A new bi-national border task force that aims to reshape US and Mexican border policy meets for the first time in San Diego tomorrow (Friday). KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has the story.
The task force aims to take a new look at issues along the border including commerce, security and migration.
Members plan to diagnose how these issues affect communities on both sides of the border and then prescribe solutions.
Chappell Lawson is a director of the task force and teaches political science at M-I-T. He says the dominant impression in Washington and Mexico City is that the border is scary. He says many lawmakers don’t know how it works and see it as a source of problems.
Lawson says the task force will consider new models for managing the border, like public-private partnerships, bi-national institutions and the possibility of less federal involvement.
About two-dozen US and Mexican public officials, businesspeople and analysts make up the task force.
They plan to present their findings this fall.
Amy Isackson, KPBS news.
