shared culture and economy with Mexico,”Latino culture is gaining prominence in the Southwest and spreading beyond it.As we have seen, large numbers of immigrants are arriving from Mexico, and theeconomies of the United States and Mexico are becoming more interdependentas NAFTA fosters greatly increased trade.• Until 9/11, the U.S.-Mexico border had been one of the world’s most permeablenational borders, meaning that people and goods flowed across it easily (thoughnot without controversy).• Although English and bilingual speakers in the Southwest far outnumber thosewho speak only Spanish, some fear that English could be challenged in much thesame way it has been challenged by French Canadians in Québec. Accordingly

shared culture and economy with Mexico,”Latino culture is gaining prominence in the Southwest and spreading beyond it.As we have seen, large numbers of immigrants are arriving from Mexico, and theeconomies of the United States and Mexico are becoming more interdependentas NAFTA fosters greatly increased trade.• Until 9/11, the U.S.-Mexico border had been one of the world’s most permeablenational borders, meaning that people and goods flowed across it easily (thoughnot without controversy).• Although English and bilingual speakers in the Southwest far outnumber thosewho speak only Spanish, some fear that English could be challenged in much thesame way it has been challenged by French Canadians in Québec. Accordingly

Arizona in 2006 and California in 1986 made English the official language.”