the political, social, and economic conditions of the border for the next five to ten years are examined in this report. These are contained in the following chapters:
Executive Summary (20 mb)
I. Outside Cover (4 mb)
II. Inner Cover
III. Contributors & Sponsors
IV. Table of Contents
V. Executive Summary
VI. Chapter 1 Introduction
VII. Chapter 2 US Border Populations
VIII. Chapter 3 Mexico Border Populations IX. Chapter 4 Income X. Chapter 5 Labor Force, Labor Pool, and Unemployment XI. Chapter 6 Employment XII. Chapter 7 Public and Higher Education XIII. Chapter 8 The Environment XIV. Chapter 9 Health and Health Care XV. Chapter 10 Trade and Border Traffic XVI. Chapter 11 Immigration XVII. Chapter 12 Housing XVIII. Chapter 13 Crime and Law Enforcement XIX. Chapter 14 Fiscal Balance of Payments and Taxation XX. Contacts
KJ