Economist: Scenes from la frontera

I'm not an expert on the border cultures of the southern United States, but I do have more than a passing interest in the region.
After the attacks of September 11, 2001, our porous southern border with Mexico has become one of the most widely debated issues in this country.
At its core, the issue is one of costs and benefits. There are many benefits, some cultural and most economic, to having an open (though not unfettered) border.
But there is, we generally agree, a major cost: our national security.
An open border guarantees, at least under present conditions, a fairly deep reserve pool of cheap labor; but, it also guarantees a continued, unchecked, mass immigration into this country--a daunting diaspora in these times.
With that in mind, we're building a wall--really, really, long one.
And, just like the construction of interstate highways in 1950s and 1960s adversely affected how communities interacted with one another, this wall changes things.

Take 15 minutes and read this report recently published in my favorite magazine, The Economist. This will give you a better idea of why this issue isn't as cut and dried as so many believe it to be:

Economist: Scenes from la frontera