NPI is  proud of the work we did to elevate the importance of the southwest border region and in particular  Mexico to enhancing tourism and travel into the United States. The core of our argument made it  high up in the report.

“Our neighbors, Canada and Mexico, currently are the top two markets for international travelers to the United States. In 2011, 21 million Canadian nationals visited the United States, followed by Mexico with 13 million visitors, accounting for exports of $24 billion and $9 billion, respectively.22 Mexico represents a near-term opportunity for increasing travel to the United States because of its growing middle class and strong cultural ties.”

NDN/NPI also advocated that the report highlight the importance of enhancing our border infrastructure as a means of increasing tourism and transportation. This also made it into the report:

Strategy 5: Maintain and Improve Transportation Infrastructure

• Invest in infrastructure. Continue efforts to improve transportation and Land Port of Entry infrastructure related to U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico border crossings. Implement on-going and new, as budget allows, U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico border crossing infrastructure projects, including projects to improve inspection plazas, roads, bridges, tunnels, and ferries.

For more from our report Realizing the Full Value of Tourism from Mexico to the United States and the 21st Century Border Initiative program please go to 21border.com.

States Introduce Fewer Immigration Bills The number of immigration bills and resolutions appearing in state legislatures across the country declined steeply in the first quarter of this year, according to a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures. “More than 1,500 bills were introduced the first quarter of 2011. This year only 865 have been introduced in 45 state legislatures and the District of Columbia during the same period, said the report released Tuesday. The number of laws enacted is also down. As of March 31, 27 states enacted 24 laws and adopted 74 resolutions. That represents a 30 percent drop in the number of measures enacted in the first quarter of 2012, compared to the same period a year ago.  An additional five bills were awaiting governors’ signatures.  State Sen. John Watkins, R-Va., said that the drop off is due to the case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, regarding the constitutionality of Arizona’s controversial immigration law, known as SB1070.”

Ciudad Juarez Back on Border Region Tourist Maps Ciudad Juarez is returning to maps featuring attractions for visitors to the U.S.-Mexico border region around El Paso after two years of being excluded due to a wave of drug-related violence.“During the past two years, the illustrated map distributed at visitor centers in El Paso showed the top destinations for tourists, with the area beyond the border occupied by Ciudad Juarez shown as a desert with just some logos. The maps, designed by illustrator and current El Paso Business Region Chamber of Commerce president Jose Alejandro Lozano, had always included Juarez, with the exception of 2010, when the Mexican border city was wiped off the regional tourist geography.”

Republicans’ Hispanic problem — in 2 Charts New data from an NBC-Wall Street Journal poll that show President Obama leading former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney by 34 points among Hispanics set off a new round of speculation about whether Republicans can win in November if they can’t narrow that margin. ” focusing just on 2012 actually underestimates the depth of the political problem for Republicans when it comes to the Hispanic community. In short: Republicans’ Hispanic problem didn’t happen overnight and they won’t be able to fix it overnight either. That means that regardless of what happens in 2012, Republicans need to find ways to begin growing their support among Hispanics, or they run the risk of struggling to build majority national coalitions in 2016, 2020 and beyond.”

In the Senate a bi-partisan group of law makers have introduced legislation which would create two new visas to encourage immigrants skilled in science, technology, engineering, and math to remain in the country. Immigration Reform champion Luis Gutierrez has indicated that he would support Marco Rubios DREAM Act even if there was no pathway to citizenship in the legislation. The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the length of lawful residence in the United States by immigrant parents cannot be considered by the federal government in deciding whether their children should be deported.

Senate Bill To Create Visa’s to Encourage New Talent – In the Senate a bi-partisan group of law makers have introducedlegislation which would create two new visas to encourage immigrants skilled in science, technology, engineering, and math to remain in the country. ” A bipartisan Senate immigration bill introduced on Tuesday would create two new types of visas to attract and keep immigrants skilled in the fields where the United States is weakest: science, technology, engineering, and math. The bill is designed to follow on the success of the Jobs Act in helping start-ups get capital.Technology firms have increasingly complained that without changes to the current immigration system, they may be forced to move research and other projects offshore so they can hire the high-skilled workers they need.”

Gutierrez Could Support ‘Watered-Down’ Dream Act- Immigration Reform champion Luis Gutierrez has indicated that he would support Marco Rubios DREAM Act even if there was no pathway to citizenship in the legislation. ” Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) is willing to support a “Dream Act”-style bill from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) even if it’s “watered-down” and doesn’t give a path to citizenship, he told Fox News Latino in an interview published on Monday. “If it stops the deportation, and doesn’t exclude them from becoming citizens,” he said. “It doesn’t stop that from happening, yes. And I think we can arrange, arrive at that.” Rubio had yet to release a specific proposal, but plans to unveil a bill within a few weeks that would provide legal status to some undocumented young people who entered the United States as parents. His plan, like the decade-old Dream Act supported by most Democrats, would be aimed at those who agreed to attend college or join the military.”

Supreme court rules for government on immigrants’ residence The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the length of lawful residence in the United States by immigrant parents cannot be considered by the federal government in deciding whether their children should be deported. “The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the length of lawful residence in the United States by immigrant parents cannot be considered by the federal government in deciding whether their children should be deported.The justices unanimously handed a victory to the Obama administration and overturned a ruling by a U.S. appeals court that immigrants who entered the United States as children may count their parents’ years in this country to satisfy the residency requirements.”

Will Population Shifts Alter Immigration Debate? Population changesand various research indicate that the great flow primarily of Hispanic undocumented immigrants, which lasted at least two decades, ended several years ago, the question is will this new reality shift the debate over immigration reform? ” The U.S. Supreme Court’s expected ruling in June on Arizona’s immigration law will set the blueprint for states where many officials say they face a crisis in trying to crack down on rising numbers of illegal residents. Yet population changes and various research indicate that the great flow primarily of Latino illegal immigrants, which lasted at least two decades, ended several years ago. A funny thing happened on the way to Latinos becoming America’s largest minority: Their population growth significantly slowed, so much so that many demographers estimate the boom peaked between 2005 and 2006. By 2010, the majority of Latinos living in America were born here. And Mexican immigration, which contributed the overwhelming majority of illegal entries, has come to a halt.”

Alabama Gets Strict Immigration Law A day after calling a special session and urging the Alabama Legislature to change the state’s immigration enforcement law than the modest ones they had passed, Gov. Robert Bentley on Friday signed the bill into law anyway. ” The governor’s decision was arguably the quickest of several reversals that have taken place in recent weeks as politicians in Montgomery, the capital, debated the need for changes to Alabama’s immigration enforcement law, considered the strictest and most sweeping in the country. The Legislature had seemed poised just weeks earlier to pass a bill that would make a number of changes to the original law that were intended to address complaints by business groups, local law enforcement officials and legal Alabama residents. But in the last few days of the session, which ended Wednesday, another version of the bill gained steam, one that preserved more of the original law and also added some controversial provisions, like one requiring the state to publish the name of every illegal immigrant who appears in court for a violation of state law.

Undocumented Immigrants are Coming Out of the Shadows From California to Georgia to New York, children of families who live here illegally are “coming out” — marching behind banners that say “undocumented and unafraid,” staging sit-ins in federal offices, and getting arrested in the most defiant ways — in front of the Alabama Capitol, outside federal immigration courts and detention centers, in Maricopa County, Ariz., home of the sworn enemy of illegal immigrants, Sheriff Joe Arpaio. “She was tiny and trembling and looked so very vulnerable. Barely 15, having already experienced a lifetime of hardships since losing her mother at 5 and crossing the desert with her father, she clutched a microphone before a crowd in New York’s Union Square. “My name is Diana,” she said. “I am undocumented and unafraid.” With those words last March, another young woman stepped “out of the shadows.” It began several years ago, tentatively, almost furtively, with a few small rallies and a few provocative T-shirts. In the past two years it has grown into a full-fledged movement, emboldening thousands of young people, terrifying their parents, and unsettling authorities unsure of how to respond.”

U.S. sues Arpaio’s office over treatment of Latinos After collecting evidence over the past five years, the United States of Justice is finally going ahead with a lawsuit against Sheriff Joe Arpaio. “The federal government filed a lawsuit against the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Thursday morning alleging that sheriff’s deputies discriminate against Latino residents during patrol operations and in the county’s jails and that the Sheriff’s Office retaliates against critics of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. It marks just the second time since a police-reform act was passed in the early 1990s that the Justice Department has been forced to file a contested lawsuit against a law-enforcement agency, said Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perez.”

Another politically charged issue: ImmigrationThe Washington Post’s pundits argue how the issue of immigration will effect the 2012 general election match up. “On Ed’s post this morning that Obama’s conversion on gay marriage was cynical and political, I would reply that’s what some people said about Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. Political considerations are always part of the mix even in the most idealistic decisions, but, to me, it’s a lot more important where Obama ended up on gay marriage than how he got there. Too many Republicans are on the wrong side of this issue, which is where some, not all, Southern Democrats once were on civil rights. The arc of justice may bend slowly and cynically, but yesterday it bent.”

Spring Break Up, Migration Down & More  Spring Break travel from the United States to Mexico increases by 7.2 percent compared with last year. “Some good news for Mexico – spring break travel to Mexico grew 7.2 percent this year compared to 2011, despite travel warnings due to cartel violence from U.S. State Department and the Texas Department of Safety. Over 77,000 young tourists traveled to the country between March 5 and March 30. Some special guests included the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, who recently made there way to the to Rivera Maya for a calendar photo shoot.  More than 20 million U.S. travelers make Mexico their travel destination every year

The Washington Post posits that it is no longer a question of whether or not Romney will win the the Hispanic Vote, but rather by how much? Given steep declines in the entrance of undocumented immigrants across our southern border, the Border Patrol is changing their strategy. Finally the anti-immigrant movement announces that they don’t trust Romney on immigration either.

Romney and the Hispanic Vote The Washington Post posits that it is no longer a question of whether or not Romney will win the the Hispanic Vote, but rather by how much?”It doesn’t take a soothsayer to see that Republicans are going to lose the Hispanic vote. The only mystery is by how much — and that’s a key question. Just how key is evident in the GOP’s increasingly feverish effort to contain the damage done in primary season, when Mitt Romney, with cameo assists from most of his rivals, took turns beating up on illegal immigrants and throwing cold water on common-sense immigration reform. It’s a clear policy — amplified by Republican state lawmakers across the country — that amounts to unbridled hostility to 11 million illegal immigrants, 7 million of whom are in the American work force.”

Border Patrol shifts strategy as illegal immigration slows Given steep declines in the entrance of undocumented immigrants across our southern border, the Border Patrol is changing their strategy. “The U.S. Border Patrol, unveiling its first new strategy in eight years on Tuesday, said it aims to become more nimble as illegal immigration plummets.
The new plan calls for increased intelligence gathering, greater cooperation with other law enforcement agencies and quicker deployment to combat the biggest risks, said Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher. The change means a shift away from the strategy of deploying a growing army of agents at trouble spots. The number of agents has more than doubled to 21,000 since the last plan in 2004, along with a heavy investment in boats, aircraft, cameras and other equipment. “The principal theme of the 2012 Strategic Plan is to use information, integration and rapid response to meet all threats,” Fisher said in prepared remarks before the House of Representatives‘ subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security.”

No, anti-immigration activists don’t trust Mitt Romney Finally the anti-immigrant movement announces that they don’t trust Romney on immigration either. “Forget the White House. “I could write in my mother’s name. I really wouldn’t make any difference, because nobody’s listening to me anyhow,” says Dan Beck, a cop and former sheriff from Ohio’s Allen County, who still wears a sheriff’s pin on his jacket lapel. Beck was among the activists, policy wonks, and Republican legislators who are lending their voices this week to conservative radio hosts who’ve gathered in Washington to focus on illegal immigration. Organized by the Federation for American Immigration Reform — a leading advocacy group in the fight against illegal immigration — the confab made it clear that the presidency isn’t the movement’s primary battleground. Many say they’re not entirely sure what Romney’s positions on immigration really are. And even they were, they wouldn’t believe the promises that he’s making anyway.”

Our Anti-Innovation Immigration System: An op-edin the Atlantic highlights the fact that our current federal immigration laws are anti-Innovation, anti-business, and anti-people. “Sen. Marco Rubio’s proposal to allow undocumented immigrant youth to stay in the country legally has elicited interest among some immigration reform advocates. That’s primarily because it has breathed life into a moribund effort. Under Rubio’s as-yet unwritten plan, men and women who came to the United States as children and are pursuing higher education would be able to live in the country legally. Unlike the original DREAM Act, which has failed repeatedly to pass the U.S. Congress, the legislation wouldn’t provide a pathway to citizenship for this group. It would only create that venue for men and women joining the military. Some cheerleaders for the original DREAM Act look at the Rubio plan as a way to potentially break the logjam on immigration reform. GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who opposes the original DREAM Act, has not dismissed the proposal outright. Plus, as Rubio points out, the men and women who qualify for his version of the DREAM Act could eventually become citizens through existing venues.”

Border Patrol Unveils New ‘Intelligence-Driven’ Strategy: Today the U.S. Border Patrol unveiledits first new National Strategy which will be more risk based.”The U.S. Border Patrol on Tuesday unveiled its first national strategy in eight years, a period in which the number of agents more than doubled and apprehensions of people entering illegally from Mexico dropped to a 40-year low. The new approach — outlined in a 32-page document that took more than two years to develop — uses buzzwords like “risk-based” and “intelligence-driven” to describe a more nuanced, targeted response to constantly evolving threats. The Border Patrol previously relied on a strategy that blanketed heavily trafficked corridors for undocumented immigrants with agents, pushing migrants to more remote areas where they would presumably be easier to capture and discouraged from trying again.”

Former Mexican president urges peace through culture: Former President of Mexico Vicente Fox has come out forcefully saying that the cultural bonds between our two countries should be acting as a natural place for our two countries to come together to solve problems in the region. “Former Mexican President Vicente Fox on Sunday said there was no better place to begin fortifying the relationship between Mexico and the United States than Texas, where almost a majority of the population is Mexican American. In a keynote address to more than 450 people gathered for Mexic-Arte’s Gala del Museo, he called for an end to the war broiling in Mexico and urged Mexican and U.S. citizens to work together to build a better future for the region, as world power shifts from the West to the East. “We will win this battle, not by opening the border, but by tearing down the walls and building bridges between Mexico and this great nation,” he said at the benefit hosted at the Four Seasons Hotel. “There is no better way to build peace than through culture, than through education, than through (creating) opportunities.”

Romney’s sagging numbers in Florida and Obama’s considerable lead among Hispanics in Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona shrinks his electoral map path to victory. This electoral map reality makes Romney’s lack of outreach to Hispanic voters all the more baffling.

Buzz Feed puts it best: “A full year after Romney launched his presidential bid, the campaign doesn’t have a Spanish version of its website, nor has it hired a Spanish-speaking spokesperson. Romney boycotted a primary debate on Univision, leading to the event’s collapse, and, to date, he has only done one sit-down interview on a national Spanish network.”

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has constructed a Spanish language tumblr which mostly trashes the Obama Administration in Spanish. It is fine to disagree with the President’s policy decisions, but to present no policy recommendations of your own is a bit hypocritical. Although you can’t really blame the RNC for not presenting any policy recommendations for Hispanic voters, as Romney’s campaign has not done so itself. Romney’s campaign does not have a policy page yet because they have not worked out where they are on issues important to Hispanics. A perfect example of this is the DREAM Act.

Speaking at the White House’s Cinco de Mayo reception, President Barack Obama called on Congress to pass the Dream Act –a measure deeply popular with Hispanic voters. The Romney campaign has repeatedly stated that he would veto the DREAM Act if it came to his desk as President. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a possible vice president pick for Romney, is currently advancing his own version of the legislation. Romney has declined to endorse the legislation and as of this writing was “studying” the legislation.

While immigration is important to Hispanics it is by no means the only issue they vote on, Medicare and education are deeply cherished institutions to this voting bloc. Romney is far to the right of where Hispanic voters are on both issues. Romney has publicly stated that Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget plan was “Marvelous.” His campaign has indicated that he would be running on a plan similar to Ryan’s in the general election. The Ryan Plan certainly is marvelous, as long as you are fabulously wealthy. However for those in the country who rely on a good public education or Medicare it is disastrous.

On education, the Ryan/Romney Plan would eliminate money for 200,000 children in 2014, according to an analysis by the National Education Association. On Medicare, the Ryan/Romney Plan would cut spending on the poorest by about $5 trillion over 10 years from Medicaid and other programs that Hispanics and the rest of working class Americans use. On the other hand, the Ryan/Romney plan balances the budget on the back of the working middle class while giving $4 trillion in tax cuts to the most-wealthy Americans.

While some may disagree with this analysis, even a casual observer can see that the Romney campaign has put zero thought into their Hispanic outreach. The worst thing about Romney’s presidential campaign is not their Tumblr page (which is actually an RNC production), nor their lack of Spanish language content/spokesmen, but rather there has been no new ideas about how a Romney Presidency would help Hispanics. Romney’s team has indicated that the Hispanic vote is important, but when will he ever actually reach out to them? At this point is it even possible for Romney to reach out without flip flopping completely on past stances? It is perfectly O.K. if Romney wants to engage on other issues with the Hispanic community, he may have a great energy plan…. at this point he just needs to engage.

At a Cinco De Mayo Celebration at the White House President Barack Obama called for the passage of the DREAM Act. In testimony before the House Subcommittee on Maritime and Border Security Gene Garza, the director of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said that the border has never been safer. Six protestors of Alabama infamous immigration law have been detained indefinitely.

Obama Pushes for Dream Act At a Cinco De Mayo Celebration at the White House President Barack Obama called for the passage of the DREAM Act.”Speaking at the White House’s Cinco de Mayo reception, President Barack Obama called on Congress to pass the Dream Act –a measure that would give undocumented students brought to the country illegally as minors a chance to obtain permanent U.S. residency if they attend college or serve in the military, and eventually apply for citizenship if they desire. Calling the measure a “common-sense” reform, Obama blamed the failure of the Dream Act on a few Republicans in Congress. He says he will keep pushing for it, along with other fixes to what he called the nation’s “broken” immigration system. The Democrat-driven version of the DREAM Act passed the House in 2010 but was defeated in the Senate by a 55-to-41 vote. In the Senate, three Republicans supported the measure, five Democrats voted no.”

CBP Director: U.S.-Mexican Border Areas Are Among the Safest in U.S. In testimony before the House Subcommittee on Maritime and Border Security Gene Garza, the director of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said that the border has never been safer. “Areas on the U.S. side of the southwest U.S.-Mexican border are “some of the safest communities in America,” says Gene Garza, the director of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — an extension of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — in Laredo, Texas. The Laredo Field Office maintains the largest amount of commercial traffic throughout the entire U.S.-Mexican border, processing more than $104 billion in merchandise in 2010 alone. Testifying before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security Tuesday, during a hearing entitled, “Using Technology to Facilitate Trade and Enhance Security at Our Ports of Entry,” Garza said his analysis stems from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), which document crime statistics in the U.S. In fiscal year 2011, CBP seized 5 million pounds of narcotics, including nearly 370,000 pounds seized at the ports of entry. These numbers demonstrate the effectiveness of our layered approach to security,” Garza testified. “Violent crime in border communities has remained flat or fallen in the past decade, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Uniform Crime Report, and some of the safest communities in America are at the border. In fact, violent crimes in Southwest border counties overall have dropped by more than 40 percent and are currently among the lowest in the Nation per capita, even as drug-related violence has significantly increased in Mexico.”

Immigration law protesters detained outside Alabama Senate  Six protestors of Alabama infamous immigration law have been detained indefinitely. “Six people protesting the state’s controversial immigration law were led away and detained Thursday morning after a sit-down protest near the Alabama Senate chamber. The protesters prayed and sang “Amazing Grace” and “This Light of Mine,” and called for the repeal of the controversial law before being led to a separate room in the Alabama State House. Two senators knelt and prayed with the protesters, but were not detained. The six were released later in the day.”

Our non-existent immigration problem Tim Noah of The New Republic provides analysis on our non-existent national immigration problem. “I hate to interrupt a good brawl. But, while politicians and Supreme Court justices debate how, and at what level of government, to halt the national crisis of illegal immigration, it might be worth considering whether the crisis has, um, passed. The Pew Hispanic Center recently issued a report stating, “[T]he net migration flow from Mexico to the United States has stopped and may have reversed.” The report got some pickup in the press but not nearly as much as you might think. When we talk about immigration, we are talking often about Mexico, because it accounts for the largest proportion (30 percent) of America’s 40 million immigrants. (China places a distant second with 5 percent.) And, when we talk about illegal immigration, we are talking mostly about Mexico, because it supplies fully 59 percent of America’s estimated 11.5 million undocumented immigrants. (Here, El Salvador places an even-more distant second with 6 percent.) Most of the Mexicans who migrated to the United States during the past four decades arrived here illegally (though many subsequently acquired legal status).”

The Arizona Immigration Law is Beside the Point An editorial notes that despite the fact that the Supreme Court is likely to uphold the most pernicious sections of SB1070, the real fight is just beginning. “When it comes to immigrants’ rights, the outcome of Arizona v. United States is less important than you think. The case, heard in the Supreme Court last week by eight of the Justices (Justice Elena Kagan recused herself, presumably because she worked on the case as Solicitor General), concerns the constitutionality of SB 1070, an Arizona immigration law. The law has a number of controversial provisions, including a so-called “papers please” section which mandates that law enforcement determine whether an arrested alien “is in compliance with” federal registration laws that technically criminalize those adults who do not “carry…and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him.” SB 1070 also gives a law enforcement officer the explicit right to, “without a warrant…arrest a person if the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has committed any public offense that makes the person removable from the United States.” Arizona argued last week that the state is within its rights to enforce federal law as it interprets that law, whereas the United States urged that Arizona’s construction of its own immigration policy goes against the federal “supremacy” on such matters.”

How the Taco Gained in Translation Mexican American fast food expert gives a history lesson on how food from Mexico immigrated to the U.S. mainstream.  “ADMIT it, tortilla-chip fans: you are curious about Taco Bell Doritos Locos tacos, introduced in March. These salt bombs take the usual fast-food taco filling and stuff them inside a giant orange-dusted nacho-cheese chip. They have been so successful that the company has just introduced a Cool Ranch flavor. But to truly grasp the significance of these creations, the taco must be eaten in the company of Gustavo Arellano, a journalist and Orange County, Calif., native who is perhaps the greatest (and only) living scholar of Mexican-American fast food. And preferably, you will eat it here, in the birthplace of American fast food, while he explains to you precisely how the Frito, America’s first corn chip, was copied from the Mexican tostado, then evolved into the Dorito and eventually the Tostito.”