US-Mexico Border Security Project Moves Into Phase II

Friday, March 5, 2010 - The Pacific Council on International Policy and the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (COMEXI) are pressing forward into a second year of activity on the joint U.S.-Mexico Border Security Project, riding on a wave of momentum following the dissemination of the Task Force's 2009 report and the resulting enthusiastic support of policy makers in both Mexico and the United States. During the coming year, the joint Task Force will continue its work through ongoing collaboration with both governments and expanded dissemination of and exchange on the original report's findings and recommendations.

Since its release, the report has significant level of media coverage on both sides of the border. Immediately following the Mexico City release event with government officials, there was public media event featuring over 100 participants and 5 television stations that provided extensive coverage in Mexico. Additionally, CNN, Televisa and Univision all conducted interviews with Ambassador Andrés Rozental, Task Force Co-Chair, in the days following the release. In the United States, The Washington Times and The Washington Post both released news reports on the work of the Task Force following the release event in Washington, and Mr. Robert Bonner, Task Force Co-Chair, gave report briefings to the editorial board of The Los Angeles Times. An op-ed authored by Mr. Bonner regarding the report and the work of the task force was carried in the Huffington Post, USA Today.com, Blogrunner, Yahoo News, and the Mexico Institute, among others.

Ambassador Rozental and Mr. Bonner have also presented the report's findings to several audiences of interested stakeholders, including the American Chamber of Commerce (with then newly appointed Mexican Ambassador to the U.S., Hon. Carlos Pascual), San Diego University, the Pacific Council and the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles.

The recommendations of the Task Force have been enthusiastically received by the public and policy makers in the United States and Mexico. Both Patricia Espinosa, Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and Janet Napolitano, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, indicated a strong desire to see consideration of and follow-up on the policy recommendations, with an aim for implementation.

As such, the Pacific Council and COMEXI will proceed with informal and formal engagement of government leaders in both the U.S. and Mexico to discuss the adoption and implementation of the Task Force's recommendations. Public release events in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego during 2010 will provide the Executive Committee the opportunity to present the Task Force report findings, to discuss and explore the implications for state and local governments, and to gather further feedback. At the first event, in Sacramento, the Executive Committee will present the Task Force report to a select audience of California legislators.

This exciting second phase of the Border Security project will pursue two important objectives: (1) to encourage sustained attention to and provide guidance on the implementation of the recommendations to the Mexican and U.S. governments and (2) to continue outreach and engagement of policy makers at the state and local levels among communities along the border.

For more on the Task Force's activities, click here.