Tony Payan

Border security and (mis-)management

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In the first of a six-part Baker Institute Viewpoints series, experts respond to the question: What are the implications of expanding border security?

The immigration bill recently passed in the Senate assigns nearly $50 billion to increase border security – a border “surge.” This unprecedented deployment of resources includes 20,000 additional Border Patrol agents; new technology such as drones, sensors and cameras; and hundreds of miles of wall along the border. Proponents reason that the border surge will bring order to the region and stem the flow of undocumented immigrants into the United States. However, this expenditure could lead to multiple unintended consequences that should give pause to anyone considering it. Continue Reading →

Civil unrest: Is Mexico next?

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In the fifth of a seven-part Baker Institute Viewpoints series, we evaluate the impact that a new wave of civil unrest will have on international politics.

It is hard to tell whether the Arab Spring is contagious or not. The problems of the Arab world run deep and might be influenced by an underlying religious and cultural component not found in other parts of the globe. What is certain, however, is that popular discontent has now reached well beyond the borders of the Arab world. First, it was Turkey that displayed signs of political restlessness; now, Brazil is wracked by demonstrations stemming from economic dissatisfaction. Keen observers of the Mexican political and economic landscape are now asking: Is Mexico next? Continue Reading →

The kingpin strategy: A piece of a much larger puzzle

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Intelligence services in Mexico and the U.S. have identified a number of important drug trafficking leaders and placed them on the “Most Wanted” list. Many of the tactical efforts of the so-called war on drugs in Mexico have focused on these leaders. The administration of President Felipe Calderón now boasts it has captured or killed almost two-thirds of these most wanted criminals. This is one of the touted successes of the drug war that some claim has cost nearly 100,000 lives in Mexico alone. The question is whether targeting drug trafficking leaders is an effective strategy in the overall drug war. Continue Reading →

Marijuana won’t be legalized anytime soon

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The question of whether marijuana should be legalized is both easy and difficult to answer. It is easy to say yes, at one level, for several reasons. First, by the three most important measures of drug control success, we can say that marijuana control policies have failed: Marijuana is still widely available. It is cheaper than ever before. And thanks to genetic engineering technology, it is much more potent than in the past. Continue Reading →

Gun-related violence and public policy: A broken link

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Under normal circumstances, recent tragedies such as the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the massacre at a Colorado movie theater should have led to a serious consideration of the failures of public policy. Policy itself should have been examined and tweaked until better policies regarding gun access and ownership were found. Gun incidents, however, rarely lead to political action or a public policy change. The ideological charge and the high emotionalism that surround the regulatory apparatus of guns are extraordinary and completely bypass the “normal” path to public policy change. Continue Reading →