The United States and Mexico

Throughout their shared history, the United States and Mexico have had a fairly uneasy relationship—with multiple ups and downs. Even so, these two neighboring countries are joined by their geography, and geography is destiny. This translates into a number of issues that need careful attention from politicians and policymakers, business people and investors, academia and the general public on both sides of the border. The issues include ongoing cross-border migration and intense human mobility, growing trade and economic integration, combatting drug trafficking and transnational crime, managing shared natural resources—such as water and energy—and, in general, building solid binational institutions to ensure higher levels of cooperation in an increasingly complex world.

The intensity and complexity of the binational relationship is reflected in the statistics. For example, after Americans of German descent, Mexicans are the largest ethnic group in the United States. And today, nearly two million Americans live in Mexico—more than in all of Europe combined. Trade between the two countries is now valued at approximately 800 billion dollars a year—nearly half of it is intra-firm trade, illustrating the depth of manufacturing integration between the two neighbors. Moreover, in 2023 alone, some 250 million trucks, trains, vehicles, and pedestrians crossed the border in both directions, which makes it the busiest border in the world (Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2024).

Even so, and worryingly, today, after a period of unprecedented cooperation framed by the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (now the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade accord), binational relations appear to have entered into a period of higher tension, as the domestic political landscape is changing in both countries, with serious effects on the preferred ways of dealing with our neighbors. The presidencies of Donald Trump (2017-2021) and Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024) have, in fact, inaugurated a new era of mutual distrust and misgivings about each other’s intentions.

Consequently, at a higher level, this very complex relationship, characterized by deep asymmetries, requires not just a grasp of the complex binational issues and a more effective promotion of mutual understanding to counter the headwinds in binational relations but also research, data, and analyses designed to provide decision makers with the most accurate information to dispel mutual guardedness. It demands building more and innovative channels of communication and action in public policy. And this is particularly true in Texas, given the central place that the state occupies in the binational relationship. The Center for the U.S. and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy was created for this purpose. 

The Center’s Mission

The Center for the United States and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute was created in 2012 as the premier Texas center for U.S.-Mexico binational issues.  There are two older public policy centers for the binational relationship in the country. Surprisingly, however, there was none in Texas with the specific mission of examining the public policy issues that affect relations between the two countries through original research and data analysis, to generate solutions to binational problems, advance mutual understanding, and enhance cooperation. Given that Texas is the state with the largest segment of the border—1,200 of 2000 miles—and has the most intense relationship with Mexico, the Center was essential. Its motto is “Public Policy Spanning Two Nations”: over time, the Center has informed policy making in government on both sides of the border, hosted many guests to converse about issues that pertain to both countries, and maintained a strong media presence to inform the public of key issues that need attention. 

A Binational Team

Given the long history of distrust between the two nations, engaging a binational team of scholars and policy practitioners dispels suspicions that the Center’s work is biased in one direction or the other. Besides, having a team that is purposefully binational ensures balanced perspectives on the issues, although this is also ensured by the fact that all our research is data-driven and fact-based, even when bad policy decisions or bad policy outcomes must be pointed out. In effect, through its research, collaboration, and peer review, the team ensures that the Center provides a balanced analysis of the issues and crafts effective proposals to manage the relationship in ways that are beneficial to both countries. Thus, by necessity, the center’s team is composed of American and Mexican scholars and leaders, some of them at Rice University and other U.S. academic institutions and some in Mexican universities. 

The Educational and Informational Outreach

One of the main activities of the Center is to educate the public on binational issues. To accomplish that objective, the Center continuously organized events—from larger conferences to smaller, private talks, on issues that influence the U.S.-Mexico relation. This is well within the tradition of the Baker Institute—to engage the world of ideas and build bridges between it and the world of action. In addition, the center scholars maintain a strong presence in the media. Providing expertise to examine day-to-day issues in the media is a way to influence the public discourse on the binational relationship.

Faculty and Student Involvement

Finally, the Center for the U.S. and Mexico is embedded within Rice University, a top-tier institution in the country. Consequently, the Center is dedicated to honoring the university’s long-standing reputation as a research university. That means engaging both faculty and especially students in its research and activities. Every year, a dozen or more students participate in the Center’s research activities, including problem definition, hypothesis crafting, data gathering and analysis, and writing. Many of our undergraduate and graduate students have published within the Center as co-authors with our scholars. Forming the next generation of researchers is important, as is educating young people to carry on the torch of ensuring a better future for the U.S.-Mexico relationship.

About the Author

Tony Payan, Ph.D., is the director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. He is also a professor of social sciences at the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. His main lines of research are related to issues that affect the U.S.-Mexico border and binational relations. He is the author, co-author, and editor of nearly twenty books on issues that affect the binational relationship, as well as of numerous book chapters and academic articles. To learn more about the Center, visit https://www.bakerinstitute.org/center/center-us-and-mexico.