Ken Salazar’s new book, “Borderlands: My Fight for an Inclusive America,” arriving July 28, promotes a “New American Alliance” among the United States, Canada, and Mexico designed to forge a unified economic and democratic powerhouse, according to the former U.S. ambassador to Mexico.
The 71-year-old Salazar, who served as U.S. Senator, Interior Secretary, and Mexico’s top U.S. diplomat from 2021 to 2025, frames the book as both memoir and manifesto. It charts his journey from a ranching family in Colorado’s San Luis Valley to the upper levels of federal power, while outlining his vision for North American cooperation.
Salazar proposes the New American Alliance to address what he calls the country’s “greatest division in my lifetime,” which he attributes to President Donald Trump’s “project of erasure”—the dismantling of diversity, inclusion, and democratic norms. The alliance would coordinate across the three nations on trade, national security, border security, migration, crime, defense, energy, and climate change, according to details in the Denver Post.
The book is candid about failures Salazar witnessed during the Biden administration. He vents frustration with how the White House responded to the surge of migrants crossing the southern border, writing that the situation was “a human catastrophe on an industrial scale.” Yet Salazar also defends Biden’s record, noting that the former president deported about 3.6 million migrants—more than the 2 million Trump deported during his entire first term.
On immigration reform, Salazar advocates for pathways to legalization for Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants who meet criteria including background checks, payment of back taxes, and learning English. He argues that mass deportations would break the economy, given how many industries rely on immigrant workers.
Salazar frames diversity as America’s “superpower” and calls his push for inclusion a “unity agenda,” not identity politics. His family’s roots in the Southwest extend back four centuries, and Mexican Americans in the region “became U.S. citizens of this country not by choice but by conquest when, in 1848, the United States won a bloody two-year conflict it had waged against Mexico,” he writes.
The book also reveals that Salazar considered running for president in 2024 after Biden’s debate struggles in July, envisioning a “Make America United Again” campaign. Those plans ended when Biden withdrew and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. For now, Salazar says he is focused on promoting his borderlands agenda, though he has discussed the New American Alliance with national politicians, think tanks, and business organizations.
Sources
- The Denver Post — Salazar’s book title, release date, the New American Alliance proposal, his criticism of Trump, his frustration with the Biden administration’s border response, his immigration reform positions, and his 2024 presidential considerations.
- The Hill — Confirmation of the book’s July 28 release and Salazar’s proposal for a three-country alliance.
- Simon & Schuster — Publisher information and book description confirming the focus on U.S.-Mexico relations and diversity.
- People.com — Book release date and availability for preorder.
