North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement

¶ … North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The United States and Mexico have been developing a more productive partnership that will improve both countries. At this point it only makes sense to strengthen that link. A political union between the United States and Mexico would lead to numerous benefits including improving the environment, increasing trade power, improving wages, and lowering rates of crime. The debate over illegal immigration would end in the United States, and less money would be spent on the prosecution of immigrants. Families would no longer be torn apart, too. The drug cartels would also suffer, because a union between the United States and Mexico would make it easier for law enforcement officials to crack down on organized crime. Therefore, a political union between Mexico and the United States would be beneficial for both countries because of environmental, economic, and social reasons.

Because Mexico is a poor country, there is little funding to improve the environment. Most Mexicans do not have access to safe drinking water, let alone clean air. Hazardous waste is often disposed of improperly, raw sewage is being dumped into rivers and other waterways, and deforestation occurs rapidly ("Mexico Environment"). Diseases are linked to Mexico's environmental problems, which are also affecting the United States especially around the border areas (States News Service). According to the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States (EPA), there is an initiative in place to address some of the environmental concerns plaguing both countries. The program is called Border 2012 and it is "a collaboration between the United States and Mexico to improve the environment and protect the health of the nearly 12 million people living along the border," (States News Service). If such programs are already in place, then unification of the United States and Mexico is the next step. A union would strengthen programs like Border 2012. The EPA and other agencies would run more efficiently if their human resources were pooled. Agents from both sides of the border now have to go through their respective channels to communicate about issues related to the environment, whereas one nation would mean ease of communication. Also, an increasing number of employees from both sides of the border would be bilingual if there was a union between the United States and Mexico. If one government presided and made decisions about the environment, then policies would be clearer and easier to enforce.

A union between the United States and Mexico would increase the trade power that has already been enhanced by NAFTA. Currently, only goods can flow between countries. The NAFTA agreement only seems to help big businesses that thrive from the supply chains. Under a new government that united both Mexico and the United States, trade would be simplified greatly to benefit small businesses too. More importantly, goods would not be the only thing that could be traded between the two countries. Labor -- human resources -- could also move freely between Mexico and the United States. This would effectively end the illegal immigration crisis. Americans who want to open businesses in Mexico's cities would be able to do so easily, which would stimulate Mexico's economy as well as America's. Mexicans who want to live and work in the United States could do so without risking their lives and leaving their families. Quality of life would vastly improve in Mexico, and the improved economy would mean less strain on health care and other social services. During the current economic recession, unifying the two countries makes more sense than it ever has.

One of the best reasons to have a union between the United States and Mexico is to reduce rates of crime. Border towns are violent places, and law enforcement officials are often killed in skirmishes that involve organized crime. The United States and Mexico are both at fault for fueling organized crime. According to Donnison, "More than 6,000 people died last year in Mexico in drug-related violence and Mexico believes 90% of the weapons used by drug cartels come from the U.S." The drug cartels are powerful because they run lucrative black market businesses. Those businesses would be unnecessary if their employees found legitimate employment. Perhaps the legalization of drugs would also help reduce crime by eliminating the drug cartels entirely. If drugs were legalized, then the government of a unified Mexico-United States would be able to create addiction programs in the health care industry instead of incarcerating drug users. A legal drug trade would also boost the economy of both countries by providing new and legal jobs for both Mexicans and Americans.