WHEN ONE SNEEZES, THE OTHER CATCHES COLD

By Juan Montoya

No matter how much our local nationalists complain about the apparent evils associated with our neighbor to the south, along come news reports that show us how just how closethe ties are that bind us together.

Today's Brownsville Herald was very instructive. In two front-page stories, the daily's reporters illustrated the close economic relationship between both countries in a microcosm that is Cameron County.

One wrote how bridge crossings upon which the county's budget depends have increased slightly, giving local officials some slight hope that the county's finances will also improve.

In the other, the report focused on the increase in port cargo traffic from Mexican carriers reflecting the fact that the damage to the Mexican infrastructure caused by Hurricane Alex and the recent tropical storms.

And inside, the Libertarian writer John Stossel debates the issue of migration (legal and illegal) and comes up with the conclusion that regulating the flow of labor instead of shutting the borders is the most sensible way to address the immigration issue in this country.

In the end, Stossel and his guests (both pro and con immigration) conclude that "America should let more people come here legally."

As the immigration gridlock in Washington between the two major parties results is a stalemate and hamstrings the ability of the Congress to form a solution, the Libertarians are emerging as the party espousing a more moderate and sensible approach. It's not because they embrace the nations to the south or Asia. And it's not a sentimental weakness to the Statue of Liberty.

Rather, it seems that unlike the other two parties, they have realized to implement a pragmatic approach to open markets and labor-capital relations is necessary to understand (and deal with) the problem.

It hasn't been that long ago that agriculture, mining, and manufacturing interests were enticing Mexican labor to work in the United States. It happened during the World Wars when labor was scarce in this country. Of course, after the wars and during economic recession, the politicians and nationalists sought to turn off the immigration spigot by implementing mass deportations.

It happened after the Bracero Program as was documented by Hispanic publications like El Puerto of Brownsville where Jesse Sloss would write about entire families being picked up by the Border Patrol and forced to march across the border.

There are many voices calling for approaches like this to the current situation.

Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail and some solution can be found to regulate the flow of commerce and labor between the two countries. Meanwhile, along the border, U.S. citizens will still be inundated with people from Mexico looking for a better life, and with the armada of law enforcement and military personnel trying to keep them out.