Borderlands

QUERETARO, Mexico - A Cronkite journalist goes on a listening tour in Mexico to hear about hundreds of years of history and the different takes on the current, complicated feelings that regular Mexicans have toward the United States.

QUERETARO, Mexico - While some in Mexico are pushing the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mexican critics of the treaty say it’s time for their government to take a hard look at its shortcomings.

Mexico has seen rapid growth in education levels and financial status since the signing of NAFTA, and Mexicans now want to be seen as an equal partner to the U.S., a desire only fueled by the rhetoric of the Trump administration

COLON, Queretaro, Mexico - On 700 acres of what looks like industrial park lies is could be Mexico’s farming future – Agropark, government-backed high-tech greenhouses that use high-tech methods to grow specialized products for export.

QUERETARO, Mexico - NAFTA has battered small Mexican farmers, but plans to renegotiate the trade pact have prompted a grassroots and political push here to reclaim a trade that was once at the heart of Mexico.

WASHINGTON - Arizona Hispanics were heavily represented in construction and agriculture, two industries hit hard in the recession, but that seems to have driven many Latinos to start their own businesses to get work.

In September, we began a countdown to Dec. 8, the day some Democratic lawmakers hoped would let them force a vote on the Dream Act by threatening to scuttle the budget that expired that day, potentially shutting the government down. Dec. 8 has come and gone. The budget has passed and the government is open, for now. And Congress is no closer to passing legislation to protect recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals than they were three months ago.

PHOENIX – From a farm or a maquila in Sonora, Mexico to a supermarket store in Chicago, the journey of products coming from Mexico is a long, sometimes slow one. But according to border experts and officials, it’s during customs inspections at the border where the process gets delayed the most because ports of entry are understaffed and their need for investment is often overlooked.

WASHINGTON - Naturalization applications in Arizona jumped 48 percent over the past three years, to more than 19,000 last year, a number that advocates expect will continue to rise as immigrants look for reassurance in the current political climate.

WASHINGTON – Sen. Jeff Flake announced on Twitter his support for a tax reform bill if it included a “growth-oriented” solution for DREAMers, as well as the elimination of the “$85 million expensing budget gimmick.”