Situation in Mexico

For John, BLUF:  The real issue is violence in Mexico and its spread to the US.  Remember Prohibition?  Worse.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Here is a Headline from The International Herald Tribune:

Report Shows Modest Rise in Requests for Asylum

Here is the lede:

Requests along the border with Mexico have more than doubled over the last three years as immigrants claim a fear of persecution back home, a federal government report found.

The article, found here, is from The Associated Press.  It says that requests for asylum more than doubled.  The headline says "modest rise".

The next paragraph helps explain what is happening, numbers wise.

The so-called credible fear claims reached 14,610 by the end of June, with three months left in the fiscal year, the Department of Homeland Security reported.  For the entire 2011 fiscal year, there were 6,824 such claims.  The department’s report notes, however, that those numbers are a tiny portion of the millions of travelers who legally enter the country each year.

Compared to all the folks coming into the United States the number of requests for asylum is rather modest, but it should be a troubling trend.  Some may put it down to Mexicans learning how to work the system.♠  On the other hand, it could also be a canary in the mine, telling us that violence is rising rapidly in Mexico, or at least parts of Mexico.  Violence in Mexico should be of concern to us, the way a neighbor's house on fire should be of concern to us.  It could jump to our house.

And it isn't just the US.  Here is the view from Toronto, Canada.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  The Daily Mail, about a week ago, suggested that Mexicans hoping to come to the US are being coached on how to work the system, how to phrase their fears, allowing them to pass through the US immigration filter.