But generally intercession by foreign governments is limited to matters of safety and protection of basic human rights. What is emerging in the U.S.-Mexico relationship is an entirely new model. If the United States, or a particular state, wants to enact policies that will have a significant impact on Mexicans living in this country, the Mexican government seemingly believes that it should be consulted. The goal appears to be to create a new sort of trans-border individual who maintains social and cultural allegiances in one country, but earns a living and draws social benefits in another. Among California Gov. Gray Davis' first acts upon assuming office last January was to reassure the president of Mexico that unilateral decisions about how illegal aliens would be dealt with in California would be replaced with a consultative process that includes input from the government of Mexico.
Borders are as much psychological barriers as they are physical ones.
Ideally a nation should control its physical borders and regulate who may enter. But a nation must defend the concept of its borders and its right to determine what takes place within them, so long as basic human rights are honored. If we do not assert our sovereign right to control what takes place within our borders, there is really very little point in having them at all. A million or more people sneaking across our borders each year represents a serious threat to the security and well-being of our citizens. But the speaker of the California Assembly traveling across the border to thank publicly a foreign leader for his role in overturning the results of a democratic election is a threat to our national integrity.