All Quiet on the Southern Front
By VERONICA ESCOBAR
NYT
El Paso
ACCORDING to many of the leading Republican presidential candidates, including my governor, Rick Perry, the border between Texas and Mexico is among the most dangerous in the world. All of them insist that “securing” the border has to come before any sort of comprehensive immigration reform, but Mr. Perry has been particularly aggressive about it. “It is not safe on that border,” he said recently, and he called President Obama a liar for suggesting otherwise. He’s even said he was open to sending American troops into Mexico to counter the violence.
Those of us who actually live along the border know otherwise. El Paso, the largest city along the United States-Mexico border, is also one of the country’s safest cities and the heart of a vibrant binational community.
The region has its problems — our sister city across the border, Ciudad Juárez, has been ravaged by Mexico’s drug war — but a focus on a quasi-military approach ignores the need for real solutions to our economic and social challenges.
As a lifelong resident of El Paso, I find it disheartening to see our city, and the border region in general, misrepresented for political advantage. Texas border cities are as safe or safer than other cities their size in Texas.
(More here.)
NYT
El Paso
ACCORDING to many of the leading Republican presidential candidates, including my governor, Rick Perry, the border between Texas and Mexico is among the most dangerous in the world. All of them insist that “securing” the border has to come before any sort of comprehensive immigration reform, but Mr. Perry has been particularly aggressive about it. “It is not safe on that border,” he said recently, and he called President Obama a liar for suggesting otherwise. He’s even said he was open to sending American troops into Mexico to counter the violence.
Those of us who actually live along the border know otherwise. El Paso, the largest city along the United States-Mexico border, is also one of the country’s safest cities and the heart of a vibrant binational community.
The region has its problems — our sister city across the border, Ciudad Juárez, has been ravaged by Mexico’s drug war — but a focus on a quasi-military approach ignores the need for real solutions to our economic and social challenges.
As a lifelong resident of El Paso, I find it disheartening to see our city, and the border region in general, misrepresented for political advantage. Texas border cities are as safe or safer than other cities their size in Texas.
(More here.)
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