This report covers the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and U.S. - Mexico drug trafficking. It also looks at migration, environmental issues, legislation in the 111th and 112th Congress, and the relationship between the Obama Administration and Mexico.

Increasing violence perpetrated by drug trafficking organizations and other criminal groups is threatening citizen security and governance in Mexico. Escalating violence has increased U.S. concerns about stability in Mexico, a key political and economic ally, and about the possibility of violence spilling over into the United States. In recent years, U.S.-Mexican security cooperation has increased significantly, largely as a result of the development and implementation of the Mérida Initiative, a counterdrug and anticrime assistance package for Mexico and Central America that was first proposed in October 2007. This report looks at the funding and Congressional oversight for this Initiative.