Ken Salazar on Immigration, the Border, and the Future of the Democratic Party

Ken Salazar comes from a part of Colorado with a complicated history that has shaped the way he understands immigration and identity. Salazar has represented his home state in the U.S. Senate, served as President Obama’s Interior Secretary, and more recently, he was President Biden's ambassador to Mexico—at a time when Biden’s border policy was under scrutiny.

Now, Salazar is sharing his ideas about what went wrong and where Democrats should go from here. His new book ‘Borderlands’ is out now wherever books are sold.

Sarah McCammon spoke with Secretary Salazar about the politics of border security, the future of U.S.-Mexico relations, and Salazar's proposal for a new North American alliance.

IN THIS EPISODE

00:00 — Cold open

1:05 — Ken Salazar's family history in the American Southwest

6:17 — Immigration reform under Presidents Bush and Obama

9:38 — Why bipartisan immigration reform repeatedly failed

15:53 — Lessons from the Biden administration's border policy

21:45 — Border security, asylum reform, and mass deportations

24:11 — The future of the Democratic Party

25:45 — U.S.-Mexico relations and North American cooperation