Run for the Border: Vice and Virtue in U.S.-Mexico Border Crossings

Mexico And The United States Exist In A Symbiotic Relationship: Mexico Provides The United States With Cheap Labor, Illegal Goods, And, For Criminal Offenders, A Refuge From The Law. In Turn, The U.s. Lures Mexican Laborers With The American Dream: The Possibility Of A Better Life Through Hard Work. For Over A Century U.s. Residents And Mexicans Have Crossed Their Shared Border To Serve Their Respective Demands And Desires. Despite This Historical Relationship, U.s. Immigration Debates Tend To Center On The Idea Of Menacing Mexicans Heading North To Steal Abundant U.s. Resources. Consequently, Congress Tends To Approach Reform Unilaterally, Without Acknowledging The Problematic Southern Crossings That Americans Routinely Make Into Mexico And Without Situating The Virtue Of Immigrant Workers Within The Varied History Of U.s.-mexico Border Crossings. In Run For The Border, Steven W. Bender Offers A Framework For A More Comprehensive Border Policy Through A Historical Analysis Of Border Crossings In Both Directions. Unlike Other Recent Immigration Proposals, This Book Urges A Negotiated Cross-border Reform, A Reform That Honors The Shared Economic And Cultural Legacy Of The U.s. And Mexico. Covering Everything From The History Of Anglo Crossings Into Mexico To Escape Law Authorities, To Vice Tourism And Retirement In Mexico, And Entry By U.s. Business, To Today's Policy Focus On Mexican Border-crossing Immigrants And Drug Traffickers, Bender Takes Lessons From The Past 150 Years To Argue For More Explicit And Compassionate Cross-border Cooperation.--jacket. Pt. I. Running For The Border To Escape Justice. -- El Fugitivo -- Pt. Ii. Economic Motivations For Southbound Border Runs. -- Gringos In Paradise -- A Giant Sucking Sound -- Pt. Iii. Illicit Motivations For Southbound Border Runs. -- Margaritaville : The Lure Of Alcohol -- Losin' It : Prostitution And The Child Sex Trade -- Going Southbound : Mexican Divorces And Medical Border Runs -- Pt. Iv. Economic Motivations For Northbound Border Runs. -- Rum-running For The Border -- Acapulco Gold -- Coming To America -- Pt. V.a Framework For Comprehensive Border Reform. -- Lessons From 150 Years Of Border Crossings -- Good Neighbor Immigration Policy -- Reefer Madness -- A Framework For Southbound Crossings -- Laws The Border Leaves Behind. Steven W. Bender. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.