Research Library

Expanding current non-immigrant work permit categories through minimal adjustments is a way to move forward on immigration reform — one that recognizes the undocumented community for its valuable contributions, writes expert Catherine Glazer in a new policy brief for the Center for the United States and Mexico.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s 2018 educational counter-reform could be hurting Mexico’s future productivity and economic growth, writes expert Jesús Antonio López Cabrera in a new policy brief.

As climate change becomes an increasingly prominent driver of migration, this report investigates possible pathways to ensure that “climate refugees” receive adequate legal protection.

Gun shows are public gatherings where licensed gun dealers and private gun owners use formal and informal venues to exchange information or sell and buy firearms, accessories, and ammunition. A major challenge is that gun shows, unlike established business locations, can be considered gray zones where regulatory loopholes facilitate the movement of legal firearms to illegal domains both domestically and internationally.

Despite U.S. officials’ attempts to persuade Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to change course on his energy policy, which violates key provisions of the USMCA, his administration has not backed down, the authors write. They explain where the disputes between the U.S. and Mexico currently stand and what they mean for other aspects of the binational relationship.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is about to achieve the quiet but full militarization of Mexican society by placing all armed government forces under Defense Secretariat command, writes nonresident fellow Gary Hale. If he is successful, this could lay the groundwork for his possible extended tenure, even if it creates a military junta by subterfuge.

By refusing to go along with an increased consumer subsidy fully available only for EVs and batteries produced in the U.S. with union labor, Sen. Manchin (perhaps with the assistance of Canada's government) has saved the U.S. government from what could have been a mortal blow to an integrated North American industry.

As the reality of protracted drought pervades the border region, the need for greater cooperation between the United States and Mexico on transboundary groundwater management is becoming more urgent, writes nonresident scholar Stephen Mumme.

Although Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is confident that measures implemented in the first half of his tenure will help Mexico to achieve energy self-sufficiency, his optimism must be weighed against the evidence, writes nonresident scholar Adrian Duhalt. In this brief, Duhalt explains the flaws in López Obrador’s plan and why Mexico is unlikely to achieve energy self-sufficiency anytime soon.

Among the U.S. citizens migrating to Mexico in recent years are an unknown number of Americans who married Mexican citizens and were co-deported or departed voluntarily with their undocumented spouses, the authors report. Without improved consular services and a diaspora policy that anticipates the likely return of these Americans in the future, the authors worry that the United States risks re-inheriting a sizable U.S. population that may well require critical government services to reintegrate after a prolonged period abroad.