Zócalo Public Square

Is there any canyon on earth wider than the gap between rhetoric and reality when it comes to the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico? The rhetoric is all about separation—with Americans proposing giant border walls and denigrating Mexican migrants, Mexican leaders condemning U.S. bullying, and each country accusing the other of being a source of violence. But the reality is two neighbors becoming even more intertwined in economic, cultural, and personal relationships. Today, San Diego and Tijuana share a single international airport, Guadalajara and Silicon Valley jointly develop technology, and a more educated and prosperous Mexico has more influence than ever on the food Americans eat, the jobs Americans do, and the entertainment Americans consume. To what extent are the U.S. and Mexico becoming one entity? Do today’s populist politics threaten to reverse the trend of deeper integration, or is a true North American community inevitable? Migration Policy Institute president Andrew Selee, author of Vani