EL PASO, Texas -- Because the United States and Mexico have failed to respond to the social costs of globalization, an estimated 7 million Mexicans have been forced to invent their own solutions. They have become part of a dangerous and exploitative pipeline in order to enter into this country's economy.

Our current legal and economic arrangement translates into millions of people unnecessarily placing themselves at risk. Thousands have died needlessly along the way.

This country's addiction to flexible, low-cost labor is fed by massive economic dislocation and inequality in Mexico. According to a Carnegie Endowment report to the Canadian Senate on the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexican agriculture has been the overwhelming net loser in trade with the United States.

Heavily subsidized U.S. agricultural exports have resulted in the displacement of a significant number of Mexican agricultural workers. The study concludes: "The rural poor have borne the brunt of adjustment to NAFTA and have been forced to adapt without adequate government support."

It is a mistake to think that millions of Mexicans do not contribute to the U.S. economy when the facts speak otherwise. A recently released study from the office of the Texas Comptroller concluded that undocumented immigrants contribute $17.7 billion per year to our state's economy and that taxes collected from undocumented immigrants exceeded what was spent on services for them by $424.7 million. ”

Any reasonable starting point for an honest discussion must acknowledge that both the U.S. and Mexican economies are fueled in large part by undocumented labor.

The governments of the United States and Mexico have lacked the courage and political will to arrive at solutions. The present system exists because powerful economic interests in both nations favor the status quo.

In the face of this country's widespread anxiety, opportunistic politicians and the media have created a climate that fosters the rhetoric of hate.

U.S. worries about rapid cultural change and economic dislocation show signs of feeding a dark new form of anti-Mexican nativism and racism.

But turning our poor into objects of hatred does not constitute a solution. Criminalizing millions of people who have fallen between the cracks of two countries' economies is a cruel and irrational reflex which we must resist.

Scripture exhorts us to welcome the immigrant among us. Whether one is a believer or not, that spirit of compassion ought to guide us in the treatment of undocumented immigrants. The fate of millions depends on our commitment to craft solutions that are both fair and compassionate. It is neither wise nor practical to rely simply on the policing of borders. This is no solution.

In the aftermath of NAFTA, a divisive and polarizing tone has poisoned and oversimplified our national discourse. We, who live, work, and teach on this complex border urge that the discussion of Mexican migration remain focused on practical solutions, properly informed by the best available analysis and evidence.

In this spirit, it will be possible to appeal to the best instincts of our fellow citizens and lawmakers. El Paso's fate -- indeed the fate of the United States -- is tied to the fate of the people of Mexico who are our friends, relatives and neighbors.

Now is the time to develop solutions that recognize our interdependence rather than succumbing to the voices of those who seek to set us against one another.

This column was written by John Symons and Benjamin Alire Sáenz on behalf of the University Community for Immigrant Rights.

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