Ken Salazar reflects on his new "Borderlands" mission
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Image: Courtesy of Simon and Schuster
Ken Salazar's new book, "Borderlands: My Fight for an Inclusive America," is more than a title.
- It's the 71-year-old's new purpose. One he says is urgent amid division created by President Trump.
Why it matters: The prominent Colorado Democrat outlines the importance of building stronger relationships throughout North America, a vision he hopes will influence the current conversation about immigration and America's future.
State of play: In the 368-page memoir, distributed by Simon and Schuster, Salazar recounts his journey from the humble San Luis Valley to the powerful halls of Washington, as U.S. senator, secretary of the interior and ambassador to Mexico.
The book includes his years in the early 1970s in Colorado Springs, where he attended Colorado College "not because I knew much about it, but because I knew it was small and that, as a result, I could probably make the basketball team," he writes.
- At CC, Salazar joined the Chicano movement and found his community. "I love Colorado College because it gave me an opportunity and, really, the education to live the dream I've been able to live," he told us.
The big picture: From his patchwork of experiences, he offers a blueprint for new relations with our neighboring countries.
- "I was hoping to communicate our history, but more importantly, our future," he says. "Our future through 'Borderlands' is really about the creation of a new North American Alliance that brings us closer together."
Salazar says that a U.S. alliance with Mexico and Canada based on "security and prosperity" would strengthen the border by jointly hobbling drug networks, arms dealers and smugglers.
- The partnership would also encourage cross-border cultural exchanges.
Yes, but: Standing in the way, he said, is Trump's "project of erasure"
- Trump's "isolationist and racist" views of Latin America are preventing such cooperation," he writes.
- Salazar is confident that will change. But, "we have to do it now," he tells us.
The intrigue: Of his many job titles, the one he's considered — at least three times, as recently as the 2026 election — but never pursued is governor.
His advice for the Democratic nominee for Colorado governor, Phil Weiser, echoes his new project. He says Weiser's focus must be on "the forgotten America."
- "He needs to really focus on rural America and the challenges that rural America has," Salazar starts.
- "We shouldn't be a rural versus urban America. We have to unite ourselves."