The only concrete measures produced by a yearlong congressional debate on immigration reform have involved border security. But a broader discussion looms on immigration and its role in U.S. economy and culture.

With drug-related violence on the rise in Mexico, U.S. and Mexican officials are increasingly clashing over how to wage the country’s intensifying war on drugs.

In Mexico's closest election yet, conservative Felipe Calderon edges out leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador by less than one percent of the vote to claim the presidency. Lopez Obrador announces he will contest the results, raising the specter of extended social instability.

Mexico's presidential race ends in a standoff as Felipe Calderon and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador both claim victory. A massive recount begins amid fears that the contested results could threaten Mexico's young democracy.

The race between a populist and a pro-business candidate is neck and neck in Mexico's presidential election. The winner will have a strong impact on economic and political relations with the United States.

With Mexico's presidential and legislative elections less than two weeks away, CFR releases a new report that argues the United States should restore the U.S.-Mexico relationship and encourage collaboration on immigration, trade, and drug trafficking.

President Bush proposes sending 6,000 National Guard troops to the border with Mexico as part of a major speech on immigration reform. Critics say the move is a politically motivated attempt to boost the president's sagging ratings.

President Bush is in Mexico, where the issue of immigration is likely to dominate the trilateral North American summit. The U.S. Senate is debating proposals ranging from tougher enforcement measures against illegal immigrants to providing them with a path to citizenship.

The U.S. Senate is debating punitive immigration measures as the new federal budget proposes heavy investments in "hardening" America's borders. The issue adds fuel to the election-year fire—particularly in the American southwest—as political passions rise.

Mexico is poised to take on a few of the country's biggest monopolies and moguls by enacting new legislation. But the nation needs to do much more, writes Shannon K. O'Neil.

Julia E. Sweig argues that President Obama has an opportunity to revitalize U.S. relations with its neighbors to the south.

Shannon K. O'Neil says, "U.S.-Mexico security cooperation is vital and must continue. But with Enrique Peña Nieto's inauguration, Mexico's political landscape is now changing, and the United States must adjust its strategy and support accordingly."

Dora Beszterczey and Shannon K. O'Neil say the best crime fighting strategy in Latin America may be improving economic opportunities for all.

Shannon O'Neil discusses how Mexico and the United States are heading toward a new collaboration in tackling drug violence.

Shannon K. O'Neil provides an annotated Foreign Affairs syllabus on Mexican politics.

Shannon O'Neil writes that "Mexico has a chance to shape the international agenda. It is an opportunity Calderón should not waste."

Under the security cooperation agreement called the Merida Initiative, the United States provides military and law enforcement assistance to the Mexican government in support of efforts to combat drug cartels and organized crime. The United States and Mexico jointly developed this agreement in response to a substantial increase in drug-related criminal activity and violence on both sides of the border.

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By refocusing from more militarized bilateral security assistance to institution building, Mexico and the United States can work together to strengthen the rule of law, to the benefit of both countries.

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Shannon K. O'Neil, CFR's senior fellow for Latin America studies, discusses U.S.-Mexico relations from economic, security, and political perspectives, as part of CFR's Academic Conference Call series.

Listen to CFR Senior Fellow Shannon K. O'Neil and former foreign minister of Mexico Jorge G. Castañeda discuss President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto and the future of U.S.-Mexico relations.

In an op-ed that appeared this week in USA Today, O'Neil argued that the main obstacle to better relations between the two countries is Americans' perceptions of Mexico and its people:

"In Americans' psyches, drugs dominate. When advertising firm GSD&M and Vianovo strategic consultants asked Americans to come up with three words that describe Mexico, nearly every other person answered 'drugs,' followed by 'poor' and 'unsafe.' Other questions reveal Americans see Mexico as corrupt, unstable and violent, more problem than partner. Americans had more favorable views of Greece, El Salvador and Russia."

Read O'Neil's USA Today op-ed "Mexico Isn't a Gangland Gunbattle."

In the November/December issue of Foreign Affairs, Castañeda and historian Héctor Aguilar Camín claim that there is a political mandate in Mexico that calls for less corruption, greater rule of law, and improved economic justice:

"Mexicans' clamor for prosperity is no longer negotiable, and today, the country is less than a generation away from becoming the full-fledged middle-class society it aspires to be. But only if it gets to work now."

Read Camín and Castañeda's essay "Mexico's Age of Agreement."