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What’s New This Week

Good morning, this week, the U.S. is cracking down on corrupt officials under the growing Lista Marco visa revocations. Meanwhile, mass deportations are creating ripple effects across local economies, and Mexico’s long-awaited Isthmus trade corridor is finally moving autos from Asia to the U.S. East Coast.

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Trade Winds

“Lista Marco”: The Cross-Border Reckoning Begins

In recent weeks, a quiet but powerful shift has started to ripple across the U.S.-Mexico relationship — not through tariffs, trade agreements, or migration policy — but through visa revocations. The U.S. State Department, under the direction of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has reportedly assembled what some have dubbed the “Lista Marco” — a confidential roster of roughly 44 Mexican officials, governors, ex-governors, and political insiders suspected of corruption, cartel ties, and financial crimes.

While the details of the list remain closely guarded, the policy shift is clear: individuals who have enriched themselves through illicit activity in Mexico will no longer be allowed to seek refuge in the United States — either for personal sanctuary, investment opportunities, or to park their assets. Their visas are being revoked or denied outright.

As someone who has worked directly on both sides of the border — as a former Mayor of Nogales, Arizona, Director of the Arizona Department of Commerce, and Chief of Staff at U.S. Customs and Border Protection — I’ve witnessed how the openness of America’s legal, real estate, and financial systems can be abused. Bad actors from around the world — not just Mexico — have long viewed the U.S. as a safe destination to protect their ill-gotten gains. This undermines not only our national security, but also the integrity of the legitimate cross-border business ecosystem we’ve worked so hard to strengthen.

To be clear: this isn’t about punishing Mexico. It’s about defending rule of law on both sides of the border.

When corruption thrives unchecked in one country, it creates risk for the entire region. It deters legitimate investment, distorts fair competition, and destabilizes both political systems and economic partnerships. For companies engaged in cross-border trade and investment — the very work that we at my firm, Intermestic Partners, specialize in — stability, transparency, and accountability are not luxuries; they’re prerequisites for long-term growth.

This latest U.S. policy shift sends an important message to Mexican business and political elites: you cannot exploit public office at home and expect to retreat comfortably across the border when scrutiny arrives. If implemented consistently, these measures could help foster healthier governance practices inside Mexico — and by extension, create a safer, more predictable business environment for everyone participating in the U.S.-Mexico economic corridor.

In the end, real progress in North American integration requires more than just trade deals. It requires trust.

*You can find further coverage and presumed names on the list here.

Power Move

The Real Cost of Mass Deportations: Raids, Jobs, and Broken Communities

Across the country, worksite raids are quietly accelerating again — and their impact reaches far beyond the headlines or political talking points. These mass deportation actions aren't just immigration enforcement; they're a direct hit to the local economies that depend on immigrant labor, as well as to the small businesses and entire communities built around them.

When a federal raid clears out dozens or even hundreds of workers from a plant, a construction site, a warehouse, or a farm, it doesn't simply remove undocumented individuals — it tears at the foundation of a very real, very local economy. These workers are often part of supply chains that deliver food, build housing, and manufacture goods that serve both domestic and international markets. Their sudden removal can cripple production lines, slow down projects, and create severe labor shortages that ripple through entire industries.

And the consequences don’t stop there:

• Small businesses suffer. Restaurants, grocery stores, and service providers that serve immigrant families experience immediate drops in revenue.

• Local tax bases shrink. Immigrants — documented or not — pay billions in taxes. Raids reduce those contributions overnight.

• Housing markets destabilize. Vacant apartments, unpaid mortgages, and neighborhood disruptions follow.

• Schools and churches lose members. Communities fracture as families are separated.

As someone who has served at every level of cross-border governance — from Mayor of Nogales, Arizona, to Chief of Staff at U.S. Customs and Border Protection — I’ve seen the real-world dynamics at play. Immigration isn't just a Washington D.C. debate; it’s an economic and social engine woven into thousands of communities nationwide.

When raids happen, the pain isn't limited to those arrested. It's felt by neighbors, employers, customers, and entire regions trying to maintain stability and growth. And with North American supply chains more interconnected than ever — especially in sectors like agriculture, logistics, and manufacturing — these enforcement surges create additional uncertainty at a time when certainty is desperately needed for cross-border trade and investment.

Mass deportation policies come at a real cost — not just to families, but to the long-term health of local and regional economies.

If the U.S. wants to remain globally competitive and economically strong — particularly in this moment of nearshoring and North American integration — it must balance security with pragmatism, and enforcement with economic reality.

The Border Buzz

From Texistepec to the U.S. East Coast: The Isthmus Awakens

While much of the media remains fixated on migration issues at Mexico’s northern border, a quiet but transformative development is unfolding far to the south — one that could reshape trade flows across the entire Western Hemisphere.

At the end of March, the town of Texistepec, Veracruz witnessed something historic: the first shipment of Hyundai vehicles, loaded onto railcars at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and headed toward the Gulf port of Coatzacoalcos for export to the U.S. East Coast. In total, 600 Korean-made vehicles were transported in a single 9-hour journey aboard the Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec (FIT), marking a major milestone for the long-anticipated Corredor Interoceánico del Istmo de Tehuantepec (CIIT).

For decades, Mexico's Isthmus corridor — the narrow land bridge between the Pacific and Atlantic — has been viewed as a potential alternative to the Panama Canal for Asia-to-America trade. Now, with projects like the CIIT finally coming online, we're seeing the first signs of that vision becoming reality.

Here’s why this matters:

• A typical Asia-to-U.S. East Coast shipment using the Panama Canal can take 25 to 30 days from port to port — and that's before factoring in delays caused by congestion, drought, or rising canal fees.

• The Tehuantepec route, by contrast, allows goods to arrive at Mexican Pacific ports like Salina Cruz, cross the Isthmus by rail in under 10 hours, and then sail directly to the U.S. Gulf and East Coast. Depending on the supply chain, this can shave several days to a full week off delivery times.

• The Isthmus also offers resilience: no canal restrictions, no water shortages, and fewer chokepoints.

For American businesses, investors, and policymakers — including those of us at Intermestic Partners, who closely track regional trade dynamics — this development deserves attention for several reasons:

• It strengthens North American self-sufficiency, reducing reliance on more distant or unstable supply routes.

• It boosts economic development in southern Mexico, helping stabilize regions that historically have seen little of the country’s export-driven growth.

• It increases U.S.-Mexico integration, adding another layer of complexity — but also opportunity — to cross-border trade strategy.

In short, what happened in Texistepec isn’t just local pride — it’s a glimpse into the next frontier of hemispheric logistics. And it shows once again how U.S.-Mexico ties are no longer just about what happens at the Rio Grande, but increasingly about how both countries co-manage global trade flows.

Power Poll

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