A Wall Won't Work

Posted: October 27th, 2015

By Erik Lee

Erik Lee is Executive Director of the North American Research Partnership, an independent, non-profit think-tank that conducts strategic applied research and outreach on how governments, the private sector and other entities in the United States, Mexico and Canada can better position themselves for success in the 21st century. Lee is co-author of Competitive Border Communities: Mapping and Developing U.S.-Mexico Transborder Industries and co-editor and author of The U.S.-Mexico Border Economy in Transition (2015), and the State of the Border Report: A Comprehensive Analysis of the U.S.-Mexico Border Region (2013).

Erik Lee, the Executive Director of the North American Research Partnership, spoke with The Cipher Brief to assess the solutions advocated by presidential candidates to resolve the problem of unauthorized immigration. Lee discussed the economic implications of some of the proposals and what he sees as the path forward.

The Cipher Brief: Unauthorized immigration has been a heated topic in the current election. How would you assess the security threat caused by unauthorized immigration from Mexico? How have these numbers changed over the last decade and where is the trend headed?

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