Mimi Hall, USA Today WASHINGTON - A host of highly charged issues, from Arizona's controversial new immigration law to escalating violence in Mexico's drug war, will confront President Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderón when they meet at the White House this week.

On April 23, 2010, Governor Jan Brewer passed SB 1070, a piece of legislation which has sparked protests on both sides of the US-Mexican border. The law, which is to take effect in 90 days, was sponsored by state senator Russell Pearce and allows police to detain people they "reasonably suspect are in the country without authorization." Similarly, it also makes it a crime to not carry immigration papers. A very divisive issue, national immigration reform has been brought back into the spotlight.

On March 21, 2010, tens of thousands marched on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, to call for immigration reform in the United States. The marchers were predominantly Hispanic, many originating from Mexico. Protest organizers claimed to have 200 000 people out for the march in support of their "vision of reform," which they claimed "includes immigrants and native-born U.S.

Mexico is suffering "from severe environmental devastation," which may be the "worst witnessed in the world," according to Mexico's National Assembly of Environmentally Affected Groups (Asamblea Nacional de Afectados Ambientale or ANAA).  The Americas Program published a translated copy of the ANAA's warning of environmental disaster on February 1, 2010.

The Mexican government's war with the drug cartels under the Calderón administration, which includes tens of thousands of soldiers, has led to an explosion of violence in the region along the American border. In an attempt to aid the Mexican government, the US State Department launched the Merida Initiative, or Plan Mexico, in 2007. This programme aims to provide US$1.4 billion in aid to Mexico, Central America, and the Dominican Republic and Haiti for counter-narcotics programs. This assistance includes arms, training and equipment for the military and police forces.

The Mexican government's war with the drug cartels under the Calderón administration, which includes tens of thousands of soldiers, has led to an explosion of violence in the region along the American border. In an attempt to aid the Mexican government, the US State Department launched the Merida Initiative, or Plan Mexico, in 2007. This programme aims to provide US$1.4 billion in aid to Mexico, Central America, and the Dominican Republic and Haiti for counter-narcotics programs. This assistance includes arms, training and equipment for the military and police forces.

New Content from the Americas Program

Police officers in Mexico, like anywhere else, face dangers every day. The threats to officers' lives have increased in recent years, however, due to a cartel war that has broken out in Northern Mexico. More than 12 000 people have been killed since 2006. Ciudad Juarez, on the border with El Paso, Texas, has experienced 1300 murders in 2008 alone, 40 of which were of police officers. The drug gangs are known for brutal violence, including beheadings and amputations.