Uncertain Partners: U.S.-Mexico Relations Under the Trump Administration

The United States and Mexico share a 2,000-mile border, deep historical and cultural ties, expanding trade and economic linkages, and common security concerns. Bilateral relations between the two countries have a direct impact on the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans and Mexicans. Under the Trump administration, however, cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico is being tested in all these areas. President Donald Trump has declared his intentions to build a border wall between the two countries, increase security at the border, accelerate the deportation of undocumented Mexican immigrants in the U.S. and revise the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). President Enrique Peña Nieto has pushed back, but he has also suggested that he is open to continued cooperation between two countries. However, Peña Nieto is nearing the end of his administration, and he and his party face historically low approval numbers.

How can the United States and Mexico move forward under these circumstances? Is there middle ground for a more deliberative conversation to take place? At this conference sponsored by the Baker Institute Mexico Center and Red Global MX – Houston, leading authorities in the fields of immigration, trade, border issues and binational cooperation discussed their research findings and the way forward for this critical relationship.

Join the conversation online with #BakerMexico.

Welcome

José Luis López
President, Houston Chapter, Red Global MX

Tony Payan, Ph.D.
Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies and Director, Mexico Center, Baker Institute

Panelists

Gil Kerlikowske
Nonresident Fellow, Mexico Center, Baker Institute, and Former Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Pia Orrenius (Click here to view slides of the presentation)
Vice President and Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Tony Payan, Ph.D. (Click here to view slides of the presentation)
Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies and Director, Mexico Center, Baker Institute