# What if America were to invite northern Mexico to join the US **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 7, 2017, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-america-were-to-invite-northern-mexico-to-join-the-us/779219 "2017-02-07T10:31:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2017, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-america-were-to-invite-northern-mexico-to-join-the-us/779219/21 "2017-02-07T22:11:46Z")
I think a lot of Mexicans would reply that we already took the northern half of Mexico back in 1848. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-america-were-to-invite-northern-mexico-to-join-the-us/779219/22 "2017-02-08T01:19:44Z")
> [@Grim\_Render](#): > > This will make them want to join the US how? > > Anyway, it would be an interesting precedent. Can you imagine Canada making the same offer to certain northern US states? 45’ 40" or fight! ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-america-were-to-invite-northern-mexico-to-join-the-us/779219/23 "2017-02-08T01:49:03Z")
**Quartz** , I don’t think heads would “explode” in Canada. I think you might be underestimating how much heads have _already exploded_ in Mexico due to what seems to be shameless pandering and demagoguery. To what purpose, again I ask? ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-america-were-to-invite-northern-mexico-to-join-the-us/779219/24 "2017-02-08T02:19:19Z")
> [@](#): > > This isn’t annexation: it’s an offer, not forced. This is literally what has happened in Crimea and Abkhazia/South Ossetia. A substantial portion of the populace would probably be either in favor of or indifferent to…“accepting” the “offer” to join the US, all that would be needed are some little green men in unmarked uniforms to show up and convince the rest of the population that resistance isn’t worth the effort, hold a referendum and then you are there. EDIT: SO basically what I am saying is that God Emperor Trump is no doubt drawing up the plans with his Russian advisors as we speak. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-america-were-to-invite-northern-mexico-to-join-the-us/779219/25 "2017-02-08T13:29:27Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > This isn’t annexation: it’s an offer, not forced. Yes it is. You appear to be confusing [annexation](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/annexation) with [conquest](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conquest). ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-america-were-to-invite-northern-mexico-to-join-the-us/779219/26 "2017-02-08T13:41:16Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > This isn’t annexation: it’s an offer, not forced. It’s still annexation. You’re proposing an attempt at peaceful annexation, but it’s annexation all the same. Making an offer of annexation to a part of another sovereign country is, IMHO, an act of war. If the Canadian government went around Washington and offered annexation to Maine or Minnesota I as a Canadian would be mortified by such a belligerent act and wouldn’t blame the USA one bit if it cut off all diplomatic relations. If you made the offer _to the Mexican federal government_, that’s different. Of course they will say no, but it’s the only way you can do this and not make it an overtly imperialist move. ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-america-were-to-invite-northern-mexico-to-join-the-us/779219/27 "2017-02-08T14:41:58Z")
> [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](#): > > This is literally what has happened in Crimea and Abkhazia/South Ossetia. Well, no. Putting in the troop first and then holding a questionable referendum afterwards, under the guns of the troops, is very different from asking without physical force or coercion being involved. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-america-were-to-invite-northern-mexico-to-join-the-us/779219/28 "2017-02-08T15:08:45Z")
> [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](#): > > This is literally what has happened in Crimea and Abkhazia/South Ossetia. What happened in Crimea is very different to what happened in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Crimea was about an ethnic Russian _irredentist_ movement that sought and obtained political union between Crimea and Russia. Abkhazia and South Ossetia were non-Russian _independence_ movements. Russia supported those movements, but annexation was neither a stated goal nor a result. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-america-were-to-invite-northern-mexico-to-join-the-us/779219/29 "2017-02-08T15:18:16Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > This isn’t annexation: it’s an offer, not forced. It is an offer of annexation, and Canadians are not going to ignore that it is just because you decide to redefine words. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-america-were-to-invite-northern-mexico-to-join-the-us/779219/30 "2017-02-08T16:09:09Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Or, about what you’d get if the US invited some of the southern provinces in Canada to join the union. We’re all southern provinces. Or northern, depending on the perspective. 😉 Point is, we don’t have tiers of provinces. The great majority of our population lives within 100 miles of the US border. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-america-were-to-invite-northern-mexico-to-join-the-us/779219/31 "2017-02-08T16:31:51Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It’s still annexation. You’re proposing an attempt at peaceful annexation, but it’s annexation all the same. > > Making an offer of annexation to a part of another sovereign country is, IMHO, an act of war. Sorry folks, I did mean to start WWIII.:smack: > [@Would you like to see your state/province divided?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-like-to-see-your-state-province-divided/608733/70): > > > [@Did Canada Get a New Province?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/41): > > > > For years I have been trying to arrange a swap: PEI for Idaho. Both have a potato economy, and PEI is already pretty much bought up by Americans, but most importantly for me is that Idaho has wonderful wildwater paddling. > > Forget about splitting states up. Just sign over Idaho to me and be done with it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-america-were-to-invite-northern-mexico-to-join-the-us/779219.md?page=1)