Catch up and get ahead with the Edge for the week of October 26.
Who needs a border wall?
The U.S. recession already cut Mexican immigration by 57 percent, reflecting fewer employment opportunities, according to a study by Rogelio Sáenz, dean of the University of Texas at San Antonio College of Public Policy.
His examination U.S. Census data found that for the first time in decades, more Mexicans left the U.S. than moved here.
And, those Mexicans who did migrate to the U.S. were more likely to be better educated professionals and entrepreneurs who had the resources to flee the drug war violence.
In our interview, Dr. Sáenz puts the data in context with the politics of the border, the profit motives of companies building prisons and security systems, and the history -- and the future -- of our relationship with immigrants from Mexico. (Story and video here.)
What’s the number one reason people say they didn’t get out and vote?
Not enough time.
So we’re going to give you a free five minutes to help you be part of the solution and not part of the voter turnout problem.
Do not take the time to download an app, just go to our early voting map: http://bit.ly/SAVotes. Find the polling place nearest to you. Then go vote. It’s that simple. And it’s free!
You’re welcome. (Map here.)
San Antonio has embarrassingly low voter turnout in local elections.
So what's the solution?
Start with young people and build a Culture of Engagement in Public Schools, says TJ Mayes, a lecturer in the UTSA College of Public Policy and chief of staff to San Antonio District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg.
Mays is also a board member of Democracy Cafe, a nonprofit that envisions “an inclusive and participatory society” where diverse people can “approach one another with greater openness, and less fear..." Think of Democracy Cafe as the opposite of cable news, and hyper-partisan debates.
There is a local version called “Constitution Café,” at San Antonio’s East Central Independent School District. Mays said it is so successful there is a waiting list of students hungry to participate in discussions about current events, Constitutional issues, and philosophical issues. "It’s about exploration, it’s about discovery, it’s about discourse,” said Mays. (Story and video here.)