The Mexican government's war with the drug cartels under the Calderón administration, which includes tens of thousands of soldiers, has led to an explosion of violence in the region along the American border. In an attempt to aid the Mexican government, the US State Department launched the Merida Initiative, or Plan Mexico, in 2007. This programme aims to provide US$1.4 billion in aid to Mexico, Central America, and the Dominican Republic and Haiti for counter-narcotics programs. This assistance includes arms, training and equipment for the military and police forces.

The Mexican government's war with the drug cartels under the Calderón administration, which includes tens of thousands of soldiers, has led to an explosion of violence in the region along the American border. In an attempt to aid the Mexican government, the US State Department launched the Merida Initiative, or Plan Mexico, in 2007. This programme aims to provide US$1.4 billion in aid to Mexico, Central America, and the Dominican Republic and Haiti for counter-narcotics programs. This assistance includes arms, training and equipment for the military and police forces.

The Houston Chronicle reports that a federal investigation has led to nine people facing prison time

On Sunday, December 26, 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigeria-born Al Queda operative was charged with the attempted destruction of a Detroit-bound airliner. The Associated Press has discovered that US Government officials were actually warned of Abdulmutallab's risk by his father a month before the planned attack.

A record number of extraditions have occurred over the Mexican border this year, with numbers reaching 100 at the beginning of November.

Police officers in Mexico, like anywhere else, face dangers every day. The threats to officers' lives have increased in recent years, however, due to a cartel war that has broken out in Northern Mexico. More than 12 000 people have been killed since 2006. Ciudad Juarez, on the border with El Paso, Texas, has experienced 1300 murders in 2008 alone, 40 of which were of police officers. The drug gangs are known for brutal violence, including beheadings and amputations.

A changed economic, political and demographic landscape suggests that the next debate on immigration is going to be very different from the stalemate a few years ago. To move the discussion forward, the Brookings-Duke Immigration Policy Roundtable released six policy ideas on workplace enforcement, legalization and more. Learn More »

CFR-Sponsored Independent Task Force Report:U.S. Immigration Policy

The Brookings Institution Harsh Bush-era interrogation tactics have prompted a formal review by the Obama administration. Ben Wittes says that officials from both parties are questioning the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate, but emphasizes that it will promote future reform on interrogations sought by the president. Learn More »