Submitted by Urban Planning Overlord, Jun 18, 2007 15:26

This whole immigration debate has got me thinking - why not just open the border with Mexico and allow a free flow of people back and forth, just like they do in the European Union?

Well first, there is the issue of security - Mexico's drug lords, the possibility of Jihadis infiltrating, etc., that would have to be resolved. But then, why not?

The U.S. and Mexico could some day enter an E.U.-type situation where there are open borders between nations (no, I'm not suggesting that the rest of the E.U.'s governmental structure is appropriate). The key is to get to a point where the economic imbalance between the U.S. and Mexico is not so great that millions of additional Mexicans would have economic incentives to cross an open border.

But we may be already there. Right now, the U.S. has a per capita gross national product (GNP) of $44,200. Mexico's per capita GNP is $7,800. The U.S. projected economic growth rate over the next five years is 2.5%. Mexico's is 3.5%.

Meanwhile, there are great disparities between various E.U. nations with open borders. For example, Germany has a per capita GNP of $35,100, while neighboring Poland's is $8,900. Yet, despite the anecdotal talk of the "polish plumber invasion," there doesn't seem to be a huge influx of Poles into Germany (or France, or Great Britain for that matter).

And Mexico could grow faster. I would note, that India's expected GNP growth rate over the next five years is expected to be 7.6%. India, like Mexico, is an imperfect democracy with a lot of difficult economic issues.

The U.S. could undoubtedly help Mexico ramp up its growth rate by fully implementing the North American Free Trade Agreement, so loathed by the anti-globalization crowd.

The recent victory of Calderon over a left-wing opponent, and moves toward liberalizing the economy and combatting drug crime and corruption, bode well for Mexico's future governance. And even if a left-wing candidate wins a future Mexican Presidential election, the chances are that candidate will be another Lula da Silva, not Hugo Chavez.

As for the influx of millions of Mexicans, we have that situation already. There are about 100 million Mexicans and 300 million of us, and Mexico's birthrate has plummeted in the past decades. As for assimilation, did you know that by the third generation of Mexican-Americans, 75% don't even speak Spanish any more?

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