Research Library

In June 2023, the international boundary treaty governing the U.S.-Mexico border came under attack from Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lonestar. In a new research paper, nonresident scholars Stephen Mumme and Regina M. Buono outline the treaty’s history and examine key issues — advising on merits of recent challenges and long-term implications for the binational relationship between the United States and Mexico.

Do remittances — the money sent home by migrants working abroad — drive economic growth? Research scholar Jose Ivan Rodriguez-Sanchez explores their impact Mexico's economy and argues that Mexico needs a more robust economic strategy for sustained growth.

This paper builds on social network analysis (SNA) and the use of node similarity-based algorithms to make link predictions about Mexico’s network of criminal organizations.

This report takes a deep dive into how expanding the scope of the nonimmigrant TN Visa — available only to Mexican and Canadian citizens — could help solve the U.S. labor shortage. In a political climate where full-scale immigration reform seems impossible, more temporary work visas can help bridge the labor gap.

Texas is in a very advantageous position to play a leading role in driving hydrogen market growth, but the evolution of policy and market structure will dictate whether or not this comes to pass.

Research scholar José Iván Rodríguez-Sánchez examines the economic impact of remittances — the money sent home by migrants working abroad — and finds varying results at the state and municipal levels in Mexico. He also warns against relying too heavily on remittances to drive economic growth.

This paper examines the economic impact of labor shortages in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic and estimates how many unfilled jobs may exist by 2030. Higher levels of legal immigration could help ease the shortage of workers and boost the economy, the author writes.

This paper maps out the network of alliances and subgroups within the two most powerful cartels in Mexico — the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación — and reveals key structural differences that could have important implications for policymakers.

As China’s power reaches its peak over the next decade, President Xi Jinping may make a bold move against Taiwan. To protect American interests and the rules-based order, the authors argue that the United States and its allies should immediately mobilize resources to deter Chinese aggression.

"China talks green but runs on coal," write the authors, who suggest leveraging the threat of carbon taxation to incentivize change in the PRC and help set a path toward preserving the Earth for future generations.