Mexico's man in Washington

Brenda Walker on relations between the United States and Mexico:

What's going on with President Bush and his refusal to close down the wide-open southwestern border? Warnings are accumulating that the undefended boundary is the Achilles heel of national security, yet the president studiously avoids the obvious fixes.

The alerts are becoming more specific, like the recent Senate testimony of Admiral John Loy stating, "Several al-Qaida leaders believe operatives can pay their way into the country through Mexico and also believe illegal entry is more advantageous than legal entry for operational security reasons."

Worse, the president has actively sabotaged border security by reducing the number of new Border Patrol agents this year from 2,000 to only 210, after Congress authorized the long-overdue hiring increase.

Even more curious is the concern Bush shows for Mexican interests. When there is a policy decision to be made that helps Mexicans to the detriment of Americans, he consistently advances the Mexican agenda.

Of course, the problem is that Republicans have deluded themselves into believing that there is this huge potential Mexican GOP vote that they can tap into if they allow Mexico to use the United States as a dumping ground for their unwanted excess population.