A spotlight is growing on the border crisis between the USA and Latin America. By strengthening Sister City relationships, we could reduce the vastness of the process. Instead of standing in line at a general Mexico to USA application post, imagine folks from Tyler, Texas (my hometown) contacting San Miguel de Allende, Mexico with “Help Wanted” posts.
Laredo, Texas–another Sister City of San Miguel de Allende–leads the world in Sister Cities with 41! I bet Laredo could be like a big brother in our relationship with San Miguel de Allende! Dallas, TX could contact Monterrey in Nuevo Leon or vice-versa.
Sister States exist too! Idaho and Tamaulipas are connected–the home of Guadalajara. The USA has an aging population, and a shortage of nurses, while nurses’ aids are increasing.
Let’s look at issues in Latin America. Agriculture could be declining because of climate change. What if a country has shown considerable improvement in a key area? El Salvador used to be a murder capital, but it has become very safe! Let’s build a factory in El Salvador based on mutual needs. Costa Rica has increased its forests and has a great tourism industry. Let’s build some solar panel farms near their forests. Let’s do more business in Latin America to encourage them to stay and neither immigrate nor turn to criminal activity.
Prospective immigrants should show up with a resume and a copy of a graded exam in English. Quite often, a 5th-grade level in English would be good enough for a lot of jobs in the USA.
To conclude, here is Alfred North Whitehead’s description of creativity. It reads, ”…until it’s got a blueprint or recipe to work on, it is nothing at all;…It needs a direction, or it will get nowhere; it must take instructions, or be nothing.”