by Baja Raquel

Created on: March 02, 2008

Since living within a two-hour drive of the US border in Mexico for the last seven years, I've been able to get a real perspective on the border issue. I came from the Northern part of the US and thought every Mexican wanted to live in the US. That was a misinformed ideation planted by the media and an embarrassing lack of knowledge on my part.

I have since learned that not every Mexican wants to live in the US. Why? It is the same reason that most US citizens don't want to live in Mexico. Family, culture, roots. Even my friends who grew up in the border towns weren't obsessed with crossing the border. Actually they are just as alarmed about the issue as we are.

An example is my friend who has a home near the border and has an enormous problem with theft at his home. These aren't his neighbors trying to break into his house it is the "crossers" trying to get food or money. These "crossers" come from deep central Mexico and mostly other Latin American countries.

There is an inherent racism in Mexico against these "crossers." They do NOT represent the entire nation despite what the media would have us believe. Although the "crossers" speak Spanish, they are not welcome in the border towns. They are not welcome in Mexico. Mexico has a deep-seated racism of which most are unaware. The "Changos" or apes as the crossers are referred to are alienated at the border. They can't get factory jobs and are the ones seen begging on the streets of border towns like Tijuana.

I have a dear friend who got visas for her family. Her first visit in the US was spent shopping at Wal-Mart five miles from the border. When she got home she was so excited to show me how much she was able to buy with $100 dollars. I had to laugh because there are two Wal-Marts on the Mexican side of the border and thought that was a strange place to spend your first time in the US. I was duly informed that the 5-mile difference between stores and countries made a world of difference especially in prices and how far the dollar went.

It is ironic that she crosses the border to get better deals on clothes and many of my fellow US citizens cross into Mexico to get cheaper prescription medications, dental and eye care.

What are the answers to the illegal aliens in the US? Will government legislation cure all ails? No. Education on both sides of the border are paramount in first understanding the problem and secondly to correct it.

In Mexico, the employer is responsible for paying "social security" benefits. I've

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