James Taylor is one of my favorite boomer-aged, noddin'-to-the-oldies, not-so-guilty pleasures. I've never been a "folkie" but Taylor transcends the category, in my opinion. So I really haven't minded that the earworm I've had in my head all week is his 1975 cut, "Mexico."

The reason why I'm carrying that tune around, on the other hand, is not a happy one.

I respect that the issue of border security and immigration, legal and otherwise, is a political Gordian Knot that nobody's gotten right yet. I do not appreciate watching the administration use the meat industry over and over as the crowbar to pry loose the impasse on other policy matters.

Mexico is by far our No. 1 export market, by volume, for pork, and it's in the top three export markets for beef, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation. The country also is the No. 1 export market for broilers, says USDA's Economic Research Service. As a source of food for the United States, Mexico hovers around fourth on most types of meats, except for live cattle, for which it is our greatest non-domestic source.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office reports that the value of U.S. pork sold in Mexico is $1.5 billion, and beef is almost $1 billion.

I'm sure from a 35,000-foot perspective, the threat of closing the border altogether seems like a great way to get Mexico's attention and perhaps its cooperation on the United States' priority issues — in this case, immigration. But I don't see that same risk/reward relationship in play for the farmers, ranchers and processors whose livelihoods are in jeopardy as the situation heats up. And on the heels of the country's trade stand-off with China, the pulling of NAFTA and dropping out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership ... well, I haven't crunched the numbers myself but the animal protein supply chain sure looks like the politicians' punching bag here.

The letter the National Pork Producers Council sent to the White House made the point simply: "We are at the breaking point and cannot afford a total loss of the Mexican market."

And fundamentally, when the game pieces are ag products — AKA food — the strategy takes on a Maslovian importance for all the citizens of both countries.

(Never mind that the meat industry, with its crippling labor shortage, needs real immigration reform right now, not simply a shut door.)

The folks who inhabit the meat supply chain, from wide-open range and farmland to shipping dock at the end of the factory, have been among the administration's staunchest supporters right from the beginning. I think it's time the administration returned the favor, and found some other crowbar to wield.

"Oooohhhh, oh Mexico ..... "

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