Mexico-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress
Mark P. Sullivan
Specialist in Latin American Affairs
June S. Beittel
Analyst in Latin American Affairs
April 14, 2009
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RL32724
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress

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Mexico-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress

Summary
The United States and Mexico have a close and complex bilateral relationship, with extensive
economic linkages as neighbors and partners under the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA). Since 1994, trade between the countries has more than quadrupled. Bilateral relations
are close, and characterized by extensive commercial and cultural ties and cooperation on a range
of bilateral and international issues. A current trade dispute with the United States involves the
implementation of NAFTA trucking provisions. In March 2009, Congress terminated a pilot-
project for Mexican-registered trucks to operate beyond the 25-mile border commercial zone with
the United States, and Mexico responded by imposing import tariffs on over 90 U.S. agricultural
and industrial products.
Drug trafficking issues are prominent in relations since Mexico is the leading transit country for
cocaine, a leading supplier of methamphetamine and heroin, and the leading foreign supplier of
marijuana. Shortly after taking office in December 2006, President Felipe Calderón launched
operations against Mexican drug trafficking organizations. He has sent thousands of soldiers and
federal police to drug trafficking “hot-spots,” and is contending with a significant escalation of
drug violence, particularly in several border states and communities.
U.S.-Mexican cooperation on drug trafficking has intensified over the past several years, and both
countries announced the Mérida Initiative in October 2007 to combat drug trafficking, gangs, and
organized crime in Mexico and Central America. To date, Congress has appropriated a total of
$700 million for Mexico under the Mérida Initiative. In June 2008, Congress appropriated $400
million for Mexico in P.L. 110-252, while in March 2009, Congress appropriated an additional
$300 million for Mexico under the Mérida Initiative in the FY2009 omnibus appropriations
measure, P.L. 111-8. On April 9, 2009, the Obama Administration requested an additional $66
million for Mexico under the Mérida Initiative in an FY2009 supplemental appropriations
request.
Secretary of State Clinton traveled to Mexico in March 2009 to discuss a broad range of bilateral
issues, including cooperation under the Mérida Initiative. This was followed in early April 2009
with visits by Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano and Attorney General Holder, who
emphasized new efforts by their agencies to combat Mexican drug trafficking operations.
President Obama is scheduled to visit Mexico on April 16-17, 2009 to meet with President
Calderón to discuss such issues as cooperation in the fight against drug-related violence and work
toward comprehensive immigration reform. From there, the President will travel on to Trinidad
and Tobago to attend the fifth Summit of the Americas.
The 111th Congress is maintaining an active interest in Mexico with myriad counternarcotics,
border, and trade issues dominating the agenda. To date, there have already been a dozen hearings
dealing with the increased violence in Mexico as well as U.S. foreign assistance and border
security efforts. Comprehensive immigration reform efforts once again could be considered in the
111th Congress. Also see CRS Report R40135, Mérida Initiative for Mexico and Central America:
Funding and Policy Issues; CRS Report RL32934, U.S.-Mexico Economic Relations: Trends,
Issues, and Implications; and CRS Report RL34742, The Global Financial Crisis: Analysis and
Policy Implications.

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Contents
Recent Developments.................................................................................................................. 1
Background on Mexico ............................................................................................................... 5
Political Developments ......................................................................................................... 5
Economic Conditions and the Effects of the Global Financial Crisis ...................................... 7
Foreign Policy Challenges..................................................................................................... 8
Mexican-U.S. Relations .............................................................................................................. 9
U.S. Assistance to Mexico................................................................................................... 11
Drug Trafficking and Heightened Violence in Mexico ......................................................... 11
Bilateral Cooperation on Counternarcotics and Anticrime Efforts ........................................ 16
Mérida Initiative ........................................................................................................... 17
Beyond the Mérida Initiative ......................................................................................... 20
Money Laundering and Bulk Cash Smuggling............................................................... 21
Precursor Chemicals ..................................................................................................... 22
Weapons Trafficking ..................................................................................................... 22
Human Smuggling ........................................................................................................ 24
Security and Prosperity Partnership ..................................................................................... 25
Human Rights Issues........................................................................................................... 26
Migration............................................................................................................................ 27
Trade Issues ........................................................................................................................ 29
Functioning of NAFTA Institutions ............................................................................... 29
Trade Disputes .............................................................................................................. 29
Legislation and Hearings in the 111th Congress.......................................................................... 33
Enacted Legislation............................................................................................................. 33
Additional Legislative Initiatives......................................................................................... 34
Hearings ............................................................................................................................. 35
House ........................................................................................................................... 35
Senate ........................................................................................................................... 38
Legislation in the 110th Congress............................................................................................... 39
Enacted Legislation and Approved Resolutions ................................................................... 39
Additional Legislative Initiatives......................................................................................... 41

Figures
Figure 1. Map of Mexico, Including States and Border Cities ...................................................... 4

Tables
Table 1. U.S. Assistance to Mexico, FY2005-FY2009 ............................................................... 12
Table 2. FY2008 and FY2009 Mérida Funding for Mexico by Aid Account ............................... 18

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Contacts
Author Contact Information ...................................................................................................... 48
Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................... 48

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Recent Developments
On April 16-17, 2009, President Barack Obama is scheduled to travel to Mexico to meet with
President Calderón to discuss such issues as cooperation in the fight against drug-related violence
and work toward comprehensive immigration reform.
On April 9, 2009, the Obama Administration submitted a FY2009 supplemental request that
includes $66 million in International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement assistance for
Mexico under the Mérida Initiative to fund the acquisition, spare parts, and support for three
Blackhawk helicopters to help Mexico’s Public Security Secretariat with air transport capacity.
Another $16 million in reprogrammed Mérida Initiative funds would be used fund the helicopters,
bringing the total funding to $82 million.
In early April 2009, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric
Holder visited Mexico and attended an arms trafficking conference. Both officials emphasized
new efforts by their agencies to combat the drug cartels, including the deployment of additional
personnel and resources to support anti-gun trafficking and interdiction efforts and law
enforcement cooperation.
On March 25-26, 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Mexico City and
Monterrey, Mexico, to discuss a broad range of bilateral issues, including cooperation under the
Mérida Initiative.
On March 16, 2009, in response to U.S. termination of a pilot program for Mexican trucks
operating in the United States, Mexico retaliated by imposing import duties on U.S. exports for
90 agricultural and industrial products that accounts for some $2-$3 billion in trade.
On March 11, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009
(P.L. 111-8, H.R. 1105) that provides a second installment of $300 million for Mexico under the
Mérida Initiative. The measure also prohibited funding for continuation of a pilot program
granting Mexican trucks access to U.S. highways beyond the border commercial zone.
On December 3, 2008, the United States officially released $197 million of the $400 million in
assistance that Congress appropriated under the Mérida Initiative in June 2008. The assistance is
from the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement foreign aid funding account, and
will fund equipment, technology, and training programs. (Embassy of the United States in
Mexico, Press Release, “Mérida Initiative Monies Released; Letter of Agreement Signed,”
December 3, 2008.)
On November 15-16, 2008, President Calderón participated in the G-20 summit on the global
financial crisis in Washington.
On November 4, 2008, Mexico’s Interior Minister Juan Camilo Mourino, one of President
Calderón’s closest advisers, was killed in a plane crash in downtown Mexico City. Eight others
aboard the business jet, including several Mexican government officials, were killed, as well as
four people on the ground. Mexican officials maintained that they there was no evidence of foul
play, and subsequently determined that the pilot of the plane had flown too close to a jumbo jet
and lost control because of turbulence created by the larger plane.
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On October 28, 2008, Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies overwhelming approved energy sector
reform legislation intended to modernize the state-oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX),
and boost declining production. The measure had been approved by the Mexican Senate on
October 23. An earlier version proposed by President Calderón in April 2008 had met with
significant opposition.
On October 15, 2008, the Mexican government agreed to provide back pay to thousands of
former Mexican laborers, known as braceros, who worked in the United States from 1942 to
1946 and currently live in the United States. Under the labor program, a portion of the workers’
pay was deducted and transferred to the Mexican government to be provided to the workers upon
their return to Mexico, but many never received the money. The agreement was pursuant to a
settlement for a lawsuit in Federal court in California. Under the settlement, each bracero or
surviving heir would receive $3,500.
On September 9, 2008, the House approved H.R. 6630, a bill that would terminate the one-year
Department of Transportation pilot project for Mexican trucks operating in the United States
beyond the border area, and would prohibit the Secretary of Transportation from granting
authority for Mexican motor carriers to operate beyond U.S. municipalities and commercial zones
on the U.S.-Mexico border unless expressly authorized by Congress. No Senate action was taken
on the bill. In early August 2008, the Department of Transformation had extended the pilot
project for two years.
On August 28, 2008, the Food and Drug Administration declared the end of a salmonella outbreak
that caused 1,442 illnesses in 43 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. After weeks of
searching for the source of the outbreak, the FDA found a positive sample in jalapeño and serrano
peppers grown in Mexico.
On August 5, 2008, José Ernesto Medellín, a Mexican national convicted of raping and murdering
two teenage girls in Texas, was executed by lethal injection. In a 2004 ruling, the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) determined that Medellín and 50 other Mexican nationals on death row in
the United States were entitled to review of their cases due to violation of the Vienna Convention
for failure to inform them of a right to consular access. President Bush subsequently ordered
Texas to comply with the ICJ ruling, setting off a legal battle that culminated in a March 2008
ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that ICJ rulings are not binding domestically.
On August 3, 2008, a U.S. Border Patrol agent was briefly held at gunpoint by members of the
Mexican military in Arizona. The State Department described the incident as a “momentary
misunderstanding,” but maintained that there are liaison mechanisms in place to deal with
incidents like this when they occur. (U.S. Department of State, Daily Press Briefing, August 6,
2008).
On July 1, 2008, the media’s release of videos reportedly showing police from an elite squad in
the city of León, Mexico, practicing torture techniques provoked strong expressions of concern
by Mexican and international human rights organizations. An American instructor was seen in the
videos. A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City maintained that the “U.S. government
was not involved in the training in any way.” (Alfredo Corchado, “U.S. Denies Involvement in
Training Videos Showing Mexican Officers Using Torture,” Dallas Morning News, July 3, 2008.)
Subsequently, the police chief of León and the head of police training were fired.
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On June 26, 2008, Congress completed action on the FY2008 Supplemental Appropriations Act,
H.R. 2642 (P.L. 110-252, signed into law June 30, 2009), which provides $400 million in FY2008
and FY2009 assistance for Mexico under the Mérida Initiative.
On June 17, 2008, President Calderón signed a judicial reform decree under which Mexico will
have eight years to replace its trial procedures, moving from a closed door process based on
written arguments to a public trial system with oral arguments and the presumption of innocence
until proven guilty. Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies approved the measure in February and the
Senate approved it in March, while a majority of Mexico’s states also approved the measure.
On June 10, 2008, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved H.R. 6028, which would have
authorized $1.1 billion over three years, FY2008-FY2010, for Mexico under the Mérida
Initiative. No Senate action was taken on the measure.
On February 27, 2008, the Bush Administration announced delays in Project 28, the first phase of
a virtual fence along 28 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. In April 2008, the Department of
Homeland Security announced that most of Project 28 system will be replaced by new equipment
because the original design was not compatible with Border Patrol needs.
On January 1, 2008, the full implementation of NAFTA began with the lifting of remaining tariff
protections on various agricultural products, including beans, corn, sugar, and powdered milk,
were lifted.

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Figure 1. Map of Mexico, Including States and Border Cities




Source: Map Resources, adapted by CRS.
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Background on Mexico
Political Developments
Mexico has become increasingly democratic over the past decade and in 2000 effectively ended
71-years of one-party rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) when Vicente Fox of the
conservative National Action Party (PAN) was elected President. PAN presidential candidate
Felipe Calderón won the July 2006 presidential election in an extremely tight race, defeating
Andrés López Obrador of the center-left Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) by less than
234,000 votes.1 The presidential race was so close that final results were not announced until
early September 2006, when the Federal Electoral Tribunal completed adjudication of all the
challenges. Calderón was sworn in to six-year term on December 1, 2006 in an unusually brief
inauguration ceremony due to fears that members of the PRD congressional delegation would
interrupt the ceremony.
While the PAN made significant gains in the 2006 congressional elections and became the largest
block in the 128-member Senate and 500-member Chamber of Deputies, it failed to win a
majority in either house. The PRD also made significant gains and has the second-largest block of
members in the Chamber of Deputies and third in the Senate. For the first time in history, the
long-ruling PRI lost its plurality of seats in Congress, although it still remains a significant
political force in the legislative branch, with the second-largest block in the Senate and the third-
largest in Chamber of Deputies.
Because the PAN does not have a majority in Congress, President Calderón has often turned to
the PRI for help to advance his legislative agenda. Since Calderón’s election, however, the PRI
has fared well in state and municipal elections around the country. It has been poised to do well in
the upcoming July 5, 2009 elections for the Chamber of Deputies, in large part because of
growing public concern about the economic downturn, although opinion polls are reported to be
tightening between the PRI and PAN. If the PRI fares well and captures the largest bloc of seats
in the Chamber, its willingness to work with President Calderón as it positions itself for the 2012
presidential election could be affected. The PRD, which has suffered from deep internal divisions
since 2006, is expected to lose seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Elections for the Senate will not
be held until 2012 so the PAN will continue to hold the largest bloc of seats in the Senate,
although not a majority.
In his first two years in office, President Calderón was able to secure congressional approval of a
number of reforms. In 2007, the government enacted long-awaited fiscal and pension reforms that
had stalled under the previous Fox Administration. In June 2008, President Calderón signed a
judicial reform decree after securing the approval of Congress and Mexico’s states for an
amendment to Mexico’s Constitution. Under the reform, Mexico will have eight years to replace
its trial procedures, moving from a closed door process based on written arguments to a public
trial system with oral arguments and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
In late October 2008, the government secured approval of an energy sector reform intended to
modernize the state-oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), and boost declining

1 For more information, see CRS Report RS22462, Mexico’s 2006 Elections, by Colleen W. Cook.
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production. The enacted reform, which ultimately was supported by a wide majority in Congress,
was a watered down version of a reform measure proposed by President Calderón in April 2008
that had met with significant opposition by PRD supporters of Andrés López Obrador. As
approved, the reform measure strives to improve the transparency and management flexibility of
PEMEX. Some critics maintain that it will not do enough to encourage new exploration to stem
the country’s decline in oil reserves.
President Calderón has made combating the DTOs and drug violence a top priority of his
administration. He has called increasing drug violence in Mexico a threat to the Mexican state,
and has sent thousands of soldiers and police to drug trafficking “hot-spots” throughout Mexico.
In 2008, the government’s crackdown and rivalries and turf wars among Mexico’s DTOs fueled
an escalation in violence throughout the country, including in northern Mexico near the U.S.-
Mexico border. In an effort to control the most lucrative drug smuggling routes in Mexico, rival
DTOs have been launching attacks on each other, as well as on Mexican military and police. The
violence, as described in more detail below, has continued in 2009 and is posing a serious
challenge for Mexico’s security forces.
The growth and dramatic character of the violence has led some observers to question the
strength of the Mexican government, even characterizing it as potentially a “failing” state. A
report released in December 2008 by the U.S. Joint Forces Command argued that Mexico
potentially could face rapid and sudden collapse in the future because the government, its
politicians, police, and judicial infrastructure are under sustained assault by criminal gangs and
drug cartels.2 In late March 2009, however, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair
asserted to reporters that “Mexico is no danger of becoming a failed state.”3 Moreover, during
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s trip to Mexico in March 2009, the Secretary said that the
Mexican government was making “great progress” against the drug cartels, and asserted that she
does not believe “that there are any ungovernable territories in Mexico.”4
Mexican officials have strongly contested the claim that Mexico is a failed or failing state.
Indeed, Mexican officials claim the heightened violence may be a sign that the cartels are losing
ground and turning on each other as their markets shrink.5 The Mexican government
acknowledges that the country does face a significant challenge from well-financed criminal
gangs through violence and corruption, but asserts that the description of Mexico as a failed or
failing state “grossly distorts the facts on the ground.” According to the government, “by all
significant measure, Mexico has a functioning state,” that provide education, health, and other
government services to millions of people.6

2 United States Joint Forces Command, “The Joint Operating Environment 2008: Challenges and Implications for the
Future Joint Force,” December 2008.
3 Ken Ellingwood, “Clinton: U.S. Shares Blame for Mexico Ills,” Los Angeles Times, March 26, 2009; and “Mexico
Will Not Become ‘Failed State’: U.S. Spy Chief,” Agence France Presse, March 26, 2009.
4 U.S. Department of State, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, “Remarks with Mexican Foreign Secretary
Patricia Espinosa After Their Meeting,” Mexico City, Mexico, March 25, 2009.
5 “On the trail of the traffickers,” The Economist, March 7, 2009.
6 Embassy of Mexico, Washington, DC. “Mexico and the Fight Against Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime:
Setting the Record Straight,” March 2009.
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Economic Conditions and the Effects of the Global Financial Crisis7
Mexico, with a population of approximately 107 million people, is classified by the World Bank
as an upper middle income developing country, with a per capita income level of $8,340 (2007).8
According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
(ECLAC), nearly 32% of Mexicans lived in poverty in 2006 and just under 9% of Mexicans lived
in extreme poverty or indigence. This represents a significant improvement from 2000, when
41% of Mexicans lived in poverty and 15% were indigent.9
Mexico’s main program to reduce the effects of poverty is the Oportunidades (Opportunities,
formerly known as Progresa). The program began under President Ernest Zedillo (1994-2000)
and expanded under President Vicente Fox (2000-2006) to benefit 5 million families throughout
Mexico. The program seeks to not only alleviate the immediate effects of poverty through cash
and in-kind transfers, but to break the cycle of poverty by improving nutrition and health
standards among poor families and increasing educational attainment. This program provides
cash transfers to families in poverty who demonstrate that they regularly attend medical
appointments and can certify that children are attending school. The program also provides
nutrition support to pregnant and nursing women and malnourished children.
Mexico’s economy is strongly dependent on economic conditions in the United States because a
majority of its exports are destined for the United States and the United States is the primary
source for tourism and foreign investment. The economy grew 5.1% in 2006, the last year of
Fox’s presidency, which was the highest of his administration, while in 2007, the first year of the
Calderón government, economic growth slowed to 3.3% in 2007.
The global economic crisis and U.S. economic recession are having significant effects on the
Mexican economy. Slower growth of 2.3 % was already anticipated for 2008 due to declining
demand in the United States, declining Mexican oil production, and slow growth in remittances
sent by Mexicans abroad, but the global financial crisis further reduced 2008 growth to just 1.4%.
For 2009, the outlook is worse, with the economy forecast to contract 4.4% for the year. 10 Some
of Mexico’s largest companies were involved in the derivatives market and have taken big hits,
with the Mexican stock market declining over 30% over the past several months. The rapid
decline in the price of oil is also a major economic setback for Mexico, which depends on oil
proceeds for over one third of government revenue. Prospects for recovery in 2010 are tied to
conditions in the U.S. economy since Mexico economy is dependent on the United States as an
export market.
Another aspect of the economic crisis is that remittances sent from Mexican living in the Untied
States have begun to decline. After years of high growth, remittances only grew by 1% in 2007,
possibly due to slower growth in the U.S. economy. In 2008, remittances to Mexico fell for the

7 For background on the Mexican economy and U.S.-Mexican economic relations, see CRS Report RL32934, U.S.-
Mexico Economic Relations: Trends, Issues, and Implications, by M. Angeles Villarreal; for information on the effect
of the financial crisis on Mexico, see CRS Report RL34742, The Global Financial Crisis: Analysis and Policy
Implications, coordinated by Dick K. Nanto.
8 World Bank, World Development Report 2009, November 2008.
9 U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the
Caribbean 2008.
10 Economist Intelligence Unit. “Country Report: Mexico,” April 2009.
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first time in the 13 years that they have been tracked, and contracted 3.6% for the year to an
estimated $25 billon, the lowest level since 2005.11 The Inter-American Development Bank
forecast that overall remittances to Latin America could decline some 11-13% in 2009.12
The Calderón government has taken a number of measures to attempt to cushion the Mexican
economy from the fallout of the global economic crisis and the onset of recession in the United
States. The government has used billions in its international reserves to shore up the peso, and the
Mexican central bank established a temporary reciprocal currency sway line with the U.S. Federal
Reserve for up to $30 billion. The government also announced that it has hedged its oil exports
for 2009 at a price of $70 a barrel in an effort to protect the economy from the decline in oil
prices.13 In an effort to jump-start the economy, in mid-November 2008, Mexico’s Congress
approved President Calderón’s request to increase the 2009 budget by 13%. Spending in some
areas was cut back, while funding for education, infrastructure, agriculture, and security was
increased.14
In late October 2008, the IMF announced that it would be creating a short-term lending facility
for emerging markets like Mexico that have a strong economic policy track record and need
assistance from the fallout of the global economic crisis. In late March 2009, the officially created
the Flexible Credit Line (FCL), and Mexico announced that it would seek as much as $40 billion
from the new fund in order to shore up its declining foreign reserves in order to stabilize the
Mexican peso.15
As elsewhere in Latin America, there are concerns that the economic downturn in Mexico could
affect the country’s progress in poverty reduction over the past several years. In February 2009,
the government of Mexico City opened its first soup kitchen in February 2009, and has plans to
open 300 more.16 On April 9, 2009, the World Bank approved a $1.5 billion loan to Mexico to
expand the anti-poverty Oportunidades program (described above) in an effort to support the
government in its efforts to relieve the social impact of the economic downturn.
Foreign Policy Challenges
President Calderón has sought to pursue an independent foreign policy with closer ties to Latin
America. He has tried to mend relations with Cuba and Venezuela. Relations with both countries
became tense under the administration of President Vicente Fox (2000-2006). In September 2007,
Mexican and Venezuelan ambassadors presented credentials to the respective governments,
restoring full relations for the first time since November 2005, when President Fox expelled
Venezuela’s ambassador to Mexico. A Cuban ambassador to Mexico also presented his
credentials to President Calderón in September 2007. In May 2004, President Fox recalled

11 “Mexican Remittances Fall 3 Percent in February Amid Economic Downturn,” AP Newswire, April 1, 2009; and
“Country Report: Mexico,” Economist Intelligence Unit, April 2009.
12 "IDB Sees Remittances to Latin America, Caribbean Declining in 2009," US Fed News, March 19, 2009.
13 David Luhnow and Ann Davis, “Mexico Hedges All Oil Exports in ‘09 at $70,” Wall Street Journal, November 14,
2008.
14 Alexandra Olson, “Mexican Congress Approves 13 Percent Spending Increase for 2009 in Bid to Spur Economy,
Jobs,” Associated Press Newswires, November 13, 2008.
15 “Mexico to Take IMF Credit Line,” Wall Street Journal, April 1, 2009; and “Mexico Seeks $47 Billion Credit Line
from IMF,” IMF Survey Magazine, April 1, 2009.
16 Deborah Bonello, "Mexico City Opens Soup Kitchens," Los Angeles Times, February 9, 2009.
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Mexico’s ambassador to Cuba; ambassadors were later restored, but relations between the two
countries remained tense through the remainder of the Fox administration. Migration has become
an issue in Mexico-Cuba relations, with Cubans increasingly preferring to emigrate to the United
States via Mexico rather than by sea. A new Memorandum of Understanding on Migration Issues
between Mexico and Cuba went into effect on November 20, 2008. The agreement is intended to
help slow the trafficking of undocumented Cubans passing through Mexico to the United States.17
Under President Fox, Mexico pursued a more activist and diversified foreign policy, with greater
involvement in UN activities, and stronger ties to Latin America and Europe. He promoted the so-
called Puebla-Panama Plan, which promotes cooperative development efforts among the Central
American countries and the southeastern states of Mexico. He attempted to revive the G-3 group
trade preferences (Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico); however, Venezuela formally withdrew
from the group in November 2006 after joining the Common Market of the South (Mercosur).
Fox also sought better ties with Mercosur countries in South America. He attempted to expand
trade with the European Union under the EU-Mexico free trade agreement that went into effect in
July 2000, and with Japan under the Mexico-Japan free trade agreement that entered into force in
April 2005. Mexico held a temporary seat on the U.N. Security Council in 2002 and 2003 and
expressed support for continuing diplomatic efforts under United Nations auspices to achieve the
disarmament of Iraq, leading to expressions of disappointment from the Bush Administration.
Mexican-U.S. Relations
Until the early 1980s, Mexico had a closed and statist economy and its independent foreign policy
was often at odds with the United States. Beginning under President Miguel de la Madrid (1982-
1988), and continuing more dramatically under President Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1988-1994)
and President Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000), Mexico adopted a series of economic, political, and
foreign policy reforms. It opened its economy to trade and investment, adopted electoral reforms
that leveled the playing field, and increased cooperation with the United States on drug control,
border issues, and trade matters. Cooperation under the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) and the annual cabinet-level meetings of the Binational Commission reflected the close
and increasing relationships between the countries.
President Fox (2000-2006) encouraged strong relations with the United States, and called for
greater cooperation under NAFTA and for a bilateral migration agreement that would regularize
the status of undocumented Mexicans in the United States. In the aftermath of the September
2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, the focus of relations shifted to border security issues
as the United States became concerned about homeland security. Relations became strained
during the debate on immigration reform in the United States. After President Bush approved the
Secure Fence Act of 2006, Mexico, with the support of 27 other nations, denounced the proposed
border fence at the Organization of American States.
Under the Calderón government, U.S.-Mexican relations have continued to be close, with drug
trafficking and violence, border security, and immigration continuing to define the bilateral
relationship. Felipe Calderón made his first official visit to the United States as President-elect in
early November 2006, after first visiting Canada and several Latin American countries. During

17 “Cuban Envoy to Mexico Says Migration Agreement to Halt People Trafficking,” BBC Monitoring Americas,
November 20, 2008.
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his visit, Calderón criticized the authorization of 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico
border and noted that it complicated U.S.-Mexico relations. He asserted that job-creation and
increased investment in Mexico would be more effective in reducing illegal migration from
Mexico than a border fence. Calderón signaled a shift in Mexican foreign policy when he noted
that while immigration is an important issue in the bilateral relationship, it is not the only issue, as
trade and economic development are also important.
President Calderón reiterated these concerns during President Bush’s March 2007 visit to Mexico.
During the visit, President Calderón also called for U.S. assistance in combating drug and
weapons trafficking. Specifically, Calderón promised to continue his efforts to combat drug
trafficking and called for U.S. efforts to reduced the demand for drugs, stating, “while there is no
reduction for demand in your territory, it will be very difficult to reduce the supply in ours.”18
Calderón has displayed an unprecedented willingness to increase narcotics cooperation with the
United States. This willingness led to the Mérida Initiative, a multi-year $1.4 billion U.S.
assistance effort announced in October 2007 to help Mexico and Central America combat drug
trafficking and organized crime.
U.S.-Mexican relations have continued to be close under the Obama Administration, focusing on
cooperation in combating organized crime and drug trafficking. In mid-January 2009, President
Calderón visited then President-elect Obama in Washington in a traditional meeting that newly
U.S. presidents have had in recent years to demonstrate strong relations with Mexico.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico, on March 25-
26, 2009, to discuss a broad range of bilateral issues, including cooperation under the Mérida
Initiative. The Secretary asserted that the U.S. relationship with Mexico “is one of the most
important relationships between any two countries in the world” and that both countries “need a
strong and sustained partnership, one based on comprehensive engagement, greater balance,
shared responsibility, and joint efforts to address hemispheric and global issues.”19 Perhaps most
significantly during the trip, Secretary Clinton criticized the failure of U.S. antidrug policy and
acknowledged that an “insatiable demand for illegal drugs” in the United States “fuels the drug
trade.”20 With regard to the United States as a source of weapons arming the drug cartels, Clinton
also acknowledged that “our inability to prevent weapons from being smuggled across the border
to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police, soldiers and civilians.”21
During her visit, Secretary Clinton and Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa announced
the creation of a new bilateral implementation office in Mexico where Mexican and U.S. officials
will work together on efforts to combat drug traffickers and associated violence.
Secretary Clinton also announced that the Obama Administration intends to work with Congress
to provide more than $80 million in additional funding for Blackhawk helicopters for Mexican
law enforcement. (Subsequently, on April 9, 2009, the Administration requested $66 million in

18 “Bush Reassures Skeptical Mexico on Immigration,” Reuters, March 13, 2007.
19 U.S. Department of State, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, “Remarks with Mexican Foreign Secretary
Patricia Espinosa After Their Meeting,” Mexico City, Mexico, March 25, 2009.
20 Mary Beth Sheridan, “On Mexico Trip, Clinton Criticizes U.S. Drug Policy,” Washington Post, March 26, 2009; and
Mark Lander, “Clinton Says Demand for Illegal Drugs in the U.S. ‘Fuels the Drug Trade’ in Mexico,” New York Times,
March 26, 2009.
21 Ibid.
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FY2009 supplemental assistance for Mexico under the Mérida Initiative to acquire three
Blackhawk helicopters. Another $16 million in reprogrammed Mérida Initiative funds would be
used fund the helicopters, bringing the total funding to $82 million.)
Clinton’s visit to Mexico was followed up in early April 2009 with trips by Secretary of
Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder where they met with
Mexican officials and attended an arms trafficking conference. Both officials emphasized new
efforts by their agencies to combat the drug cartels, including the deployment of additional
personnel and resources to support anti-gun trafficking and interdiction efforts and law
enforcement cooperation.
On April 16-17, 2009, President Barack Obama is scheduled to travel to Mexico to meet with
President Calderón to discuss such issues as cooperation in the fight against drug-related violence
and work toward comprehensive immigration reform. From there, the President will travel on to
Trinidad and Tobago to attend the fifth Summit of the Americas.22
U.S. Assistance to Mexico
Mexico, a middle income country, traditionally has not been a major recipient of U.S. foreign
assistance, but this changed in FY2008 with congressional approval of the Administration’s
request for funding to support the Mérida Initiative aimed at helping Mexico combat drug
trafficking and other criminal organizations. Because of the Mérida Initiative funding, assistance
rose from $65 million in FY2007 to almost $403 million for FY2008. As shown in Table 1, the
FY2008 assistance estimate includes $50.6 million in regular foreign assistance funding and an
additional $352 million in FY2008 supplemental funding (P.L. 110-252) specifically for the
Mérida Initiative.
For FY2009, Congress has already appropriated an estimated $369 million for Mexico. This
includes $348 million provided for the Mérida Initiative, with $48 million in FY2009 bridge fund
supplemental assistance for Mexico provided in the FY2008 supplemental appropriations
measure, P.L. 110-252, and $300 million provided in the FY2009 omnibus appropriations
measure, P.L. 111-8. The remainder is for additional development assistance and other projects
outside of the Mérida Initiative. More definitive estimates for FY2009 assistance will be available
when the State Department determines FY2009 country allocations. In addition, on April 9, 2009,
the Obama Administration requested an additional $66 million in FY2009 supplemental
assistance for Mexico under the Mérida Initiative, which if approved, would bring total FY2009
assistance for Mexico to an estimated $439 million. (See “Mérida Initiative” below for additional
details on the assistance.)
Drug Trafficking and Heightened Violence in Mexico
In the U.S. Justice Department’s National Drug Threat Assessment 2009 (published in December
2008), Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) were identified as the greatest drug
trafficking threat to the United States worldwide. Today’s situation arose with the closing of the
Caribbean route through which drugs, and particularly cocaine from Colombia, was channeled to

22 For background on the Summit, see CRS Report R40074, Fifth Summit of the Americas, Port of Spain, Trinidad and
Tobago, April 2009: Background, Agenda, and Expectations, by Peter J. Meyer.
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the United States in an earlier era. With increased U.S. efforts to interdict narcotic smugglers in
the Caribbean and Florida in the late 1980s and 1990s, the Colombian drug cartels began
subcontracting with Mexican DTOs to smuggle cocaine into the United States across the
Southwest border. By the late 1990s, Mexican DTOs had pushed aside the Colombians and
gained greater control and market share of cocaine trafficking into the United States.
Table 1. U.S. Assistance to Mexico, FY2005-FY2009
U.S. $ millions
Account FY2007 FY2008 FY2008
FY2009
FY2009
FY2009
(Est.)
Supp. (Est.)
Supp. (Est.)
(Est.) P.L.
Supp.
P.L. 110-252
P.L. 110-252
111-8*
Request
CSH
3.72 2.68
—
— 2.50 —
DA
12.28 8.22
—
— 14.00 —
ESF
11.35 11.90
20.00
— 15.00
—
FMF
— — 116.50
— 39.00 —
IMET
.06 .37
—
— .83 —
INCLE
36.68 26.55
215.50
48.00 246.00 66.00
NADR
1.30 .92
—
— 3.85 —
TOTAL 65.39
50.64 352.00 48.00
321.18
66.00
* The estimates of FY2009 assistance provided by P.L. 111-8 are preliminary. More definitive estimates for
FY2009 assistance will be available when the State Department determines FY2009 country allocations.
Source: U.S. Department of State, Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations FY2007-FY2009;
U.S. Department of State, FY2008 Supplemental Appropriations Spending Plan, Mexico, Central America, Haiti,
and the Dominican Republic; Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-8, Division H and Joint Explanatory
Statement); and FY2009 Supplemental Justification, Department of State & U.S. Agency for International
Development.
Notes: CHS= Child Survival and Health; DA=Development Assistance; ESF=Economic Support Fund;
FMF=Foreign Military Financing; IMET=International Military Education and Training; INCLE=International
Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement; NADR=Non-proliferation, Anti-terrorism and Related Programs.
The Mexican DTOs, often referred to as “drug cartels,”23 have become increasingly violent. The
National Drug Threat Assessment states that Mexico’s DTOs now “control most of the U.S. drug
market,” with distribution capabilities in 230 U.S. cities. Mexican President Felipe Calderón
began his assault on organized crime shortly after he took office in December 2006 and made
combating the DTOs a centerpiece of his policy. The Calderón government has devoted billions
of dollars24 to the offensive against Mexico’s entrenched drug trafficking organizations, and

23 The term drug cartel remains the term used colloquially and in the press, but some experts disagree with this because
“cartel” often refers to price-setting groups and it is not clear that Mexican drug cartels are setting illicit drug prices.
24 It is unclear precisely how much the Calderón government is spending on security. Estimates of $9 - $11 billion have
been reported. See “On the trail of the traffickers,” The Economist, March 7, 2009. The $11 billion figure was provided
in remarks of Manuel Suárez-Mier, Legal Attaché, Embassy of Mexico at “Transnational Criminal Organizations in the
Americas: Responding to the Growing Threat,” A Colloquium at The George Washington University on January 29,
2009. Another article cites the Mexican government as its source for 2009 spending levels: “This year, the Mexican
government will spend $9.3 billion on national security, a 99 percent increase since Calderón took office.” See, Steve
Fainarua and William Booth, “As Mexico Battles Cartels, The Army Becomes the Law,” Washington Post, April 2,
2009.
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deployed 45,000 soldiers and thousands of federal police in nearly a dozen of Mexico’s states in
the fight.25
Today Mexico is a major producer and supplier to the U.S. market of heroin, methamphetamine,
and marijuana and the major transit country for cocaine sold in the United States. According to
the Department of State’s 2009 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, as much as 90%
of the cocaine entering the United States now transits through Mexico. A small number of
Mexican DTOs control the most significant drug distribution operations along the Southwest
border. The criminal activities of these Mexican DTOs reach well beyond the towns and cities of
the border, extending along drug trafficking routes into cities across the United States.
Drug trafficking violence in Mexico has spiked in recent years as DTOs have competed for
control of smuggling routes into the United States. In 2008, more than 5,600 people in Mexico
were killed in drug trafficking violence, a 110% increase over 2007.26 Among those murdered
were 522 Mexican military and law enforcement officials according to recent testimony of the
U.S. Department of State.27 In the first two months of 2009, the violence grew with almost 1,000
drug-related killings in Mexico or 146% more than in the comparable period of 2008.28
The violence and brutality of the Mexican drug cartels has escalated as they battle over control of
the multi-billion dollar narcotics markets. Since early 2008, there has been an increase in
assassinations of high-level law enforcement officials, gruesome murders including beheadings,
violent kidnappings, use of a growing and varied arsenal of high-powered weapons and the
indiscriminate killing of civilians.29
Kidnapping for money has increased significantly in Mexico. In 2008, 1028 persons were
kidnapped, with 31% concentrated in the Federal District and the state of Mexico, and reportedly
at least 69 of those abducted were murdered.30 The actual number of kidnappings is reportedly far
higher, according to the State Department’s human rights report on Mexico. In August 2008, the
killing of a 14-year-old kidnap victim, Fernando Martí, the son of a wealthy businessman,
resonated throughout Mexico and prompted demonstrations calling for the government to take
action against the escalation in violence. Kidnapping victims have not only included the rich, but
also working class Mexicans whose families have been asked to pay as little as $500 in ransom.31
In late October 2008, a five-year-old boy, the son of a poor family, was kidnapped from a Mexico

25 “Mexico: More Bloodshed,” Economist Intelligence Unit - Business Latin America, January 12, 2009; Steve
Fainarua and William Booth, “As Mexico Battles Cartels, The Army Becomes the Law,” Washington Post, April 2,
2009.
26 “Mexico-U.S.: The Drugs War—Dissecting the threat perceived in Washington,” Latin American Security &
Strategic Review, January 2009.
27 Testimony of David T. Johnson, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and
Law Enforcement Affairs, before the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, Related Programs of House
Committee on Appropriations, March 10, 2009.
28 “Cartels add political dimension to ‘drugs war’,” Latin American Security & Strategic Review, February 2009.
29 A grenade attack in Morelia, Michoacan, on September 15, 2008—a night when Mexicans were celebrating their
independence—that took place in a public square and resulted in eight deaths and more than 100 injured suggests that
the indiscriminate killing of civilians has become a new tactic of the Mexican DTOs. See Stratfor, Mexican Drug
Cartels: Government Progress and Growing Violence, December 11, 2008.
30 Benito Jiménez y Verónica Sánchez, “Aumentan secuestros,” Reforma (Mexico), April 5, 2009.
31 Ken Ellingwood, “In Mexico, A Bounty on Every Head,” Los Angeles Times, September 1, 2008.
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City market and then killed by injecting acid into his heart.32 In December 2008, an American
anti-kidnapping negotiator, Felix Batista, was abducted in Saltillo, the capital of the border state
of Coahuila.
The growth and dramatic character of the violence in Mexico has led some U.S. officials and
observers to question the strength of the Mexican state.33 Mexican officials strongly deny this
claim and note the drug violence is concentrated in a few border cities and is not likely to cause
Mexico to become a “failed state.” Indeed, Mexican officials claim the heightened violence may
be a sign that the cartels are losing ground and turning on each other as their markets shrink.34 On
the other hand, some analysts see less encouraging trends. The willingness of DTO gunmen to
take on the army rather than avoid confrontation has been a pattern in a string of recent
encounters.35 There have been reports that those employed by the major DTOs in Mexico may
number up to 100,000 or more, coming close to parity with the Mexican armed forces.36
Several analysts have characterized 2008 as a year of flux and turmoil as the drug cartels battled
for market dominance and responded violently to their government’s unprecedented campaign
against them. In evaluating the progress of the government crackdown, one think tank’s annual
assessment of Mexico’s drug war concludes: “The increased turbulence in inter-cartel relations
has produced unprecedented levels in violence that shows no sign of abating.”37 The realignment
of Mexico’s drug syndicates in 2008 and their violent turf battles appear to be the result of a
splintering of the so-called Sinaloa federation of DTOs, and the reemergence of DTOs once
thought to be obsolete which are battling for control of national markets and transport routes.38
The seven major cartels that once controlled Mexico have reconfigured. What was once a bi-polar
competition between the powerful Gulf Cartel and the Sinaloa federation has been transformed by
the government’s anti-crime initiatives into significant inter-cartel and intra-cartel violence to
achieve dominance over certain trafficking routes, or “plazas,” into the United States.
As a result, cartel-related killings are highly concentrated in a few states. In 2008, more than 60%
of the killings took place in Baja California, Sinaloa and Chihuahua and within those states
killings were reportedly concentrated in three cities: Tijuana, Culiacán and Ciudad Juárez. In
2008, by far the greatest numbers of drug-related homicides took place in Chihuahua state where
highly contested Ciudad Juárez is located just across the border from El Paso, Texas.39 The
violence in Juárez has continued in 2009. In February, the police chief resigned after cartel
gunmen left written warnings on the bodies of a slain police officer and prison guard they had

32 “Killing of 5-Year-Old Kidnapped from Market Shocks Mexico,” New York Times, November 4, 2008.
33 A number of official sources have put forward this argument including the Bush Administration’s National Security
Advisor, Stephen Hadley, a report released in December 2008 by the US Joint Forces Command, and other Bush
Administration spokespersons. See “Mexico-U.S.: The Drugs War—Dissecting the threat perceived in Washington.”
34 “On the trail of the traffickers,” The Economist, March 7, 2009.
35 “Cartels add political dimension to ‘drugs war’,” Latin American Security & Strategic Review, February 2009.
36 Sara A. Carter, “100,000 foot soldiers in cartels; Numbers rival Mexican army,” Washington Times, March 3, 2009;
Steve Fainarua and William Booth, “As Mexico Battles Cartels, The Army Becomes the Law,” Washington Post, April
2, 2009.
37 Stratfor, Mexican Drug Cartels: Government Progress and Growing Violence, December 11, 2008.
38 Ibid.
39 The violence in Juárez this past year has been substantial with more than 1,500 homicides in 2008. In December,
four policemen in Juárez were killed in a half hour period and one of them decapitated. See coverage in: Tom Miller,
“Twilight Zone,” Washington Post, February 8, 2009.
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killed that they would kill one officer every 48 hours until he left his post.40 Three days after his
resignation, a convoy of police vehicles escorting state governor José Reyes Baeza in Chihuahua
city, was fired upon, allegedly by cartel gunmen.41
President Calderón’s crackdown significantly disrupted the cartels’ operations in 2008, and this
has continued in 2009. In March 2009, in an effort to increase pressure on the drug cartels, the
Mexican authorities set rewards for information leading to the capture of 24 of its top drug
traffickers, with each reward was set at $2 million.42 Since the government’s crackdown, large
caches of weapons and drugs have been seized, key members of the cartels arrested, and a record
number have been extradited to the United States. Yet, drug-related killings shot up in 2008 and
the momentum of violence is continuing into 2009.43 Notwithstanding this concentrated violence,
Mexico has one of the lower homicide rates in the region. At 11 deaths per 100,000 according to
the Mexican government, it is lower than those in Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador and
Brazil.44
Violence is a tool of the drug trafficking business and the objectives of the violence seem to vary.
Much of the violence has been a result of conflict between the cartels for control of territory, to
punish betrayals and obtain revenge against the government’s successes. Violence is also used to
intimidate government officials, the police and the general public. The cartels prefer to intimidate
and subvert a government rather than to bring it down according to one analysis because it allows
the drug cartels to continue to conduct their trade without being disturbed.45 The cartels may also
be using violence against the government to reestablish patterns of protection by corrupt officials
that prevailed in much of Mexico for many years.46
Each year Mexican drug trafficking organizations repatriate huge sums of illicit revenues from
drug sales in the United States.47 This money is used to corrupt Mexican government officials to
either ignore cartel activities or to actively support and protect them. Corruption of local, state
and federal police has resulted in Calderón’s reliance on the military to combat DTOs, and
remains a major challenge for U.S.-Mexican law enforcement cooperation. Corruption of
government officials has also been a significant problem that has made the campaign against
DTOs more difficult. In late October 2008, an elite unit within the federal Attorney General’s
office known as SIEDO was implicated in a scandal involving payoffs for sensitive information
about antidrug activities, with at least 35 officials and agents fired or arrested.48 In November
2008, the former head of SIEDO, Noe Ramirez Mandujano, was arrested and accused of

40 David Luhnow and José de Cordóba, “The Perilous State of Mexico,” Wall Street Journal, February 21, 2009.
41 “Cartels add political dimension to ‘drugs war’,” Latin American Security & Strategic Review, February 2009.
42 Jose de Cordoba, “Drug Cartels Rise on U.S. Agenda -- As Clinton Plans Visit This Week, Mexico Offers Rewards
for Capture of Traffickers,” Wall Street Journal, March 24, 2009.
43 According to The Economist analysis, “what was an oligopoly has splintered into warring factions.” See: “On the
trail of the traffickers,” The Economist, March 7, 2009.
44 Marc Lacey, “Killings in Drug War in Mexico Double in ’08,” New York Times, December 9, 2008. The article cites
figures from Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina-Mora.
45 Ray Walser, Mexico, Drug Cartels, and the Mérida Initiative: A Fight We Cannot Afford to Lose, Heritage
Foundation, Executive Summary: Backgrounder No. 2163, Washington, DC, July 22, 2008.
46 Francisco E. González, “Mexico’s Drug Wars Get Brutal,” Current History, February 2009.
47 The volume of cash generated by the trade is hard to quantify precisely. Estimates range from $15 to $25 billion a
year (The United States and Mexico: Towards a Strategic Partnership) to $40 billion a year (Stratfor, Mexican Drug
Cartels: Government Progress and Growing Violence).
48 Tracy Wilkinson, “Mexico Under Siege: Elite Police Tainted by Drug Gang,” Los Angeles Times, October 28, 2008.
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accepting bribes from a drug cartel. In early December 2008, President Calderón stated that some
11,500 public employees had been sanctioned for corruption in the two years since he took office.
Bilateral Cooperation on Counternarcotics and Anticrime Efforts
In the 1980s and 1990s, U.S.-Mexico counternarcotics efforts were often marked by distrust, with
criticisms mounting in March of each year when the President was required to certify that drug
producing and drug transit countries were cooperating fully with the United States. Reforms to
the U.S. drug certification process enacted in September 2002 (P.L. 107-228) essentially
eliminated the annual drug certification requirement, and instead required the President to
designate and withhold assistance from countries that had “failed demonstrably” to make
substantial counternarcotics efforts.49 In the aftermath of reforms to the U.S. drug certification
process, U.S. bilateral cooperation with Mexico on counternarcotics efforts improved
considerably during the Fox administration (2000-2006), and as described above, combating
DTOs has become a priority of the current Calderón administration.
Until 2006, Mexico refused to extradite criminals facing the possibility of life without parole to
the United States. However, two decisions by the Mexican Supreme Court facilitated extraditions
to the United States. In November 2005, in a partial reversal of its October 2001 ruling, the Court
found that life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is not cruel and unusual
punishment. The Mexican Supreme Court ruled in January 2006 that U.S. extradition requests
only need to meet the requirements of the 1978 bilateral extradition treaty, not Mexico’s general
law on international extradition that was promulgated in 1975.50 That decision made the
extradition process easier. President Calderón has used extradition as a major tool to combat drug
traffickers, and over the past several years Mexico has extradited an increasing number of alleged
criminals to the United States. Extraditions from Mexico rose from 41 in 2005 to a record 95 in
2008.51
The State Department’s 2009 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) maintains
that the degree of U.S.-Mexican cooperation on counternaroctics and law enforcement under the
Calderón Administration is unprecedented, and characterizes President Calderón’s efforts to deal
with increased violence stemming from the drug cartels as courageous. In 2008, Mexican law
enforcement seized over 19 metric tons (mt) of cocaine, down from 48 mt in 2007, while seizures
of cannibis, and heroin were also down significantly. The INCSR report maintained that U.S. law
enforcement agencies attribute the reduction to better enforcement that has forced traffickers to
seek alternative routes or alternative enterprises. The decline in methamphetamine seizures is
attributed to the government’s actions to restrict the importation of precursor chemicals used for
the production of the drug.

49 See CRS Report 98-174, Mexican Drug Certification Issues: U.S. Congressional Action, 1986-2002, by K. Larry
Storrs.
50 Jesus Aranda, “Allana la Corte el Camino para Extraditar a Connacionales a EU,” La Jornada, February 1, 2006;
“Mexico: Court Clears Way for Faster Extraditions to U.S.,” Latin American Weekly Report, February 7, 2006; and,
U.S. Department of State, INCSR 2006.
51 U.S. Embassy, Mexico City, Mexico, “U.S.-Mexico At a Glance: Extraditions,” February 2009.
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Mérida Initiative52
The United States and Mexico issued a joint statement on October 22, 2007, announcing a multi-
year plan for $1.4 billion in U.S. assistance to Mexico and Central America to combat drug
trafficking and other criminal organizations. The Mérida Initiative, named for the location of a
March 2007 meeting between Presidents Bush and Calderón, expands bilateral and regional
cooperation to combat organized crime, DTOs, and criminal gangs. In terms of actual
appropriations for Mexico under the Mérida Initiative, the Bush Administration requested $500
million for Mexico in a FY2008 supplemental appropriations request and another $450 million
for Mexico in the FY2009 regular foreign aid request, for a total request of $950 million.
Ultimately Congress has appropriated a total of $700 million to date for Mexico under the Mérida
Initiative: with $352 million in FY2008 supplemental assistance and $48 million in FY2009
bridge funds, both funded by P.L. 110-252, signed into law June 30, 2008; and $300 million in
regular FY2009 assistance funded in the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-8), signed
into law March 11, 2009.
The stated objective of the Mérida Initiative, according to the October 2007 joint statement, is to
maximize the effectiveness of our efforts to fight criminal organizations—so as to disrupt drug-
trafficking (including precursor chemicals), weapons trafficking, illicit financial activities, and
currency smuggling, and human trafficking.53 The joint statement highlighted efforts of both
countries, including Mexico’s 24% increase in security spending in 2007, and U.S. efforts to
reduce weapons, human, and drug trafficking along the Mexican border. Although the statement
did not announce additional funding for U.S. domestic efforts, it cited several examples of such
efforts to combat drugs and crime that are already in place. Those examples included the 2007
Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy, the 2008 National Drug Control Strategy, and the
2007 U.S. Strategy for Combating Criminal Gangs from Central America and Mexico.
The Bush Administration had requested that all proposed funding for the Mérida Initiative be
designated for the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) account,
administered by the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Affairs (INL), but Congress ultimately appropriated the assistance within the
INCLE, Foreign Military Financing (FMF), and Economic Support Fund (ESF) accounts (see
Table 2). Congress also stipulated that none of the funds may be used for budget support or as
cash payments to Mexico.
In June 2008 legislative action on the Mérida Initiative in P.L. 110-252, Congress provided $400
million supplemental assistance in FY2008 and FY2009 for Mexico, with not less than $73.5
million for judicial reform, institution-building, anti-corruption, and rule of law activities. The
measure provides $352 million in FY2008 supplemental assistance within the INCLE, FMF, and
ESF accounts, and $48 million in FY2009 supplemental assistance within the INCLE account.
For FY2008, $3 million from the INCLE account is to be used for technical and other assistance
to enable the Mexican government to implement a unified national registry of federal, state, and
municipal police officers.

52 For additional information, see CRS Report R40135, Mérida Initiative for Mexico and Central America: Funding and
Policy Issues.
53 U.S. Department of State and Government of Mexico, “Joint Statement on the Merida Initiative,” October 22, 2007.
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The law has human rights conditions (described below) softer than compared to earlier House and
Senate versions, in large part because of Mexico’s objections that some of the conditions would
violate its national sovereignty. As set forth in the legislation, the Secretary of State, after
consultation with Mexican authorities, is required to submit a report on procedures in place to
implement Section 620J of the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) of 1961. That section of the FAA
“prohibits assistance to any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of
State has credible evidence that such unit has committed gross violations of human rights.” An
exception to this prohibition is provided in Section 620J if the Secretary of State determines and
reports to Congress that the government of such country is taking effective measures to bring the
responsible members of the security forces unit to justice.
Table 2. FY2008 and FY2009 Mérida Funding for Mexico by Aid Account
($ in millions)
FY2008 Suppl.
FY2009 Bridge
FY2009
FY2009
Funds (P.L. 110-
Funds (P.L. 110-
Omnibus (P.L.
Supplemental
Account
252)
252)
111-8)
Request
ESF 20.0
0.0
15.0
0.0
INCLE 215.5
48.0
246.0
66.0
FMF 116.5
0.0
39.0
0.0
Total 352.0
48.0
300.0
66.0
Source: U.S. Department of State, FY2008 Supplemental Appropriations Spending Plan; P.L. 111-8, Omnibus
Appropriations Act 2009 (Division H and Joint Explanatory Statement, H.R. 1105); and FY2009 Supplemental
Justification, Department of State & U.S. Agency for International Development.

In March 2009 legislative action on P.L. 111-8, Congress provided $300 million for Mexico under
the Mérida Initiative within the INCLE, ESF, and FMF accounts, with not less than $75 million
for judicial reform, institution building, anti-corruption, and rule of law activities. The measure
has similar human rights conditions originally set forth in P.L. 110-252, and also has a provision
requiring that prior for the procurement or lease of aircraft, that the Director of the Defense
Security Cooperation Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall submit to the
Committees on Appropriations an Analysis of Alternatives for the acquisition of all aircraft for the
Mérida Initiative.
Both P.L. 110-252 and P.L. 111-8 have human rights conditions requiring that 15% of INCLE and
FMF assistance be withheld until the Secretary of State reports in writing that Mexico is taking
action in four human rights areas:
• improving transparency and accountability of federal police forces;
• establishing a mechanism to conduct regular consultations among relevant
Mexican government authorities, Mexican human rights organizations, and other
relevant Mexican civil society organizations, to make consultations concerning
implementation of the Mérida Initiative in accordance with Mexican and
international law;
• ensuring that civilian prosecutors and judicial authorities are investigating and
prosecuting, in accordance with Mexican and international law, members of the
federal police and military forces who have been credibly alleged to have
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committed violations of human rights, and the federal police and military forces
are fully cooperating with the investigations; and
• enforcing the prohibition, in accordance with Mexican and international law, on
the use of testimony obtained through torture or other ill-treatment.
According to the Department of the State,54 which is leading Mérida Initiative implementation,
the first pot of $400 million for the foreign aid program provided in P.L. 110-252 includes
funding for the following:
• helicopters (up to five Bell 412 helicopters) and surveillance aircraft (up to two
CASA maritime patrol aircraft) to support interdiction and rapid response of
Mexican law enforcement agencies;
• non-intrusive inspection equipment, ion scanners, and canine units for Mexican
customs, the new Mexican federal police and the military to interdict trafficked
drugs, arms, cash, and persons;
• technologies and secure communications to improve data collection and storage;
• and technical advice and training to strengthen the institutions of justice in order
to improve vetting for the Mexican police force, to provide case management
software to track investigations through the legal process, to support offices of
citizen complain and professional responsibility, and to promote the
establishment of witness protection programs.
On December 3, 2008, the United States and Mexico signed a Letter of Agreement, allowing
$197 million of the first pot of Mérida funds to be disbursed.55 Later in December, the
governments of Mexico and the United States met to coordinate implementation of the Mérida
Initiative through a cabinet-level High Level group reflecting the urgency felt on both sides of the
border to address the growing violence in Mexico. According to the State Department, a working-
level meeting was held February 3, 2009, in Mexico City “with the aim of accelerating the
implementation of the 48 projects through nine working groups for Mexico under the Initiative.”
This meeting was followed by another on March 2, 2009.56 Only the initial phases of
implementation have begun. Although some programs will become operational starting in the
spring through the end of 2009, others that fund military equipment have a longer procurement
process. This is especially true for assistance in the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) account
that provides for equipment such as Bell helicopters and CASA surveillance aircraft that may take
from one to two years for delivery to Mexico.

54 U.S. Embassy, Mexico, “U.S.-Mexico At a Glance: The Mérida Initiative,” September 2008; U.S. Department of
State, “FY2008 Supplemental Appropriations Spending Plan, Mexico, Central America, Haiti, and the Dominican
Republic,” September 4, 2008.
55 The $197 million is from the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) foreign aid funding
account, and will fund equipment, training, and technology programs. In addition, more than $136 million under the
Mérida Initiative from the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and Economic Support Funds (ESF) accounts will be
used to support antidrug and anticrime programs. See Embassy of the United States in Mexico, Press Release, “Mérida
Initiative Monies Released; Letter of Agreement signed,” December 3, 2008.
56 Testimony of David T. Johnson, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and
Law Enforcement Affairs, before the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, Related Programs of House
Committee on Appropriations, March 10, 2009.
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On April 9, 2009, the Obama Administration submitted a FY2009 supplemental request that
includes and additional $66 million in INCLE assistance for Mexico under the Mérida Initiative.
According to the request, the assistance would be used to acquire three Blackhawk helicopters for
Mexico’s civilian Public Security Secretariat to provide them urgently needed air transport
capacity, and also to provide spare parts and support. Another $16 million in reprogrammed
Mérida Initiative funds already appropriated in P.L. 110-252 will also be used to fund the
helicopters (including spare parts and support costs) bringing the total funding for the helicopters
to $82 million.
There has been increasing criticism from Mexican officials as well from Members of the U.S.
Congress about the slowness of delivering promised assistance under the Mérida Initiative.
According to press reports, just $7 million of the initial $400 pot of assistance has been spent,
while U.S. officials reportedly have attributed delays to cumbersome U.S. government
contracting regulations, negotiations with Mexico about what equipment is actually needed, and
the difficulty of delivering an aid package involves so many agencies and has some four dozen
programs.57
Human rights organizations generally lauded the inclusion of human rights conditions (described
above) in Mérida Initiative appropriations legislations. Some groups, however, have expressed
concerns that Mexican authorities are not taking adequate measures to comply with the
conditions. Some assert that the growing role of the Mexican military in public security tasks is
resulting in increased human rights violations by the military.58
Beyond the Mérida Initiative
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano noted in March 2009 congressional testimony
that the United States has a significant security stake in helping Mexico in its efforts against the
drug cartels and organized crime, with three major roles to play: providing assistance to Mexico
to defeat the cartels and suppress the flare-up of violence in Mexico; taking action on the U.S.
side of the border to cripple smuggling enterprises; and guarding against and preparing for the
possible spillover of violence into the United States. Secretary Napolitano noted that there already
has been a limited increase in drug-related violence in the United States (such as a rise in
kidnappings and weapons violations in cities close to the border such as Phoenix), but maintained
that the increase is not the same kind or nearly the same scale as in Mexico.59
Beyond the various programs and projects under the Mérida Initiative, the United States is
providing significant additional efforts through several agencies to combat Mexican drug cartels
and bolster border security.
Components of the Department of Homeland Security are providing significant assistance.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has created a dozen Border Enforcement Security

57 William Booth and Steve Fainaru, “U.S. Aid Delays in Drug War Criticized,” Washington Post, April 5, 2009.
58 See testimony by Joy Olson, Washington Office on Latin America, and Lisa Haugaard, Latin America Working
Group, before the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related
Programs, hearing on the Mérida Initiative, March 10, 2009.
59 Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Testimony of Secretary of Homeland Security
Janet Napolitano, hearing on “Southern Border Violence: Homeland Security Threats, Vulnerabilities, and
Responsibilities,” March 25, 2009.
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Taskforces (BESTs) since 2006, including 8 on the U.S. southwest border. The taskforces serve as
platforms for cooperation among local, state, and federal agencies as well as a point of
cooperation with Mexico’s Secretary of Public Security (SSP). ICE has also coordinated the
establishment of Special Investigative Units in Mexico that work with ICE special agents
assigned in Mexico on criminal investigations and prosecutions in such areas as money
laundering and alien trafficking and smuggling. DHS components such as ICE, Customs and
Border Protection (CBP), and the U.S. Coast Guard have long standing relationships with their
Mexican counterparts to jointly disrupt the activities of drug trafficking organizations. As
discussed below, various DHS components are involved in efforts to deter money laundering and
bulk cash smuggling, weapons trafficking, and human smuggling.60
In late March 2009, the Department of Justice announced increased efforts to combat Mexican
drug cartels in the United States and to help Mexican law enforcement battle the cartels in their
own country. Deputy Attorney General David Ogden is leading a Mexican Cartel Strategy that
uses federal prosecutor-led task forces that bring together all law enforcement components to
identify and dismantle the cartels through investigation, prosecution, and extradition of their key
leaders and facilitators. Department of Justice components involved in the increased efforts
include the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), U.S. Marshals Service (USM), and the Department’s Criminal
Division and the Office of Justice Programs.61
ATF has begun a new intelligence-driven effort known as Gunrunner Impact Teams (GRITs) and
also is beefing up its Project Gunrunner program along with etrace to stop the flow of guns to
Mexico. (For more see “Weapons Trafficking” section below.)
DEA has worked with the Mexican government for decades and has 11 offices in the country. The
agency is increasing its agents allocated to the Southwest border field divisions and is forming
mobile teams to target Mexican methamphetamine trafficking operations. DEA’s cooperation with
Mexico has included Project Reckoning targeting the Gulf Cartel and Operation Xcellerator
targeting the Sinaloa Cartel. DEA also is the lead agency at the El Paso Intelligence Center
(EPIC), a national tactical intelligence center that emphasizes law enforcement efforts on the
Southwest border.
Money Laundering and Bulk Cash Smuggling
Interrupting the flow of money from drug sales in the United States to Mexico, estimated to range
from $15 billion to $25 billion annually,62 may be one of the most effective ways to disrupt the
activities of the Mexican DTOs. A portion of this money is used to buy weapons in the United
States to arm the DTOs and their drug enforcers. Other drug proceeds are used to corrupt law
enforcement and public officials enabling the DTOs to continue to operate with impunity. Some

60 Ibid; and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Statement of Mark Koumans, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office
of International Affairs,” before House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Homeland Security, March 10,
2009.
61 U.S. Department of Justice, “Department of Justice Announces Resources for Fight against Mexican Drug Cartels,”
Fact Sheet, March 24, 2009; and “Fact Sheet: Department of Justice Efforts to Combat Mexican Drug Cartels,” US Fed
News, April 4, 2009.
62 Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Mexico Institute, The United States and Mexico: Towards a
Strategic Partnership, January 2009.
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analysts suggest that the U.S. Treasury is doing a good job of making it difficult to launder money
within financial institutions. The preferred mode to transfer drug proceeds by the Mexican DTOs
is through shipments of bulk cash.63
In order to address the problem of bulk cash smuggling, the DEA has carried out bulk cash
seizures with the FBI, ICE, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). In 2005, ICE and CBP
launched a program known as “Operation Firewall,” which resulted in increased operations
against bulk cash smuggling in the U.S.-Mexico border region. Many operations have been
carried out in coordination with Mexican customs and the Mexican money laundering vetted unit.
In 2008, ICE created a Trade Transparency Unit (TTU) in Mexico. Mexican TTU representatives
are receiving training and technical support from ICE officials in how to identify cross-border
trade anomalies that could be indicative of bulk cash smuggling.
Precursor Chemicals
Reducing the trafficking of chemicals necessary for drug manufacture is addressed in the Mérida
Initiative joint statement. The recent NDIC report of the U.S. Department of Justice credits
Mexico’s recently established import restrictions on products containing methamphetamine
precursors with reducing Mexican methamphetamine shipments to the United States in 2007 and
2008.64 Strong bilateral cooperation between the United States and Mexico has resulted in large
drug seizures including the shutting down of five “super” methamphetamine laboratories in
Mexico in 2008 according to the Department of State’s 2009 International Narcotics Control
Strategy Report released in February 2009. The report notes that there was a reduction in the
number of labs destroyed from 2007 because of reduced availability of precursor chemicals due
to regulatory controls put in place by the Mexican government and recent U.S. and Mexican law
enforcement activities.
Weapons Trafficking
The ATF estimates that 90% of the firearms recovered from crime scenes in Mexico originated in
the United States.65 According to ATF, while the greatest proportion of firearms trafficked to
Mexico originate from U.S. states in the southwest, especially Texas, Arizona, and California, the
problem of trafficking is national with guns originating as far east as Florida and as far north as
Washington state.66 Mexican drug cartels and enforcer gangs are relying on more powerful
weapons, and reportedly are buying semiautomatic versions of the AK-47 and AR-15 style
assault rifles, and other military-style firearms in the United States. The cartels often obtain their
weapons through “straw purchases,” whereby people who are legally qualified buy the weapons
from licensed gun dealers or at gun shows in border states and sell them to smugglers who take
them across the border. In November 2008, the Mexican government made the largest seizure of
drug-cartel weapons in Mexican history when it discovered a cache of 540 rifles, 15 grenades,

63 Testimony of Andrew Selee, Director of the Mexico Institute, Woodrow Wilson Center before the House
Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
March 12, 2009.
64 National Drug Intelligence Center, National Drug Threat Assessment 2009, U.S. Department of Justice, Product
2008-Q0317-005, December 2008.
65 U.S. Embassy, Mexico City, Mexico, “U.S.-Mexico at a Glance: Combating Illicit Firearms,” February 2009.
66 ATF, “Statement of William Newell, Special Agent in Charge, Phoenix Field Division, ATF” before House
Committee of Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies,” March 24, 2009.
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500,000 rounds of ammunition, and 14 sticks of TNT at a house in the border town of Reynosa,
Mexico.67
The ATF began a Southwest border initiative dubbed Project Gunrunner in FY2004 that aims to
deny firearms to criminal organizations in Mexico, and to combat firearms-related violence
affecting communities on both sides of the border. 68 The number of ATF personnel dedicated to
Project Gunrunner has increased in recent years. In FY2006 and FY2007, around 100 special
agents and 25 industry operations investigators were dedicated to Project Gunrunner, while by
March 2009, the numbers had increased to 148 special agents and 59 industry operations
investigators.69 From FY2004 through mid-February 2009, ATF referred almost 800 cases for
prosecution involving more than 1,600 defendants, including almost 400 cases for firearms
trafficking involving more than 1,000 defendants and almost 13,000 guns.70
In addition to these efforts in the United States, under the Mérida Initiative, ATF received $4.5
million for the deployment of eTrace firearms tracking technology to U.S. Consulates in Mexico
to combat arms trafficking.71 In FY2008, Mexico submitted more than 7,500 recovered guns for
tracing, showing that most originated in Texas, Arizona, and California.72
The 111th Congress has approved legislation providing additional funding to support Project
Gunrunner. In the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5), signed into
law February 17, 2009, Congress provided $10 million for Project Gunrunner. According to the
Department of Justice, the funding will allow for additional personnel, and allow ATF to establish
three permanent field offices dedicated to firearms trafficking investigations in McAllen, Texas,
El Centro, California, and Las Cruces, New Mexico. The Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009
(P.L. 111-8), signed into law March 11, 2009, provides not less than $5 million for Project
Gunrunner and other firearms trafficking efforts targeting Mexico and the border region.
The Department of Homeland Security, especially Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are also involved in taking action to stop the
southbound flow of weapons to Mexico. Both ICE and CBP have the authority to enforce export
provisions of the Arms Exports Control Act. In collaboration with Mexican law enforcement
authorities, ICE launched a new bilateral program against weapons smuggling in June 2008
known as Operation Armas Cruzadas. Among other activities, the program involves intelligence
sharing and joint law enforcement efforts with vetted Mexican units. As DHS reported in March

67 “Mexico: Army Seizes Huge Weapons Cache,” Los Angeles Times, November 8, 2008.
68 For background on ATF funding and Project Gunrunner, see CRS Report RL34514, The Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF): Budget and Operations, by William J. Krouse.
69 U.S. Embassy, Mexico, “Border and Law Enforcement, Project Gunrunner,” ATF Factsheet, available at
[http://www.usembassy-mexico.gov/eng/texts/et080116eTrace.html]; and Department of Justice, Statement of William
Hoover, Assistant Director for Field Operations, ATF, and Anthony P. Placido, Assistant Administrator for Intelligence
Division, DEA, before Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, March 17, 2009.
70 ATF, “Statement of William Newell,” op. cit.
71 U.S. Department of Justice, “Statement of Joseph M. Arabit, Special Agent in Charge, El Paso Division, Drug
Enforcement Administration, and William McMahon, Deputy Assistant Director, Field Operations, ATF,” before the
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, March 30, 2009.
72 U.S. Department of Justice, “Department of Justice Announces Resources for Fight against Mexican Drug Cartels,”
Fact Sheet, March 24, 2009.
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2009, the operation has resulted in more than 100 criminal arrests, 42 convictions, and the seizure
of more than 400 weapons.73
According to DHS, the Mexican government began a pilot program in February 2009 to screen
incoming traffic to look for guns, bulk cash, and other contraband, and hopes to expand the
program across the entire border by the fall of 2009.74 In addition, under the Mérida Initiative, the
United States will be providing non-intrusive inspection equipment that will assist Mexican
officials to prevent arms and cash smuggling from the United States.75
In light of intensified U.S. efforts to curb the flow of weapons to Mexico, some policy advocates
have called for the U.S. Senate to act on a pending treaty, the Inter-American Convention Against
the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other
Related Materials.”76 According to the Department of State, the convention will help shut down
the illicit transnational arms market that fuels the violence associated with drug trafficking,
terrorism, and international organized crime. The treaty, which was signed by the United States in
1997 entered into force in July 1998, was submitted to the Senate for its advice and consent in
June 1998.77
Human Smuggling
The Operation Against Smuggling Initiative on Safety and Security (OASISS) is a bilateral effort
begun in August 2005 to combat human smuggling. The program, spearheaded by ICE and
several Mexican agencies, was initially limited to the area between San Diego, California and
Yuma, Arizona, but was extended to El Paso, Texas in April 2006. In August 2007, the United
States and Mexico agreed to extend the program to the Mexican state of Coahuila and the area
between El Paso and Eagle Pass, Texas. The program assists both the Mexican and U.S.
governments in the prosecution of alien smugglers and human traffickers along the southwest
border. According to DHS, with funding from the Mérida Initiative, Mexico intends to implement
the program across the entire United States-Mexico border. 78

73 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Statement of Mark Koumans, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of
International Affairs,” before House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Homeland Security, March 10,
2009.
74 Ibid.
75 U.S. Department of State, “Statement of David T. Johnson, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of International
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs,” before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on the
Western Hemisphere, March 18, 2009.
76 Peter DeShazo and Johnna Mendelson Forman, “A treaty that can help stem drug violence in Mexico,” Washington
Times, February 24, 2009.
77 U.S. Department of State, The Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in
Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials,” Fact Sheet, March 25, 2009
78 House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Statement of Mark Koumans, Deputy y
Assistant Secretary, Office of International Affairs, at hearing on “DHS Security Response to Violence on the Border
with Mexico,” March 10, 2009.
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Security and Prosperity Partnership79
On March 23, 2005, President Bush, Mexican President Vicente Fox, and Canadian Prime
Minister Paul Martin established the trilateral Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North
America. Through the SPP, which consists of expanded cooperation and harmonization of
policies, the three nations have sought to advance the common security and prosperity of the
countries. The SPP is not a treaty or agreement and is limited to the existing legal framework
relating to the trilateral relationship. The SPP seeks to address security and commercial
cooperation at the regulatory level. To make this partnership operational, the leaders established
Ministerial-led working groups to develop measurable and achievable goals in the specified areas.
In August 2006, the SPP working groups submitted their second report to SPP leaders outlining
completed initiatives and proposing new initiatives to ensure common security and prosperity.
The working groups established an Avian and Human Pandemic Influenza Coordinating Body
and a North American Competitiveness Council.
Cooperation under the SPP has increased security cooperation on port security and border
security. In April 2007, the United States and Mexico signed an agreement to detect and prevent
the smuggling of nuclear and radioactive materials. Under the Megaports agreement, the U.S.
Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration and Mexican customs will
install radiation detection devices at four Mexican seaports. These ports account for 90% of
container traffic in Mexico. The three countries are also working to more efficiently determine the
risk of cargo at seaports. Mexico has implemented the Sea Cargo Initiative which gathers data
electronically before loading at a port of origin. Earlier completed initiatives included measures to
facilitate trade, such as the signing of a Framework of Common Principles for Electronic
Commerce,80 and border security through, among other measures, an agreement between the U.S.
and Mexico to create an Alien Smuggler Prosecution Program along the common border.
At an SPP leaders’ meeting held in New Orleans, Louisiana in April 2008 President Bush,
President Calderón, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper commended the success of
NAFTA, which they say tripled trade between the three countries to a projected $1 trillion in
2008. They also reevaluated the five priority areas that were identified in a ministerial meeting
held in Los Cabos, Mexico in February 2008. The three leaders decided that their Ministers
should renew and focus their work on 1) increasing the competitiveness of business and
economies by making regulations between the countries more compatible and strengthening
intellectual property strategies; 2) making the borders between the countries more secure by
coordinating infrastructure plans, strengthening technological advancements, and investigating
new customs procedures; 3) fortifying energy security and environmental protection initiatives by
exchanging information and collaborating on new projects; 4) improving citizen access to safe
food, and health and consumer products by deepening regulatory and inspection programs; and 5)
improving response to emergencies by updating bilateral agreements.81 The next SPP leaders’
meeting is scheduled to be hosted in Mexico in 2009.

79 For more information, see CRS Report RS22701, Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America: An
Overview and Selected Issues, by M. Angeles Villarreal and Jennifer E. Lake; also see the website of the SPP, available
at: http://www.spp.gov/
80 For more information, see CRS Report RL32934, U.S.-Mexico Economic Relations: Trends, Issues, and
Implications, by M. Angeles Villarreal.
81 “Joint Statement by President Bush, and President Calderón, and Prime Minister Harper” April 22, 2008.
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Human Rights Issues
According to the State Department’s 2008 human rights report, issued in February 2009, the
Mexican government generally respected human rights at the national level by investigating,
prosecuting, and sentencing public officials and members of the security forces, but it noted a
number of human rights problems were reported. These included unlawful killing by security
forces; kidnappings; physical abuse; poor and overcrowded prison conditions; arbitrary arrests
and detention; corruption, inefficiency and lack of transparency in the judicial system;
confessions coerced through torture; criminal intimidation of journalists leading to self-
censorship; impunity and corruption at all levels of government; domestic violence against
women; trafficking in persons; social and economic discrimination against some members of the
indigenous population; and child labor. (See the State Department report, available at:
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/wha/119166.htm)
The State Department report maintained that the government or its forces did not commit any
politically motivated killings, but that there were reports that security forces killed several people
during the year in various cases. The report asserted that cruel treatment and physical abuse of
security forces, especially at the state and local level, remained a serious problem. Corruption was
reported to be a major problem, particularly at the state and local level, with police involved in
kidnapping, extortion, or providing protection for organized crime and drug traffickers. Impunity
was pervasive, according to the report, and was a reason that many victims were reluctant to file
complaints.
In the case of the American journalist Bradley Will, shot and killed while covering a protest in
Oaxaca in 2006, the State Department report noted that Mexico’s National Human Rights
Commission (CNDH) issued a report in September 2008 criticizing the federal and Oaxacan state
investigations into the killing and implicating Oaxacan state officials. In October 2008, the
government arrested three antigovernment protestors for the killing, maintaining that Will was
shot at close range. Human rights groups and the CNDH maintain that Will was shot at a
distance.82
The New York-based Human Rights Watch maintained in its 2009 human rights report (issued in
January 2009) that Mexico’s criminal justice system remained plagued with human rights
problems; that persons under arrest face torture and ill-treatment; and that law enforcement
officials often neglect to investigate and prosecute those responsible for human rights violations.
On a more positive note, the report lauded the Mexican government’s approval of justice reform
legislation in 2008 that created the basis for an adversarial criminal justice system with oral trials
and the presumption of innocence, although it raised concerns that individuals suspected of being
involved in organized crime could be held for up to 80 days without being charged.83 The Human
Rights Watch report also lauded human rights conditions set forth in U.S. legislation providing
funding for the Mérida Initiative as an opportunity to focus attention on the poor human rights
record of Mexico’s security forces.
During his administration, President Fox pledged to investigate and prosecute those responsible
for human rights violations, including the “Dirty War” period from the 1960s to 1980s. The
CNDH presented a report to President Fox in November 2001 that documented human rights

82 Elisabeth Malkin, “Mexico Says U.S. Journalist Was Killed by a Protester,” New York Times, October 18, 2008.
83 Human Rights Watch, World Report 2009, January 2009, pp. 191-195.
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abuses and disappearances of persons in the 1970s and early 1980s, and President Fox named
legal scholar Ignacio Carrillo in January 2002 as a Special Prosecutor to investigate these and
other cases. In November 2006, Ignacio Carrillo presented his final report on the repressive era
from the late 1960s to 1982. The report found that the repression was a matter of state policy and
led to the summary execution of over 700 Mexicans; torture; and the razing of villages.
The report was praised by some as an acknowledgment of state responsibility. Others remain
critical since no one has been convicted of charges relating to these alleged crimes. Only one of
the three presidents from this period, Luis Echeverria (1970-1976), is still alive. President
Echeverria faced genocide charges for his role in the repression of a 1968 student protest that left
dozens dead when he was interior minister. Echeverria tried to evade prosecution by claiming the
30-year statute of limitations had expired. A judge rejected this argument and reinstated the arrest
order in November 2006 after he determined that the statute of limitations did not go into effect
until Echeverria left public office in December 1976. In July 2007, the Criminal Tribunal
absolved Echeverria of any responsibility for the 1968 killings. This ruling was upheld by a
Mexican federal court in March 2009, and was criticized by human rights organizations. Amnesty
International maintains that the Mexican government is effectively condoning the abuses of the
past by not effectively prosecuting past human rights cases.84
Migration
Widely cited demographers at the Pew Hispanic Center estimate that there were 7 million
undocumented Mexican migrants residing in the United States as of March 2008, accounting for
almost 59% of the total estimated illegal alien population of 11.9 million.85 Mexico takes the view
that the migrants are “undocumented workers,” making the point that since the U.S. market
attracts and provides employment for the migrants, it bears some responsibility. Mexico regularly
voices concern about alleged abuses suffered by Mexican workers in the United States, and for
the loss of life and hardships suffered by Mexican migrants as they utilize increasingly dangerous
routes and methods to circumvent tighter border controls. Mexico benefits from illegal migration
in at least two ways: (1) it is a “safety valve” that dissipates the political discontent that could
arise from higher unemployment in Mexico; and (2) it is a source of remittances by workers in
the United States to families in Mexico.
In February 2006, the Mexican Congress approved a concurrent resolution on migration and
border security in which Mexico acknowledges that Mexican workers will continue to emigrate
until there are more opportunities in Mexico. Mexico also accepts the need to revisit its migration
policies to consider enforcement of its northern and southern borders, enforcement of Mexican
immigration laws that respects the human rights of migrants, and the need to combat human
trafficking. Perhaps most significantly, the Mexican resolution states that the Mexican
government does not promote illegal migration and calls for the development of a guest worker
program in the United States under the principle of shared responsibility. The resolution commits
Mexico to enforcing legal emigration “if a guest country offers a sufficient number of appropriate

84 “Mexico: Hopes of Justice Vanish,” Amnesty International, March 27, 2009.
85 Pew Hispanic Center, Trends in Undocumented Immigration: Undocumented Inflow Now Trails Legal Inflow, by
Jeffrey Passel and D’Vera Cohn, October 2, 2008.
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visas to cover the biggest possible number of workers and their families, which, until now cross
the border without documents because of the impossibility of obtaining them.”86
Congress last enacted major immigration reform in 1986 and 1996. Main provisions of the
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-603) included civil and criminal penalties
for U.S. employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers; increased border control and
enforcement measures; anti-discrimination safeguards; provision for legalization of illegal aliens
who resided continuously in the United States before 1982; and a special legalization for farm
workers previously employed on American farms. In 1996, two laws relating to immigration were
enacted, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA, P.L.
104-208) and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L.
104-193). The first measure sought to control illegal immigration by adding 1,000 Border Patrol
agents per year for five years (FY1997-FY2001), along with additional personnel, equipment, and
procedures. The IIRIRA increased penalties for unlawful presence and created the expedited
removal program.87 Individuals who depart the United States after more than 180 days of
unlawful presence now face either a three or 10-year bar to admission to the United States,
depending on the total period of unlawful presence.
In the 110th Congress, the U.S. Senate voted against cloture on the Comprehensive Immigration
Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1348) in June 2007, and the measure was not considered after that vote.
The bill would have improved border security, established a temporary worker program, and
normalized the status of most illegal immigrants in the United States. Mexico has long lobbied for
such reforms. Immigration reform legislation also was introduced in the House of Representatives
in March 2007. The House measure, the Security Through Regularized Immigration and Vibrant
Economy Act of 2007 (H.R. 1645), would have set border and document security benchmarks to
be met before normalizing the status of illegal immigrant or the creation of a guest worker
program. A variety of other migration-related legislative initiatives were introduced in the 110th
Congress, but no action was taken. (See ““Legislation in the 110th Congress” below.)
It is unclear whether comprehensive immigration legislation will be considered in the 111th
Congress. During Secretary of State Clinton’s March 2009 visit to Mexico, she maintained that
“President Obama remains committed to comprehensive immigration reform” and that
immigration reform “is and will be a high priority for him and his presidency.” The Secretary
indicated that the Administration hopes to be able to pursue such reform in the coming months.88
On April 3, 2009, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia
Espinosa announced agreement on formalized arrangements for the expedited and humane
repatriations of Mexican nationals. The agreement consists of 30 Local Arrangements for the
Repatriation of Mexican Nationals around the United States that formalize operational
coordination between governments on repatriation.89

86 “Mexico-U.S.: Migration and Border Security,” Embassy of Mexico, February 2006.
87 For more information on expedited removal, see CRS Report RL33109, Immigration Policy on Expedited Removal of
Aliens, by Alison Siskin and Ruth Ellen Wasem.
88 "Secretary of State Clinton Speaks with Mexican Foreign Secretary Espinosa After Their Meeting," US Fed News,
March 30, 2009.
89 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Secretaries Nap
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Trade Issues90
Trade between Mexico and the United States has grown dramatically in recent years under the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the United States, Mexico, and
Canada. Total U.S. trade with Mexico more than quadrupled from $82 billion in 1993 to $367
billion in 2008, but the balance of U.S. trade with Mexico has shifted from a surplus of $1.3
billion in 1994 to a deficit of $64.4 billion in 2008 (U.S. exports of $151.5 billion; U.S. imports
of $215.9 billion). Despite the deficit, Mexico has been one of the fastest growing export markets
for the United States in recent years. In 2008, Mexico remained the second largest U.S. export
market in 2008 after Canada and ranked third in U.S imports after China and Canada.91
The United States is Mexico’s most important customer by far, receiving about 80% of Mexico’s
exports, including petroleum, automobiles, auto parts, and winter vegetables, and providing about
50% of Mexico’s imports. The United States is the source of over 60% of foreign investment in
Mexico, and the primary source of important tourism earnings. Mexico is also the leading country
in Latin America in terms of U.S. investment, with the total stock of U.S. investment being
almost $92 billion in 2007.
The NAFTA agreement was negotiated in 1991 and 1992, and side agreements on labor and
environmental matters were completed in 1993. The agreements were approved by the respective
legislatures in late 1993 and went into force on January 1, 1994. Under the agreements, trade and
investment restrictions were eliminated over a 15-year period, with most restrictions eliminated in
the early years of the agreement.
Functioning of NAFTA Institutions
Several NAFTA institutions mandated by the agreements have been functioning since 1994. The
tripartite Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was established in Montreal,
Canada; and the Commission for Labor Cooperation (CLC) was established in Dallas, Texas. In
addition, the bilateral Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC), located in Ciudad
Juarez, Mexico; and the North American Development Bank (NADBank), headquartered in San
Antonio, Texas, were created to promote and finance border environment projects along the U.S.-
Mexico border. Following up on a March 2002 agreement by Presidents Bush and Fox in
Monterrey, Mexico, to broaden the mandate of the NADBank, Congress agreed in March 2004 to
permit the NADBank to make grants and nonmarket rate loans for environmental infrastructure
along the border. The NAFTA institutions have operated to encourage cooperation on trade,
environmental and labor issues, and to consider nongovernmental petitions under the labor and
environmental side agreements.
Trade Disputes
Trade disputes between the countries have involved the access of Mexican trucks to the United
States, the access of Mexican sugar and tuna to the U.S. market, and the access of U.S.
sweeteners to the Mexican market.

90 For more information, see CRS Report RL32934, U.S.-Mexico Economic Relations: Trends, Issues, and
Implications, by M. Angeles Villarreal.
91 U.S. Department of Commerce statistics, as presented by World Trade Atlas.
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Trucking
The implementation of NAFTA trucking provisions has been in dispute since 1995. U.S.
congressional action in March 2009 (P.L. 111-8, Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009) to terminate
a pilot program for Mexican-registered trucks to operate beyond the 25-mile border commercial
zone inside the United States prompted retaliation from Mexico, which argued that the U.S.
action was protectionist. Mexico imposed tariffs on over 90 U.S. agricultural and industrial
products. The goods accounted for a value of $2.4 billion in U.S. exports to Mexico in 2007, and
most will now face Mexican import duties of between 10-20% of their value, although in the case
of fresh grapes, a 45% duty was imposed.92
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood reportedly has been working to devise a new program
for Mexican truckers that would meet NAFTA requirements while also addressing congressional
safety and environmental concerns.93 During her visit to Mexico in March 2009, Secretary of
State Clinton expressed confidence that the issue would be worked out with Mexico. She
acknowledged that Mexico had the right to use remedies under NAFTA to impose tariffs on U.S.
products, but maintained that neither the U.S. congressional action on Mexican trucking or
Mexico’s retaliation were in the best interests of the United States or Mexico at this time of
economic challenge.94
Background on the Issue. In the 1990s, the Mexican government objected to the Clinton
Administration’s refusal, on safety grounds, to allow Mexican trucks to have access to U.S.
highways under the terms of NAFTA. A NAFTA dispute resolution panel supported Mexico’s
position in February 2001. President George W. Bush indicated a willingness to implement the
provision, but the U.S. Congress required additional safety provisions in the FY2002 Department
of Transportation Appropriations Act (P.L. 107-87). On November 27, 2002, with safety
inspectors and procedures in place, the Administration announced that it would begin the process
that would open U.S. highways to Mexican truckers and buses, but environmental and labor
groups went to court in early December to block the action. On January 16, 2003, the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that full environmental impact statements were required
before Mexican trucks would be allowed to operate on U.S. highways, but the U.S. Supreme
Court reversed that decision on June 7, 2004.
On September 22, 2004, the House approved 339-70 an amendment to the Transportation-
Treasury Appropriations (H.R. 5025) that would prohibit implementation of a rule giving
Mexican and Canadian truck operators an additional two years to bring their trucks into
compliance with U.S. safety provisions. This was eventually incorporated into the Consolidated
Appropriations Act for FY2005 (H.R. 4818/P.L. 108-447) approved by Congress late 2004. In
October 2006, officials from the Department of Transportation (DOT) indicated that the
Department was prepared to ensure that Mexican trucks meet U.S. and Canadian safety
provisions. The head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, John Hill, indicated that
a pilot project could be implemented to allow a limited number of Mexican companies access to

92 Christopher Conkey, Jose de Cordoba, and Jim Carlton, “Mexico Issues Tariff List in U.S. Trucking Dispute,” Wall
Street Journal, March 19, 2009.
93 “LaHood Plans Truck Program Revival,” CQ Today, March 25, 2009; Colby Itkowitz, CQ Today, March 17, 2009.
94 U.S. Department of State, “Press Availability at TecMilenio University,” March 26, 2009.
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the United States at some point in the future, but noted that there are “no immediate plans” to
open the border to Mexican trucks beyond the 20-mile commercial limit.95
In February 2007, the Administration announced a pilot project to grant Mexican trucks from 100
transportation companies full access to U.S. highways. The Administration announced a delay in
the program in April 2007, likely in response to critics who contended that Mexican trucks do not
meet U.S. standards. The Iraq War Supplemental (P.L. 110-28), enacted May 25, 2007, mandated
that any pilot program to give Mexican trucks access beyond the border region could not begin
until U.S. trucks had similar access to Mexico. Before a pilot project could begin, the DOT
needed to meet certain reporting and public notice requirements. The DOT’s Inspector General
needed to prepare a report to Congress to verify that the DOT had established mechanisms to
ensure that Mexican truck comply with U.S. federal motor carrier safety laws. The report also
needed to verify that Mexican trucks meet the safety provisions of P.L. 107-87, mentioned above.
By September 2007, the Department of Transportation launched the one-year pilot program to
allow approved Mexican carriers beyond the 25-mile commercial zone, with a similar program
allowing U.S. trucks to travel beyond Mexico’s commercial zone. As of early January 2008, 57
trucks from 10 Mexican companies had received permission to operate in the United States and
41 trucks from 4 U.S. companies received permission to operate in Mexico. Department of
Transportation data reportedly shows that U.S. carriers have made twice as many trips to Mexico
as Mexican carriers have to the United States from the time the program was launched until early
January 2008.
In the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 110-161), signed into law in December
2007, Congress included a provision prohibiting the use of FY2008 funding for the establishment
of a pilot program. The Department of Transportation determined that it could continue with the
pilot program because it had already been established. In February 2008, a coalition of unions and
environmental groups filed suit in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to end the pilot program, but a
decision is still pending.96
In March 2008, the DOT issued an interim report on the cross-border trucking demonstration
project to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The report made
three key observations: 1) The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) plans to
check every participating truck each time it crosses the border to ensure that it meets safety
standards; 2) There is less participation in the project than was expected; and 3) The FMCSA has
implemented methods to assess possible adverse safety impacts of the project and to enforce and
monitor safety guidelines.97
In early August 2008, the Department of Transportation announced that it would be extending the
pilot program for an additional two years. On September 9, 2008, the House approved (by a vote
of 396 to 128) H.R. 6630, a bill that would prohibit the Department of Transportation from
granting Mexican trucks access to U.S. highways beyond the border and commercial zone. The

95 Angela Greiling Keane, “Cracking Open the Border,” Journal of Commerce, October 23, 2006.
96 “9th Circuit Considers Injunction to Halt Mexican Truck Pilot Program,” International Trade Daily, February 13,
2008; Rosalind McLymont, “Long Haul Across the Border,” Shipping Digest, January 7, 2008; and “Hoffa Blasts Bush
Administration’s Indifference to NAFTA Harm,” PR Newswire, March 10, 2008.
97 Department of Transportation. “Cross-Border Trucking Demonstration Project,” March 11, 2008.
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bill would also prohibit the Department of Transportation from renewing such a program unless
expressly authorized by Congress. No action was taken by the Senate on the measure.
As noted above, the 111th Congress approved a provision in the Omnibus Appropriations Act,
2009 (P.L. 111-8, Division I, Section 136), signed into law March 11, 2009, that prohibits funds in
the Act from being used for a pilot program granting certain Mexican trucks access to U.S.
highways beyond the commercial zone.
Sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup
The United States and Mexico resolved a long standing trade dispute involving sugar and high
fructose corn syrup in 2006. Mexico argued that the sugar side letter negotiated under NAFTA
entitled it to ship net sugar surplus to the United States duty free under NAFTA, while the United
States argued that the sugar side letter limited Mexican shipments of sugar. Mexico also
complained that imports of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) sweeteners from the United States
constituted dumping, and it imposed anti-dumping duties for some time, until NAFTA and WTO
dispute resolution panels upheld U.S. claims that the Mexican government colluded with the
Mexican sugar and sweetener industries to restrict HFCS imports from the United States.
In late 2001, the Mexican Congress imposed a 20% tax on soft drinks made with corn syrup
sweeteners to aid the ailing domestic cane sugar industry, and subsequently extended the tax
annually despite U.S. objections. In 2004, USTR initiated WTO dispute settlement proceedings
against Mexico’s HFCS tax, and following interim decisions, the WTO panel issued a final
decision on October 7, 2005, essentially supporting the U.S. position. Mexico appealed this
decision, and in March 2006, the WTO Appellate Body upheld its October 2005 ruling. In July
2006 the United States and Mexico agreed that Mexico would eliminate its tax on soft drinks
made with corn sweeteners no later than January 31, 2007. The tax was repealed, effective
January 1, 2007.
The United States and Mexico reached a sweetener agreement in August 2006. Under the
agreement, Mexico can export 500,000 metric tons of sugar duty free to the United States from
October 1, 2006 to December 31, 2007. The United States can export the same amount of HFCS
duty free to Mexico during that time. NAFTA provides for the free trade of sweeteners, which
began January 1, 2008. The House and Senate sugar caucuses expressed objections to the
agreement, questioning the Bush Administration’s determination that Mexico is a net-surplus
sugar producer to allow Mexican sugar duty free access to the U.S. market.98
Tuna
On tuna issues, the Clinton Administration lifted the embargo on Mexican tuna in April 2000
under relaxed standards for a dolphin-safe label in accordance with internationally agreed
procedures and U.S. legislation passed in 1997 that encouraged the unharmed release of dolphins
from nets. However, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that the standards of the law had not
been met, and the Federal Appeals Court in San Francisco sustained the ruling in July 2001.

98 “Bush Administration Defends Sugar Deal to Congress,” Inside U.S. Trade, November 3, 2006; “Grassley, U.S.
Industry Welcome Agreement with Mexico on Sugar, HFCS,” International Trade Reporter, August 3, 2006; and,
“U.S., Mexico Reach Agreement on WTO Soft Drink Dispute Compliance Deadline,” International Trade Reporter,
July 13, 2006.
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Under the Bush Administration, the Commerce Department ruled on December 31, 2002, that the
dolphin-safe label may be applied if qualified observers certify that no dolphins were killed or
seriously injured in the netting process, but Earth Island Institute and other environmental groups
filed suit to block the modification. On April 10, 2003, the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of California enjoined the Commerce Department from modifying the standards for the
dolphin-safe label. On August 9, 2004, the federal district court ruled against the Bush
Administration’s modification of the dolphin-safe standards, and reinstated the original standards
in the 1990 Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act. That decision was appealed to the
U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled against the Administration in April 2007,
finding that the Department of Commerce did not base its determination on scientific studies of
the effects of Mexican tuna fishing on dolphins.
In late October 2008, Mexico initiated World Trade Organization dispute proceedings against
United States, maintaining that U.S. requirements for Mexican tuna exporters prevents them from
using the U.S. “dolphin-safe” label for its products.99
Other Trade Disputes
On other issues, in early October 2002, the U.S.-Mexico working group on agriculture dealt with
major agricultural issues, including Mexico’s recent anti-dumping decisions on apples, rice,
swine, and beef, and safeguard actions on potatoes. In January 2003, the countries agreed to
permit Mexican safeguard measures against U.S. imports of chicken legs and thighs, and in July
2003, these safeguard measures were extended until 2008, with tariffs declining each year. In
September 2006, Mexico revoked anti-dumping duties imposed on U.S. rice imports in 2002
following rulings by the WTO and WTO Appellate Body in 2005 which found that the duties
were contrary to WTO rules. Mexico banned beef imports from the United States in December
2003 following the discovery of one cow infected with mad cow disease in Washington state.
Mexico resumed importation of boneless beef in early March 2004, and bone-in beef in February
2006 in response to improved beef cow screening.
Legislation and Hearings in the 111th Congress
Enacted Legislation
P.L. 111-5 (H.R. 1), American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Signed into law
February 17, 2009, the measure provides $220 million for construction for the water quantity
program of the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico. The
measure also provides $40 million in Department of Justice state and local law enforcement
assistance for competitive grants to provide assistance and equipment along the Southern border
and in high-intensity drug trafficking areas to combat criminal narcotics activity stemming from
the Southern border, of which $10 is to be transferred to ATF for Project Gunrunner.
P.L. 111-8 (H.R. 1105), Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009. Signed into law March 11, 2009.
In Division H, the measure appropriates $300 million for Mexico as a second installment under

99 “Mexico Initiates WTO Dispute Proceeding Against U.S. ‘Dolphin-Safe’ Label for Tuna,” International Trade
Reporter, October 30, 2008.
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the Mérida Initiative. In Division I, Section 136, the measure prohibits funds in the Act from
being used for a pilot program granting certain Mexican trucks access to U.S. highways beyond
the commercial zone. In the joint explanatory statement for Division B, not less than $5 million is
provided for Project Gunrunner and other firearms trafficking efforts targeting Mexico and the
border region. The statement stated that “Project Gunrunner” has been an effective tool in
combating anti-smuggling efforts along the southwest border, and ATF is encouraged to make
sure that sufficient resources are allocated to this important program.
Additional Legislative Initiatives
H.Res. 258 (Giffords)/S.Res. 72 (Menendez). H.Res. 258 introduced March 18, 2009; referred
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. S.Res. 72 introduced March 10, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations. The identical resolutions would express the full support of the
House of Representatives for Mexico’s efforts to confront drug trafficking organizations,
apprehend their members, and bring them to justice. The resolutions would also call on the
Department of State to ensure the prompt delivery of Mérida Initiative equipment and training; to
continue to support the Mexican government’s efforts to strengthen institutions and the rule of
law, root out corruption, and protect human rights; and to ensure full accountability for all
assistance and equipment provided by the United States to Mexico.
H.R. 314 (Cuellar), Federal Criminal Immigration Courts Act of 2009. Introduced February
9, 2009; referred to the House Judiciary Committee. The bill would increase Federal judgeships
along the southwest border of the United States in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
H.R. 495 (Rodriguez)/S. 205 (Bingaman), Southwest Border Violence Reduction Act of 2009.
H.R. 495 introduced January 14, 2009; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs. S. 205 introduced January 12, 2009; referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary. Both bills would direct the Attorney General to expand the resources provided for
the Project Gunrunner initiative of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to
identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals involved in the trafficking of firearms across the
international border between the United States and Mexico. The bills would authorize $15 million
for each of FY2010 and FY2011 for Project Gunrunner in the United States, and $9.5 million for
each of FY2010 and FY2011 for the Attorney General, in cooperation with the Secretary of State,
to assign ATF agents to the U.S. mission in Mexico, provide equipment to support ATF efforts,
and provide training for Mexican law enforcement.
H.R. 937 (Filner), Visitors Interested in Strengthening America (VISA) Act of 2009.
Introduced March 16, 2009; referred to Committee on the Judiciary. The bill would waive certain
entry documentary requirements for a non-immigrant child (unmarried and under the age of 16)
who is a citizen or national of Mexico and accompanying parent or adult chaperone in instances
of medical visits, student groups, and/or special community events.
H.R. 1437 (Cuellar), Southern Border Security Task Force Act of 2009. Introduced March 11,
2009; referred to Committees on Homeland Security and on the Judiciary. Would establish a task
force to coordinate the efforts of federal, state, and local border law enforcement officials and
task forces to protect U.S. border cites and communities from violence associated with drug
trafficking, gunrunning, illegal alien smuggling, violence, and kidnapping along and across the
international border between the United States and Mexico.
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H.R. 1448 (Rodriguez), Border Reinforcement and Violence Reduction Act of 2009.
Introduced March 11, 2009; referred to Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security, and
Foreign Affairs. The bill would authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney
General to increase resources to identify and eliminate illicit sources of firearms smuggled into
Mexico for use by violent drug trafficking organizations and for other unlawful activities by
providing for border security grants to local law enforcement agencies and reinforcing Federal
resources on the border. It would authorize: $150 million for FY2010 and each succeeding fiscal
year to the Secretary of Homeland Security for a border relief grant program; $9.5 million for
each of FY2010 and FY2011 for Project Gunrunner (an ATF program) and $15 million for each
of FY2010 and FY2011 for Operation Armas Cruzadas (an ICE program) to deter the trafficking
of firearms across the international border between the United States and Mexico.
H.R. 1611 (Flake). Introduced March 19, 2009; referred to Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure. The bill would repeal a provision in the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L.
111-8, Division I, Section 136) that prohibits the use of funds for a cross-border motor carrier
demonstration program to allow Mexican-domiciled motor carriers to operate beyond the
commercial zones along the international border between the United States and Mexico.
S. 91 (Vitter). Introduced January 6, 2009; referred to Committee on Foreign Relations. The bill
would reduce the amount of financial assistance provided to the government of Mexico in
response to the illegal border crossing from Mexico into the United States.
S. 339 (Bingaman), Border Law Enforcement Relief Act of 2009. Introduced January 28,
2009; referred to Committee on the Judiciary. The bill would provide financial aid to local law
enforcement officials along the nation’s borders. It would authorize $100 million for each of
FY2010 through FY2014 for a border relief grant program run by the Attorney General.
Hearings
This compilation of selected hearings, prepared by Julissa Gomez-Granger, Information Research
Specialist with the Knowledge Services Group of CRS, It focuses increasing violence in Mexico
as well as U.S. foreign assistance and border security programs.
House
U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Homeland Security. Subcommittee on Emergency
Communications, Preparedness and Response. Examining Preparedness and Coordination Efforts
of First Responders Along the Southwest Border. Hearing held March 31, 2009.
Witnesses: Richard Barth, Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy, DHS; Janice Ayala,
Deputy Assistant Director, Office of Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, DHS; Maj. Gen. Peter Aylward, Director, Joint Staff, National Guard Bureau;
Sigifredo Gonzalez Jr., Sheriff, Zapata County, Texas; Larry Dever, Sheriff, Cochise County,
Arizona
Available at:
http://www.cq.com/display.do?dockey=/cqonline/prod/data/docs/html/transcripts/congression
al/111/congressionaltranscripts111-000003091913.html@committees&metapub=CQ-
CONGTRANSCRIPTS&searchIndex=0&seqNum=23#speakers
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U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice,
Science and Related Agencies. Drug Enforcement Administration. Hearing held March 26, 2009.
Witness: Michelle M. Leonhart, Acting Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration
Available at: http://appropriations.house.gov/Subcommittees/sub_cjs.shtml

U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice,
Science and Related Agencies. Federal Law Enforcement Response to US-Mexico Border
Violence. Hearing held March 24, 2009.
Witnesses: Bill Newell, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Phoenix Division; Joseph Arabit,
Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, El Paso, TX; Phil Gordon,
Mayor, City of Phoenix ; David Shirk, Assistant Professor and Director of the Trans-Border
Institute
Available at: http://appropriations.house.gov/Subcommittees/sub_cjs.shtml

U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.
Guns, Drugs and Violence: The Merida Initiative and the Challenge in Mexico. Hearing held
March 18, 2009.
Witnesses: David Johnson, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and
Law Enforcement Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Roberta S. Jacobson, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State; M.
Kristen Rand, Legislative Director, Violence Policy Center; Andrew Selee, Ph.D., Director,
Mexico Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; Michael A. Braun,
Managing Partner, Spectre Group International, LLC
Available at: http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=1055

U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Subcommittee on
National Security and Foreign Affairs. Money, Guns, and Drugs: Are U.S. Inputs Fueling
Violence on the U.S.-Mexico Border? Hearing held March 12, 2009.
Witnesses: Andrew Selee, Director, Woodrow Wilson Center Mexico Institute; Michael
Braun, Former DEA Assistant Administrator; Tom Diaz, Senior Policy Analyst, Violence
Policy Center; Jonathan Paton, Arizona State Senate
http://www.cq.com/display.do?dockey=/cqonline/prod/data/docs/html/transcripts/congression
al/111/congressionaltranscripts111-000003074885.html@committees&metapub=CQ-
CONGTRANSCRIPTS&searchIndex=2&seqNum=109#speakers
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U.S Congress. House. Committee on Homeland Security. Subcommittee on Maritime and Global
Counterterrorism. Border Violence: An Examination of DHS Strategies and Resources. Hearing
held March 12, 2009.
Witnesses: Roger T. Rufe, Jr., Director, Office of Operations Coordination, DHS; Alonzo,
Pena, Attache, U.S. Embassy, Mexico City, DHS; John, Leech, Acting Director, Office of
Counternarcotics Enforcement, DHS; Salvador, Nieto, Deputy Assistant Commissioner,
Intelligence and Operations Coordination, Customs and Border Protection; Kumar, Kibble,
Deputy Director, Office of Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Available at:
http://www.cq.com/display.do?dockey=/cqonline/prod/data/docs/html/transcripts/congression
al/111/congressionaltranscripts111-000003074816.html@committees&metapub=CQ-
CONGTRANSCRIPTS&searchIndex=2&seqNum=110#speakers

U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
Department of Homeland Security Response to Violence on the Border with Mexico. Hearing held
March 10, 2009.
Witnesses: Mark Koumans, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for
International Affairs; Jayson Ahern, Acting Commissioner, Customs and Border Protection,
DHS; Marcy Forman, Director, Office on Investigations, Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, DHS; David Aguilar, Chief, U.S. Border Patrol
Available at: http://appropriations.house.gov/Subcommittees/sub_dhs.shtml

U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
Secure Border Initiative and Control of the Land Border. Hearing held March 10, 2009.
Witnesses: Jayson Ahern, Acting Commissioner, Customs and Border Protection, DHS;
David Aguilar, Chief, U.S. Border Patrol; Mark Borkowski, Executive Director, Secure
Border Initiative
Available at: http://appropriations.house.gov/Subcommittees/sub_dhs.shtml

U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on State, Foreign
Operations, and Related Programs. Merida Initiative. Hearing held March 10, 2009.
Witnesses: Thomas Shannon, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs;
David Johnson, Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics Control and Law
Enforcement; Rodger Garner, Mission Director for Mexico, Agency for International
Development; Lisa Haugaard, Executive Director, Latin American Working Group; Joy
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Olson, Director, Washington Office on Latin America; Ana Paula Hernandez, General
Director, Colectivo por una Politica Integral hacia las Drogas
Available at:
http://www.cq.com/display.do?dockey=/cqonline/prod/data/docs/html/transcripts/congression
al/111/congressionaltranscripts111-000003073406.html@committees&metapub=CQ-
CONGTRANSCRIPTS&searchIndex=2&seqNum=131

or at: http://appropriations.house.gov/Subcommittees/sub_sfo.shtml
Senate
U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations. U.S.-Mexico Border Violence. Field
hearing held March 30, 2009. El Paso, Texas.
Witnesses: Jamie Esparza, District Attorney, El Paso, TX; William McMahon, Deputy
Assistant Director, US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington,
DC; Joseph Arabit, Special Agent in charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, El Paso, TX;
Ricardo Garcia Carriles, Former Police Chief of Ciudad Juarez, El Paso, TX ; The Honorable
Harriet C. Babbitt, Former Ambassador to Organization of American States, Washington, DC;
Howard Campbell, Professor, University of Texas at El Paso
Available at: http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2009/hrg090330a.html

U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Southern
Border Violence. Hearing held March 25, 2009.
Witnesses: Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security; James B. Steinberg, Deputy
Secretary of State; David W. Ogden, Deputy Attorney General, Department of Justice
Available at:
http://www.cq.com/display.do?dockey=/cqonline/prod/data/docs/html/transcripts/congression
al/111/congressionaltranscripts111-000003084334.html@committees&metapub=CQ-
CONGTRANSCRIPTS&searchIndex=7&seqNum=7#speakers

U.S. Congress. Senate. Senate Judiciary Committee. Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs; with the
Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. Law Enforcement Responses to Mexican Drug
Cartels. Joint hearing held March 17, 2009.
Witnesses: Terry Goddard, Attorney General, State of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ; William Hoover,
Assistant Director for Field Operations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives; Anthony P. Placido, Assistant Administrator and Chief of Intelligence, Drug
Enforcement Administration; Kumar Kibble, Deputy Director, Office of Investigations,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, DHS; Denise Eugenia Dresser Guerra, Professor,
Department of Political Science, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico, Mexico City,
Mexico; Jorge Luis Aguirre, Journalist, El Paso, Texas
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Available at: http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=3718
or
at:
http://www.cq.com/display.do?dockey=/cqonline/prod/data/docs/html/transcripts/congression
al/111/congressionaltranscripts111-000003078495.html@committees&metapub=CQ-
CONGTRANSCRIPTS&searchIndex=9&seqNum=2#speakers


Legislation in the 110th Congress
Enacted Legislation and Approved Resolutions
P.L. 110-432 (H.R. 2095), Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2008. Signed into law on
October 16, 2008. Section 416, related to safety inspections in Mexico, provides that mechanical
and brake inspections of rail cars performed in Mexico shall not be treated as satisfying U.S. rail
safety laws or regulations until the Secretary of Transportation certifies that certain conditions are
met.
P.L. 110-329 (H.R. 2638), FY2009 Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and
Continuing Appropriations Act. Signed into law September 30, 2008, the bill provides an
additional $37.5 million for the “International Boundary and Water Commission, United States
and Mexico” for construction of the water quantity program to meet immediate repair and
rehabilitation requirements.
P.L. 110-252 (H.R. 2642), Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008. Originally introduced
June 11, 2007 as the FY2008 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, this
bill subsequently became the vehicle for the second FY2008 supplemental appropriations
measure, which was signed into law on June 30, 2008. As amended by the House on May 15,
2008, the bill would provide $400 million for Mexico for funding the Administration’s proposed
Mérida Initiative. Instead of restricting Mérida Initiative funding to the INCLE account, as
proposed by the Administration, the House version would provide funding under the INCLE,
ESF, and FMF accounts. The Senate version of H.R. 2642, as amended on May 22, 2008, would
have provided $450 million for the Mérida Initiative, with $350 million for Mexico under the
INCLE account.
In the final version of the bill, approved by the House on June 19, 2008 and by the Senate on June
26, 2008, Congress provided $400 million supplemental assistance in FY2008 and FY2009 for
Mexico, with not less than $73.5 million for judicial reform, institution-building, anti-corruption,
and rule of law activities. The measure provides $352 million in FY2008 supplemental assistance
for Mexico within the INCLE, FMF, and ESF accounts, and $48 million in FY2009 supplemental
assistance within the INCLE account. The measure has human rights conditions softer than
compared to earlier House and Senate versions, in large part because of Mexico’s objections that
some of the conditions would violate its national sovereignty. In the final version, human rights
conditions require that 15% of INCLE and FMF assistance be withheld until the Secretary of
State reports in writing that Mexico is taking action in four human rights areas. The Secretary of
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State, after consultation with Mexican authorities, is required to submit a report on procedures in
place to implement Section 620J of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 related to the prohibition
against providing assistance to any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary
of State has credible evidence that such unit has committed gross violations of human rights.
P.L. 110-181 (H.R. 4986), FY2008 National Defense Authorization Act. This bill, signed into
law on January 28, 2008, contains a provision in Title X, Section 1022, that allows for the
Department of Defense to provide support for counter-drug activities to Mexico.
P.L. 110-161 (H.R. 2764), Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008. The Consolidated
Appropriations Act, signed into law on December 26, 2007, includes several FY2008
appropriations measures. It includes several provisions related to Mexico.
In Division, K, Title I, Section 136 prohibits funding for the establishment of a Department of
Transportation (DOT) NAFTA trucking pilot program, under which a limited number of Mexican
cargo trucks can deliver goods within the United States.
Division E, Title VI, incorporates the Border Infrastructure and Technology Act of 2007, which
includes a provision in Section 606 authorizing funds as needed (from FY2009 to FY2013) for
the implementation of projects described in the Declaration on Embracing Technology and
Cooperation to Promote the Secure and Efficient Flow of People and Commerce across our
Shared Border between the United States and Mexico, agreed to March 22, 2002, Monterrey,
Mexico (commonly known as the Border Partnership Action Plan).
In Division G, Title V, Section 526 provides that no funds appropriated by this act may be used by
the Commissioner of Social Security or the Social Security Administration to pay the
compensation of employees of the Social Security Administration to administer Social Security
benefit payments, under any agreement between the United States and Mexico establishing
totalization arrangements between the social security system established by Title II of the Social
Security Act and the social security system of Mexico, which would not otherwise be payable but
for such agreement.
The joint explanatory statement also noted the Administration’s request for $500 million in the
FY2008 Supplemental Appropriations request to fund the proposed Mérida Initiative, but stated
that the Department of State failed to adequately consult with Congress prior to submitting the
budget amendment.
P.L. 110-53 (H.R. 1), Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007.
Section 701 of P.L. 110-53, signed into law August 3, 2007, requires that the Secretaries of State
and Homeland Security, with the Director of National Intelligence, and heads of other relevant
agencies, submit a report to Congress, no later than 270 days after the bill’s enactment, on the
status of U.S. efforts to collaborate with allies and international partners to improve border
security, global document security, and to exchange terrorist information. Section 511 of the
measure calls for the Secretary of Homeland Security to make it a priority to assign personnel
from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP), and the U.S. Coast Guard to regional, state, and local intelligence fusion centers in order
to enhance land and maritime border security and to improve dissemination of information
amongst the myriad of jurisdictions in border areas.
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P.L. 110-28 (H.R. 2206), U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq
Accountability Appropriations Act of 2007. The bill was signed into law on May 25, 2007.
Section 6901 mandates that a pilot program to give Mexican trucks access beyond the border
region cannot begin until U.S. trucks have similar access to Mexico. Before a pilot project can
begin, the Department of Treasury must meet certain reporting and public notice requirements.
The Transportation Department’s Inspector General must prepare a report to Congress to verify
that the Department of Transportation has established mechanisms to ensure that Mexican trucks
comply with U.S. federal motor carrier safety laws. The report must also verify that Mexican
trucks meet the safety provisions of P.L. 107-87. The Department of Transportation must also
publish a Federal Register notice and allow for public comment on pre-audit inspection data and
plans to protect the health and safety of Americans.
H.Res. 642 (Solis). The resolution expresses sympathy and support for the people and
governments of Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico for the damage from Hurricanes
Felix, Dean, and Henriette. Introduced September 7, 2007. House approved (418-0) September
25, 2007.
H.Res. 812 (Sanchez, Linda). The resolution expresses sympathy and pledges the urgent support
of the House of Representatives and the people of the United States for the victims of the
devastating flooding in southern Mexico. Introduced November 8, 2007. House approved (421-0)
November 14, 2007.
Additional Legislative Initiatives
H.Con.Res. 22 (Goode). Introduced January 10, 2007, the resolution would express the sense of
Congress that the United States should withdraw from NAFTA due to increased trade deficits, and
potential health and security risks of permitting Mexican trucks to transport goods throughout the
United States.
H.Con.Res. 40 (Goode). Introduced January 22, 2007, the resolution would express the sense of
Congress that the United States should not engage in the construction of a North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Superhighway System or enter into a North American Union with
Mexico and Canada.
H.Con.Res. 119 (Goode). Introduced April 18, 2007, the resolution would express the sense of
the Congress that the President should immediately and unequivocally call for the enforcement of
existing immigration laws in order to reduce the threat of a terrorist attack and to reduce the
massive influx of illegal aliens into the United States.
H.Con.Res. 146 (Goode). Introduced May 9, 2007, the resolution would express the sense of
Congress that the Secretary of Transportation may not grant authority to Mexico-domiciled motor
carriers to operate beyond the commercial zones of the United States-Mexico border.
H.Con.Res. 218 (Gresham). Introduced September 24, 2007, the resolution would express the
sense of Congress regarding U.S. immigration and border security laws.
H.Con.Res. 304 (Barrow). Introduced February 27, 2008, the resolution would express the sense
of Congress that allowing motor carriers domiciled in Mexico to operate in the United States
without adequate regulation jeopardizes the safety and security of U.S. citizens.
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H.Res. 18 (Goode) and H.Res. 22 (King, Steve). H.Res. 18 and H.Res. 22, introduced January 4,
2007 and January 11, 2007, respectively, would express the disapproval of the House of
Representatives of the Social Security Totalization Agreement signed by Mexico and the United
States in 2004.
H.Res. 499 (Smith, Lamar) and S.Res. 239 (Sessions). Introduced June 19, 2007, both
resolutions would express the sense of Congress that the Administration should rigorously
enforce the laws of the United States to substantially reduce the illegal immigration and greatly
improve border security.
H.Res. 545 (Chabot). Introduced July 13, 2007, the resolution would express the sense of the
House of Representatives regarding the border fence dispute with Mexico.
H.Res. 696 (Costa). Introduced October 1, 2007, the resolution would express gratitude for the
foreign guest laborers known as Braceros who worked in the United States from 1942 to 1964.
H.Res. 1087 (Kaptur). Introduced April 8, 2008, this resolution would express the sense of
Congress that NAFTA must be renegotiated to foster fair trade that truly benefits all Canadian,
Mexican, and U.S. citizens.
H.R. 98 (Dreier), Illegal Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act of
2007. Introduced January 4, 2007, the bill would seek to curtail the hiring of unauthorized
workers by modifying social security cards to include a machine readable strip and the creation of
an employment eligibility database by the Department of Homeland Security. Employers would
be required to verify potential employee’s eligibility to work in the United States before allowing
the individual to commence employment. The bill was referred to the House Committees on
Judiciary, Homeland Security, Education and Labor, and Ways and Means.
H.R. 133 (Gallegly), Citizenship Reform Act of 2007. Introduced January 4, 2007, the bill
would deny citizenship to children born in the United States whose parents are not U.S. citizens
or permanent residents. This measure would apply to all nationalities, including children born to
Mexicans in the United States who are not citizens or permanent residents.
H.R. 305 (Pearce). Introduced January 5, 2007, the bill would amend the Immigration and
Nationality Act to prohibit the parole into the United States of aliens who become ill at a port of
entry or who seek emergency medical assistance from a Department of Homeland Security agent
at, or near, the border.
H.R. 371 (Berman), AgJOBS Act of 2007. Introduced January 10, 2007, the bill would reform
the H-2A, temporary agricultural worker provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act and
create a temporary agricultural worker program, called “blue card,” that includes derivative status
for spouses and children and allows for eligible blue card holders to adjust status to permanent
residents within seven years of the legislation’s enactment. While not specific to Mexico,
Mexican agricultural workers could potentially benefit from the proposed program.
H.R. 502 (Cuellar), Prosperous and Secure Neighbor Alliance Act of 2007. Introduced
January 17, 2007, the bill would amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide assistance
to improve security and economic development in Mexico by professionalizing its law
enforcement personnel, providing personnel with technology, strengthening the judicial branch,
supporting anti-corruption programs, and reducing poverty through targeted funding.
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H.R. 1645 (Gutierrez), Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy
Act of 2007. Introduced March 22, 2007, the bill would normalize the status of eligible illegal
immigrants and establish a guest worker program. These programs would not be created until
certain border and document security requirements were met and the implementation of the first
phase of an employment verification system.
H.R. 1756 (Hunter), NAFTA Trucking Safety Act of 2007. Introduced March 29, 2007, the bill
would prohibit Mexico-domiciled motor carriers from operating beyond United States
municipalities and commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border until certain conditions
are met to ensure the safety of such operations. Also see P.L. 110-161 above and H.R. 1773 and
H.R. 6630 below.
H.R. 1773 (Boyda), Safe American Roads Act of 2007. Introduced March 29, 2007; reported by
the House Committee on Transportation May 14, 2007 (H.Rept. 110-47). House passed (411-0)
May 15, 2007. The bill would limit the authority of the Secretary of Transportation to grant
authority to motor carriers domiciled in Mexico to operate beyond United States municipalities
and commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border, except as provided in a three-year
pilot program authorized in the bill that may operate under certain conditions. No action was
taken by the Senate on this bill. For additional action, see P.L. 110-161 above and H.R. 6630
below.
H.R. 3270 (Filner), Visitors Interested in Strengthening America (VISA) Act of 2007.
Introduced August 1, 2007, the bill would waive certain entry documentary requirements for a
non-immigrant child (unmarried and under the age of 16) who is a citizen or national of Mexico
and accompanying parent or adult chaperone in instances of medical visits, student groups, and/or
special community events.
H.R. 3531 (Brown-Waite), Accountability in Enforcing Immigration Laws Act of 2007.
Introduced September 14, 2007, the bill would make illegal immigration a felony as opposed to a
violation of administrative law. It would also require select airport security screeners to undergo
immigration status checks. It also addresses local and state authority issues, including the
reimbursement of state and local jurisdictions for any detention costs of illegal aliens who are
apprehended by state or local law enforcement officers, upholding authority of state and local law
enforcement personnel to assist in immigration enforcement while carrying out their routine
duties, establishing an immigration-related training manual for state and local law enforcement
personnel, and providing financial assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies for
immigration enforcement assistance. Section 106 would expresses condemnation of rapes by
smugglers along the international land border of the United States and strongly advocates that the
Government of Mexico work in coordination with United States Customs and Border Protection
to take immediate action to prevent such incidents from occurring. This measure would affect all
illegal immigrants present within the United States, including Mexicans.
H.R. 4065 (Sensenbrenner), Border Enforcement, Employment Verification, and Illegal
Immigration Control Act of 2007. Introduced November 1, 2007, the bill would amend the
Immigration and Nationality Act to strengthen enforcement of the immigration laws and enhance
border security. It would provide mandatory minimum sentences on smuggling convictions and
for aliens convicted of reentry after removal, make illegal U.S. presence a crime, and increase
penalties for improper U.S. entry and marriage fraud. It would also revise passport, visa, and
immigration fraud provisions and expand the institutional removal program (IRP) to all states.
The bill would require the mandatory detention of illegal aliens apprehended along the borders,
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create a National Crime Information Center database to list immigration violators, and makes an
unlawful alien deportable for driving while intoxicated.
H.R. 4088 (Shuler), SAVE Act of 2007. Introduced November 6, 2007, the bill would provide
immigration reform by securing America’s borders, clarifying and enforcing existing laws, and
enabling a practical employer verification program. The bill sets forth provisions for increasing
border patrol, recruiting former military personnel, using Department of Defense equipment
along the border, aerial surveillance, and mandatory use of the E-verify system.
H.R. 4192 (Tancredo), Optimizing Visa Entry Rules and Demanding Uniform Enforcement
Immigration Reform Act of 2007. Introduced November 15, 2007, the bill would establish new
terms of birth right citizenship to make it unlawful to obtain citizenship or nationality for a person
born in the United States unless one parent is a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. It also
provides criminal penalties for unlawful presence in the United States; document, benefit, or
citizenship fraud; and for employer hiring violations. Electronic fingerprinting for U.S. passports
and electronic birth and death registration systems would also be established. The bill would also
address local and state authority issues, which would allow local and state law enforcement
personnel to have the inherent authority to apprehend, arrest, detain, or transfer aliens in the
United States to federal custody. Most significantly, the bill would eliminate federal
reimbursement of emergency health services provided to undocumented aliens after FY2007 and
coverage of Mexicans with border crossing cards.
H.R. 4329 (Kaptur), NAFTA Accountability Act of 2007. Introduced December 6, 2007, the
bill would provide that, unless the specified conditions set forth in the bill are met, Congress
would withdraw its approval of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) effective
October 1, 2009 and that the President, not later than April 1, 2009, would provide written notice
of withdrawal to the governments of Canada and Mexico. It also would express the sense of
Congress that the President should not engage in negotiations to expand NAFTA to include other
countries and that trade promotion authority should not be renewed with respect to the approval
of any such NAFTA expansion.
H.R. 4987 (Jones, Walter B. Jr.), Fence By Certain Date Act of 2008. Introduced November
16, 2007, the bill would require construction of fencing and security improvements in the border
area from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, which would include the U.S.-Mexican border
area. Specifically, it would ensure construction of at least 2 layers of reinforced fencing, and the
installation of additional physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and sensors to be completed
by May 2008.
H.R. 5124 (Hunter), Reinstatement of the Secure Fence Act of 2008. Introduced January 23,
2008, the bill would provide for two-layered 14-foot reinforced fencing along the southwest
border.
H.R. 5568 (Graves), Start Building a Real Fence Act of 2008. Introduced March 18, 2008, the
bill would clarify the requirements for building a physical fence along the southwest border.
H.R. 5728 (Capito), Border Fence Trust Fund Act of 2008. Introduced April 8, 2008, the bill
would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow individual taxpayers to designate a
portion of income taxes to fund the improvement of barriers at the United States border.
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H.R. 5863 (Cuellar); H.R. 5869 (Rodriguez); S. 2867 (Bingaman), Southwest Border
Violence Reduction Act of 2008. H.R. 5863 and H.R. 5869, introduced April 22, 2007, and S.
2867, introduced April 15, 2007, would authorize additional resources to identify and eliminate
illicit sources of firearms smuggled into Mexico for use by violent drug trafficking organizations.
The bill also would expand the resources provided for the Project Gunrunner initiative of the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to identify, investigate, and prosecute
individuals involved in the trafficking of firearms across the international border between the
United States and Mexico.
H.R. 6028 (Berman), Merida Initiative to Combat Illicit Narcotics and Reduce Organized
Crime Authorization Act of 2008. Introduced May 13, 2008, the bill would authorize $1.6
billion over three years, FY2008-FY2010, for both Mexico and Central America, to combat drug
trafficking and organized crime. Of that amount, $1.1 billion would be authorized for Mexico,
$405 million for Central America, and $73.5 million for activities of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to reduce the flow of illegal weapons from the United
States to Mexico. The measure requires that vetting procedures are in place to ensure that
members or units of military or law enforcement agencies that may receive assistance have not
been involved in human rights violations. The House approved the bill on June 10, 2008, by a
vote of 311 to 106. No Senate action was taken on the bill.
H.R. 6630 (DeFazio). Introduced July 29, 2008; reported by the House Committee on
Transportation September 9, 2008 (H.Rept. 110-833). The House approved the bill on September
9, 2008 (by a vote of 395 to 18). The bill would prohibit the Department of Transportation from
continuing a pilot program granting certain Mexican trucks access to U.S. highways beyond the
commercial zone, and would prohibit the Department of Transportation from renewing such a
program unless expressly authorized by Congress. No Senate action was taken on the bill.
S. 9 (Reid), Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007. Introduced January 4, 2007, S.
9 would express the sense of Congress that both the House and Senate should pass immigration
reform that acknowledges the United States’ immigrant heritage, creates more effective border
enforcement, prevents illegal immigration, and reforms the legal immigration process.
S. 132 (Allard), Methamphetamine Trafficking Enforcement Act of 2007. Introduced January
4, 2007, S. 132 would express the sense of Congress that efforts to reduce the trafficking of
methamphetamine and its precursor chemicals should be included in all bilateral and multilateral
negotiations of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland
Security, and the Attorney General. Section Four also would express the sense of Congress that
the Drug Enforcement Administration should collaborate with law enforcement officials from
countries that are known to traffic in methamphetamine and its precursor chemicals and calls for
education, training, and information sharing on the international trafficking and use of
methamphetamine. Mexico is a leading foreign source of methamphetamine.
S. 193 (Lugar), Energy Diplomacy and Security Act of 2007. Introduced January 4, 2007, and
reported by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee April 12, 2007 (S.Rept. 110-54), the bill
would increase cooperation on energy issues between the U.S. government and foreign
governments. This would include a Hemispheric Energy Cooperation Forum to enhance
cooperation among major producers and consumers in the hemisphere, including Mexico.
S. 575 (Domenici) / H.R. 2431 (Cuellar), Border Infrastructure and Technology
Modernization Act of 2007. S. 575 was introduced February 13, 2007, while H.R. 2431 was
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introduced May 22, 2007. Each bill includes a provision that would permit funds authorized in
the act to be used for the implementation of projects described in the Declaration on Embracing
Technology and Cooperation to Promote the Secure and Efficient Flow of People and Commerce
across our Shared Border between the United States and Mexico, agreed to March 22, 2002,
Monterrey, Mexico (commonly known as the Border Partnership Action Plan). Similar language
was incorporated in P.L. 110-161 listed above.
S. 844 (Feinstein) Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2007. Introduced March 12,
2007, S. 844 would address the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children and directs
immigration officers who find such children at U.S. land borders or ports of entry to permit them
to withdraw their applications for admission and return to their country of nationality or last
habitual residence. In the majority of cases, it gives the Office of Refugee Resettlement at the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) jurisdiction over the care and custody of those
unaccompanied alien children under the age of 18 who have not committed a federal crime or
pose a threat to national security.
S. 1007 (Lugar), United States-Brazil Energy Cooperation Pact of 2007. Introduced March
28, 2007, and reported by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee September 23, 2008 (without
written report), S. 1007 would establish a Western Hemisphere Energy Cooperation Forum to
strengthen relationships between the United States and Western Hemisphere countries,
particularly the countries of Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela, through cooperation on
energy issues. Regarding Mexico, the bill would direct the Secretary of Energy to work with
Mexico to conduct a technical analysis of the Mexican oil and gas production status, future
technological and investment needs, and recommendations for maintaining and increasing
hydrocarbon production.
S. 1216 (Domenici), Laser Visa Extension Act of 2007. Introduced April 25, 2007, the bill
would permit a national of Mexico to travel up to 100 miles from the international border
between Mexico and New Mexico if the person possesses a valid machine-readable biometric
border crossing identification card issued by a Department of State consular officer, enters New
Mexico through a port of entry where such card is processed using a machine reader, has
successfully completed any required background check, and is admitted into the United States as
a nonimmigrant tourist or business visitor.
S. 1269 (Inhofe), Engaging the Nation to Fight for Our Right to Control Entry Act of 2007.
Introduced May 2, 2007, the bill would direct the Commissioner of the United States Customs
and Border Protection (USCBP) to establish a National Border Neighborhood Watch Program to
allow retired law enforcement officers and civilian volunteers to assist in carrying out such a
program and establish a Border Regiment Assisting in Valuable Enforcement Force (BRAVE
Force), which would consist of retired law enforcement officers, who would be employed to carry
out the Program.
S. 1348 (Reid), Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007. Introduced May 4, 2007, the
bill would significantly reform the U.S. immigration system. The measure would establish a
temporary worker program; normalize the status of illegal immigrants; reduce the backlog of
pending family- and employment-based immigration petitions; enhance border security; and
introduce a point-based immigration system to replace the current emphasis on family
reunification. It would call for increased cooperation between the United States, Canada, and
Mexico to improve security in North America. It would require annual reports to Congress on the
status of information sharing between the United States, Mexico, and Canada in areas such as
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security clearances and document integrity; visa policy; terror watch lists; and money laundering.
It would seek to improve the security of Mexico’s southern border through a review of assistance
needed to secure the borders of Guatemala and Belize. The bill also would call for improved
coordination between the United States and Mexico to improve border security and to reduce:
drug trafficking, human trafficking, gang membership, domestic violence, and crime. A provision
in the bill would improve circular migration between Mexico and the United States; this could
include development assistance to create employment opportunities in Mexico. In June 2007, the
U.S. Senate voted against cloture on S. 1348. The measure was not considered after that vote.
S. 2348 (Cornyn), Emergency Border Security Funding Act of 2007. Introduced November
13, 2007, the bill would direct the President, no later than two years after enactment of the bill, to
ensure that operational control of the U.S.-Mexico border will be met, the Border Patrol will have
23,000 full-time agents, specified barriers will be installed along such border, and specified
detention capacities will be met.
S. 2712 (DeMint), Complete the Fence Act. Introduced March 5, 2008, the bill would require
the Secretary of Homeland Security to complete at least 700 miles of reinforce fencing along the
southwest border by December 31, 2010.
S. 3235 (Vitter). Introduced July 9, 2008, the bill would reduce the amount of financial assistance
provided to the government of Mexico in response to the illegal border crossing from Mexico into
the United States.
S. 3288 (Leahy), FY2009 State Department, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act. Introduced and reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee (S.Rept.
110-425) July 18, 2008. The bill would provide not more than $300 million in INCLE and ESF
assistance for Mexico only to combat drug trafficking and related violence and organized crime,
and for judicial reform, institution building, anti-corruption, and rule of law activities, of which
not less than $35,000,000 shall be for judicial reform, institution building, anti-corruption, and
rule of law activities. The bill would provide conditions on the assistance as set forth in P.L. 110-
252 that funded the first year of the Mérida Initiative.







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Author Contact Information

Mark P. Sullivan
June S. Beittel
Specialist in Latin American Affairs
Analyst in Latin American Affairs
msullivan@crs.loc.gov, 7-7689
jbeittel@crs.loc.gov, 7-7613

Acknowledgments
Collen W. Cook, a former CRS Analyst in Latin American Affairs, originated and worked on this report
until February 2008.



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