ArcaMax

SAN DIEGO -- As a Mexican American, my loyalties get questioned. Some folks offer a hypothetical. If war breaks out between Mexico and the United States, they ask, which side would I be on?

That's a no-brainer. My family and I owe everything to the country that took in my grandfather as a legal immigrant 100 years ago. And we owe nothing to the country that failed to provide its citizens with economic opportunities and forced out those who -- like my grandfather -- were poor, uneducated and dark-skinned.

I'm Team USA all the way.

Still, when you are Mexican American -- i.e., seen as "Mexican" in the United States but "American" in Mexico -- one of your superpowers is being able to identify instances when either the United States or Mexico is poised to damage the relationship by overstepping.

And at the moment, the second Trump administration is poised to overstep. What concerns me about the hypothetical is that, during the second Trump administration, it could become a reality.

That's not hyperbole. It's unlikely that we're headed to full-out warfare with bullets and missiles. But it wasn't so long ago that the idea of firing missiles into Mexico to combat drug cartels was bandied about -- including perhaps by then-President Donald Trump himself.

In a May 2022 interview to promote a book, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper told CBS News' Norah O'Donnell that Trump more than once suggested that "maybe we have the U.S. military shoot missiles into Mexico... to go after the cartels." Esper said that when he pushed back, Trump responded: "No one would know it was us."

When asked about Esper's harrowing account, Trump's response was simply "no comment."

Even if a "hot war" doesn't break out, we're already on the path to a cold war fueled by threats and tariffs.

Trump proposes a 25% tariff on goods that come in from Mexico or Canada, the United States' No. 1 and No. 2 trading partners respectively. Seemingly intent on turning allies into adversaries, Trump says he will pull the trigger on the tariffs unless our neighbors stop the flow of illegal drugs and illegal immigrants into the United States.

Elsewhere, there are Republican members of Congress and others who seek elected office who are comfortable proposing the wild idea that the United States should invade Mexico.

Been there, done that. And to mark the occasion of the U.S.-Mexican War, which lasted from 1846 to 1848, Americans took a souvenir. It's called the U.S. Southwest.

This time around, instead of thousands of U.S. troops marching across the U.S.-Mexico border, the "Get Tough on Mexico" crowd is suggesting covert ops where U.S. special forces would discreetly enter Mexico to eliminate cartel leaders. Mexican officials have said that they would see such an operation as an act of war.

The last time the United States went to war with Mexico, it was because Americans wanted to grab land. This time, if the anti-Mexico zealots in the second Trump administration get their way, war will come because Americans want to duck responsibility for their behavior.

It is so unnecessary to go to war with Mexico over drugs and immigrants. If we ask nicely, I'm sure Mexico will send over more of both. We're the ones who are addicted to both illegal drugs and illegal labor. And yet, we expect Mexico to solve our problems.

Republicans say they want Mexico to stop illegal immigration into the United States by preventing migrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, while keeping out dangerous drugs such as fentanyl.

I recognize that entitled Americans have become accustomed to having Mexicans do everything for them. But don't you think we've carried the outsourcing of chores a little too far?

With much of the world embroiled in conflict, and friends and allies hard to come by, is this really the time for the United States to go to war with Mexico -- which provides U.S. law enforcement with intelligence about terror threats along the U.S.-Mexico border?

Indeed, is any time really a good time to pick a fight with a nation that has been a good neighbor?

Spoiled Americans need a sense of perspective. We don't know how blessed we are to be bordered by peaceful nations. Just look around the globe. Our friends in Ukraine and Israel aren't so fortunate.

We need to take responsibility and battle our own addictions. Oh, and be nicer to Mexico.

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To find out more about Ruben Navarrette and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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