Hurricane Jimena, now closing in on Baja California, is only the most dramatic of the threats confronting Mexico. Deepening unemployment and poverty, the brutal war between the government and drug cartels, and even looming water shortages all have ratcheted up the country's anxiety and social tension.

Today's edition of the respected El Universal newspaper includes a warning from Mexico City's Human Rights Commission that there are signs that the water shortage there will create "spirals of violence." Read more...

Jorge Ramos, the influential Miami-based co-anchor of the nightly newscast on the Spanish-language network Univision, has been broadcasting his disappointment with President Obama for not fulfilling a promise to deliver immigration reform during his first year of office.

The problem is that Obama never made such a promise. Read more...

As members of Congress get an earful from their constituents on the proposed health care overhaul, one topic is becoming front and center: immigration. How the legislation addresses both legal and illegal immigration will have a significant effect on public support, but as of this writing, the 1,000-page health care bill only includes a few, ambiguous and entirely inadequate clauses on immigration. Read more...

Kathleen Parker's column today has a great paragraph that could apply to any number of policy areas:

"Comprehensive" may be the scariest word in the English language when it tumbles from the lips of a politician. Instead of trying to revamp every aspect of the *********** system, Congress should follow Mackey's lead and tackle a few fixable problems with consensus and support from Americans, who, though frustrated with the status quo, aren't quite ready to surrender self-determination.