The politics of immigration often devolves into extremist arguments over “open borders” and the dangers of the border. The language used is designed to control the narrative for the agenda driving it. Such is the case around the recent debates over whether there is an ongoing border crisis today. Images of children in cages, pods and stories of children separated from their parents is used by both sides to frame the immigration debate. Lost in the narratives is the truth.
Corruption in a community can only flourish when society not only allows it to grow but encourages it as well. Deep‐rooted corruption, like the one found in El Paso, must be ingrained into the fabric of society. To do that, the moral compass of society must accept that corruption is an acceptable standard for the community. A community’s moral compass is defined through education and encouragement. Encouragement is demonstrated every time a pillar of the community, like Bob Jones or Dana Pittard, are lauded by the business community and political elites. On the other hand, educating corruption takes many forms, from allowing corrupt behavior in educational settings, such as the school districts, or by ignoring corruption within the policing agencies as well as governmental circles. The Catholic Church should set the moral compass of El Paso, but its actions only encourage corruption as a way of life.
In 2008, when the drug violence in Cd. Juárez exploded, many explained the rising violence as a drug war for control of the Juárez plaza. El Pasoans, from officials to everyday people argued that “it’s a México problem.” Calling it a fight for the Juárez plaza, instead of what it really is, a drug war for control of the El Paso/Cd. Juárez plaza.
Juárez and major parts of Mexico are in a crisis forcing many in our community to ask, what can be done? The answer is simple yet complicated. It is easy because the bilateral actions taken by the United States and México are the answer to the crisis. The difficult part is accepting this. Although many in the United States and México view each other with distrust, the reality is that both countries are symbiotically dependent on each other. For both to prosper, we must embrace each other as partners. Unfortunately, the perception, both internally and externally, is that México, in general, is corrupt and beyond redemption. This notion is often distorted and perpetuated by extreme points of view. The reality is that both México and the United States have made great strides toward building upon their partnership and more importantly, dealing with the bi-national problem of organized crime on both sides of the border.
Many in the U.S., especially the U.S. government, were mystified with Mexico’s recent decriminalization of small quantities of narcotics for personal use. Some have even suggested that this shows that Mexico is seeking to legalize drugs to solve the pervasive drug problems the country faces both from a consumption and production standpoint. Those who can fully appreciate the differing points of view each country has, this recent action by Mexico makes perfect sense and does not signify the premise that legalizing drugs is the way to solve the drug issues.
Unless you have been living under a rock lately, you’ve probably heard that Cd. Juárez is the most dangerous city in North America. So just how dangerous is it? Our sister city is in the midst of a long and arduous war of willpower between citizens who still believe in their city and criminals who want to wrest control away from the community in order to ply their deadly concoction in an attempt to mask life’s everyday problems for those who are too lazy to deal with life head on. And regardless of what you may think the solution to the problem is, you are likely to agree that Juárez is not a safe city. But really, how dangerous is Juárez?
