On May 28, the Biden administration announced plans to speed up immigrant court cases — a bid to limit backlogs and extremely long waits for cases to be heard. The Center for the United States and Mexico wrote about this problem in its April 2021 recommendations for an "effective, nimble and fair” immigration court system.
Over the past decade, anti-vaccine rhetoric and activity have increased in the United States, resulting in decreased vaccination rates and more frequent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. In this study, researchers use Texas as a case study to determine if vaccine-related legislation became a partisan issue between 2009 and 2019.
Sarah Lasater, Rekha Lakshmanan, Kirstin R.W. MatthewsNovember 30, 2020
José Iván Rodríguez-Sánchez conducts a cost-benefit analysis of undocumented immigrants in Texas, concluding that undocumented residents have a positive influence and impact on the economy, since they pay taxes and fees and constitute an important part of the labor market.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has pledged to end corrupt practices in Mexico. Yet some of his other goals — such as returning to a more centralized government — might actually foster corruption. Postdoctoral fellow Jose Ivan Rodriguez-Sanchez explores this situation and analyzes the relationship between democracy and corruption in Mexico.
This analysis explores the consequences of West Bank annexation for Israel’s international standing, internal cohesion and socio-economic fabric, and security within a larger framework of regional stability.
In separate papers, two Baker Institute fellows — one Palestinian, the other Israeli — provide their perspectives on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Measuring the costs of corruption around the world is challenging due to varying definitions of corruption, the invisibility of many corrupt acts, and the subjectivity of perceptions. In this research paper, postdoctoral research fellow Jose I. Rodriguez-Sanchez explores the difficulties of measuring corruption in Mexico.
This paper reviews the membership, activities, and impact of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) in the past four presidential administrations, and provides recommendations for PCAST to continue advising the president and generating science policy in the future.
Kenneth M. Evans, Kirstin R.W. MatthewsAugust 24, 2018
This paper seeks to identify the key factors that explain why local officials in Mexico — mayors, former mayors, mayors-elect and mayoral candidates — are being killed and to provide policy alternatives to address this important threat to Mexican democracy.
David Pérez Esparza, Helden De Paz ManceraJune 4, 2018
This paper analyzes access to water in Mexico in the context of the country’s energy reform, including social conflicts that may arise from opposing environmental and energy priorities.
Alejandro Posadas, Regina M. BuonoDecember 13, 2016