Experts in the News

“Criminal organizations control the border,” so they control who and what crosses it, said fellow Gary Hale of the cartels’ role in the surge of migrants heading to the U.S. “That becomes a lucrative moneymaker, a revenue generator for these cartels.”

“Use your education to advocate and improve the community in which you live, while also staying in a place of curiosity so that you continue to learn and grow,” said fellow Quianta Moore. Moore, who holds a J.D. and M.D., graduated from the law school in 2009. At the Baker Institute, she is the Huffington Fellow in Child Health Policy.

A killing spree in the Mexican border city of Reynosa that left scores of civilians dead remains unexplained, but "the current political realignment (after Mexico's midterm elections) could be creating instability,” said nonresident scholar Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera. "The well-known participation of security authorities in criminal acts in Tamaulipas indicates that organized crime has always counted on a degree of protection." Read more at Mexico News Daily.

Changes in domestic politics have propelled UAE crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan into unrivaled leadership of the seven-emirate state. “He’s pursued an almost ‘zero tolerance’ approach. He wants to eliminate threats before they even begin to have an impact," said Middle East fellow Kristian Coates Ulrichsen.

Health policy fellow Elena Marks, the president of the Episcopal Health Foundation, recently testified before the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on how to help uninsured Texans through policies like Medicaid expansion.