Opinion: The US southern border is not a threat – it’s an opportunity

Jake Tapper goes one-on-one with Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott about the migrant crisis at the southern border Editor’s Note: Peter Svarzbein, the son of immigrants and the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, is a visual artist, curator and former two-term El Paso city councilman. He is also chairman of Sister Cities International, a citizen diplomacy nonprofit in the United States. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN. CNN — Growing up in El Paso, my family often crossed the southern US border to our sister city of Juarez, Mexico. Crossing back and forth was a regular occurrence among the people in our community – and the familiarity with both sides of the border made me feel like I was a part of something bigger than just one country or city. It instilled in me a respect for other people and led me to understand that the border is not a threat, but an opportunity and a blessing for people in both the US and Mexico. But many Americans see the border differently , with outsiders often projecting their fantasies and nightmares onto our community without much thought given to our voices, […]

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