To call the life of Colorado native son, Ken Salazar, the stuff of movies, rather shortchanges its reality. Were it merely that, it would still be amazing. But, by any definition, it is so much more. Leagues, legions, light years more, if we’re to be honest. As the line in ‘Toy Story’ goes, it’s more a ‘to infinity—and beyond’ kind of tale.
The 71-year-old Salazar is, with little argument, our state’s most well-known and accomplished politician and statesman. Perhaps ever. And now, he has written a book, ‘Borderlands: My Fight for an Inclusive America.’ The book, he said, “draws on my personal story in the American Southwest…and decades of public service.” It also provides Salazar’s unique insights on migration, border policy and the U.S.-Mexico relationship, often recommending “a different way forward,” and one that unites rather than divides.
Salazar’s lineage in Colorado can be found among the earliest threads of our state’s rich and colorful tapestry, going back to the 18th century, when the region was part of Mexico and decades before it became part of the United States. The land, ‘El Valle,’ was held by Los Hispanos de Nuevo Mexico, Colorado’s first families.
From his San Luis Valley roots—he was born in Alamosa and raised in the nearby hamlet of Manassa—Salazar’s story is well known. But the facts, the minutia of the Salazar tale, is now there for all to read in ‘Borderlands.’ The 386-page ‘Borderlands’, published by Simon & Schuster, reflects not simply and amazing American’s story but also one about two country’s economic and political vastness.
Salazar’s profile is well known in Colorado. It is a rocket ship-like rise from a back—way back—corner of Colorado to the inner sanctum of megawatt stature and power.
The Salazar family, headed by parents Enrique and Emma Salazar, also included eight children, five boys and three girls. While the children each had their roles on the farm, everything from tending livestock to helping with the harvest, Salazar said, cultivating the mind was equally as important. “My parents,” he said, “instilled in my brothers and sisters and me the importance of education…the value of knowing and understanding the world.” All of the Salazar siblings graduated from college. His brother, John, also served three terms in the U.S. House.
After high school, Salazar left the farm and the Valley for Colorado College, one of the West’s premier institutions where one can find the sons and daughters of the country’s and world’s elite also attending. From there, it was off to the equally prestigious University of Michigan where he earned his law degree.
Returning to Colorado, Salazar was practicing law when, in 1986, he was recruited to join Colorado Governor Roy Romer as Chief Legal Counsel and later Romer’s cabinet as Director of Natural Resources. It was the ‘big leagues’ of state politics and Salazar distinguished himself, proving he belonged.
In 1998, he became the first Latino to win a statewide political race to become Attorney General. Six years later, he won election to become U.S. Senator Salazar and in 2009, he was tapped by President Obama to join the Cabinet as Secretary of the Interior. The two men, coincidentally, had entered the Senate in the same class.
After leaving government, Salazar returned to Denver “to think about what I wanted to do next.” Coming home, he said, gave him time to decompress, recharge and refocus, also to reconnect with family and friends. While splitting time between his ‘two homes’ and ‘two loves’—the land and the law—Salazar was tapped by the prestigious law firm of WilmerHale, an international law firm with offices in a number of world capitals.
But in 2021, public service and President Biden came calling. Biden asked Salazar to become America’s Ambassador to Mexico. Salazar was confirmed in the Senate by voice vote, essentially a formality for approval.
While Salazar’s congressional and executive branch experience had prepared him in handling domestic issues, representing America with an entire nation demanded learning new skills, applying nuance to both his words and actions. Luckily, he was as prepared as any American ambassador could be. He, after all, was more than familiar with the culture. The politics would require a bit more study. But, as in other high-pressure environments, he quickly learned the landscape and applied political skills learned while climbing the ladder.
In ‘Borderlands,’ Salazar touches on both hot, cold and in-between issues that connect the U.S. with Mexico. The book has both high praise for Mexico’s government as well as offering a more nuanced picture of some of the individuals and issues he dealt with during his years as ambassador, including the ubiquitous and often savage drug cartels.
‘Borderlands,’ was officially released on July 28th. Reviews in a number of publications including The Los Angeles Times, El Diario and The Denver Post.
In the book Salazar discusses what he says was a Biden immigration policy that fell short and less effective than it could have been. Salazar, wrote El Diario, “felt some frustration” with Biden for not having followed “initiatives he had agreed with Lopez Obrador” when they met in December 2021. One in particular that Salazar had wanted was “a Czar with authority over border and migration.” It never materialized.
He also wishes that the Biden administration had been more proactive with a number of Mexican infrastructure projects. While the administration took Salazar’s advice on some, it fell short on others. But it was enthusiastic about one pitched and endorsed by both Mexican President Andrew Manuel Lopez Obrador and Salazar. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec was a railway project that would link Mexican ports on its east and west coasts to help Mexico better compete with the Panama Canal. Infrastructure was particularly important to Salazar and America because it would bolster the economy, provide jobs, slow immigration and, ideally, slow Chinese investment in Mexico while bolster U.S.-Mexican relations.
There are also passages in the book that hint at tension and concern at the highest levels of the Mexican government specifically connecting cartel influence on high-ranking officials.
The book shows the journey of a young man who rose from a tiny speck of a village to the highest levels of power and influence; from a boy who at one time considered the priesthood but instead wound-up counsel to a president. “Instead,” said the nearly always cowboy hat wearing diplomat and public servant, he followed the simple advice of caring, loving parents.
“They taught me to fight for a diverse and inclusive America,” he said. “We all have a place…and not only for myself, but for anyone considered ‘different.’ “
Salazar and his wife, Hope, still split time between Denver and the Valley. They have two grown daughters and a granddaughter.
