Poor Mexico and those wicked Americans

Salt Lake Tribune ^ | Friday, April 30, 2010 | Gwynne Dyer

[Willie Green]

The president of Mexico was furious. "Criminalizing immigration, which is a social and economic phenomena, opens the door to intolerance, hate and discrimination," Felipe Calderon told a meeting of Mexican immigrant groups. The state of Arizona had gone too far.

Jose Miguel Insulza, the head of the Organization of American States, was equally angry. "We consider the bill clearly discriminatory against immigrants, and especially against immigrants from Latin America." His point seemed to be that by treating illegal Mexican immigrants as a police matter, the new Arizona law is attacking their human rights.

The new law that is causing such outrage requires Arizona police to question people about their immigration status if they suspect they are there illegally. Day laborers face arrest for soliciting work if they are in the U.S. illegally, and police departments can be sued if they fail to enforce the law. The flow of illegal migrants to the United States is important for Mexico. It provides a vital safety valve for the Mexican state, which would otherwise face the discontent of millions of Mexicans who cannot find decent jobs at home, and their remittances are a great help to the Mexican balance of payments. But the widely held Mexican belief that illegal immigrants have rights in the United States is most peculiar.

It arises from the fact that for a long time the United States has deliberately kept the border with Mexico porous, so that Advertisement large numbers of Mexican illegals can enter the United States to provide cheap stoop labor for American agribusiness. In the cities along the American side of the frontier, the border defenses are quite impressive, but out in the desert they are frequently no more than three strands of barbed wire and a dirt patrol track.

Some argue that illegal Mexican immigrants are doing jobs nobody else wants, but that is only a possible reason for letting them stay. It certainly does not give them the right to stay.

Yet the Mexican government reacts with outraged indignation whenever the U.S. government, or in this case an American state, talks about enforcing the law against illegal immigrants. It has come to think of the nod-and-a-wink arrangement that allows large numbers of illegal immigrants to cross the border each year as the natural state of things.

Arizona is calling time on that system, and actually intends to seek out and send home people who are in the state illegally. In most parts of the world, that would not be regarded as unreasonable. What is different in Arizona's case?

The implicit charge is racism. The assumption is that American citizens of Mexican origin, and legitimate Mexican visitors, will also be stopped and asked to prove that they are legally in the United States -- and that they will be chosen for questioning on the grounds that they simply look "Mexican."

President Calderon himself would never be inconvenienced by such a policy, because he does not look "Mexican." He looks like your average white American, as does a large majority of the Mexican upper class. But it is true that most poorer Mexicans, including both legal and illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States, are mestizos of mixed white and Indian ancestry.

They look "Mexican," in other words, and the concern is that they will face constant demands from the police to prove they are legally in the United States. But the solution for this is simple. Simply enforce the same rules that apply in airport security queues to ensure that nobody feels they are being "profiled" because of their ethnicity.

In the airports, they make sure that heavily bearded young men who look "Middle Eastern" face no greater risk of being selected for special examination than paraplegic grandmothers. The Arizona police should be instructed to stop 13 white, black and Asian people and check that they are legally in the state for every person they stop who looks "Mexican."

Then nobody will have anything to complain about.

[phockthis]

SFL

[marron]

Best summary of Mexican law I’ve seen.

Any country on earth, if you’re a foreign visitor, you have to have your passport and ID on you at all times, and you have to produce it when asked. And you will be asked frequently by cops, hotel clerks, bank clerks, government clerks of every kind. And you’d better have it on you or you’re headed for a bad day (at least in the case of a cop).

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

The president of Mexico was furious. "Criminalizing immigration..."

No, dumb A. Not immigration. ILLEGAL immigration! Invasion, actually.

[PubliusMM]

Yep...they are illegals.

So, let’s duplicate Mexico’s immigration laws and enforce them. That should work fine.

It’s time to take back the country. A secure border is a good place to start.

[RockyMtnMan]

The president of Mexico should STFU no one wants to hear his hypocrite ass comment on our immigration policies. These people know damn well what they are saying is complete nonsense but they say it anyway. He says what he says because he is either told to or gains from it politically, no other reason.

[Liz]

LET'S SEE IF WE GOT THIS RIGHT.

IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOR.

IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU ARE DETAINED INDEFINITELY.

IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET SHOT.

IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE JAILED.

IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU MAY NEVER BE HEARD FROM AGAIN.

IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED.

IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT.

IF YOU CROSS THE US BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET:

* A JOB,

* A DRIVER'S LICENSE,

* SOCIAL SECURITY CARD,

* WELFARE,

* FOOD STAMPS,

* CREDIT CARDS,

* SUBSIDIZED RENT

* SUBSIDIZED LOAN TO BUY A HOUSE,

* FREE EDUCATION,

* FREE HEALTH CARE,

* A RIDE ON THE U.S. GRAVY WITH SEVERAL IDENTITIES,

* A LOBBYIST IN WASHINGTON,

* BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PRINTED IN YOUR LANGUAGE,

* THE RIGHT TO CARRY YOUR COUNTRY'S FLAG WHILE YOU PROTEST THAT YOU DON'T GET ENOUGH RESPECT,

* AND THE U.S. POLITICAL/LEGAL SYSTEM AT YOUR DISPOSAL.

I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE HAD A FIRM GRASP ON THE SITUATION.

[fightinJAG]

I do not understand how these people get away with acting as though illegal immigrants were not illegally in the U.S. until AZ passed it’s law mirroring federal law last week.

“Criminalizing immigration?” Give me a break.

[Allegra]

The president of Mexico was furious. "Criminalizing immigration, which is a social and economic phenomena, opens the door to intolerance, hate and discrimination," Felipe Calderon told a meeting of Mexican immigrant groups.

We've go no problem with legal immigrants from Mexico. More power to 'em. Illegal aliens are illegal, however and we do not want them here.

The state of Arizona had gone too far.

That's not your call, Calderon. Arizona is part of the United States. You have no jurisdiction here.

[Judith Anne]

Ask Calderon when he is going to open up HIS southern border.

[DejaJude]

The flow of illegal migrants to the United States is important for Mexico. It provides a vital safety valve for the Mexican state, which would otherwise face the discontent of millions of Mexicans who cannot find decent jobs at home, and their remittances are a great help to the Mexican balance of payments.

The real reason for all the bluster.