Freedom Folks: Let's Try on Mexico's Immigration Law for Size

Just read this.

Mexico has a radical idea for a rational immigration policy that most Americans would love. But Mexican officials haven't been sharing the idea with us as they press Congress to adopt the McCain-Kennedy immigration-reform bill. That's too bad, because Mexico, which annually deports more illegal aliens than the United States does, has much to teach us about how to handle immigration; under Mexican law, it is a felony to be an illegal alien.

As the Supreme Court and politicians seek to bring U.S. law in line with foreign legal norms, it's noteworthy that no one has argued that the United States look at what Mexico might teach us about how to solve our illegal-immigration problem. Mexico has a single, streamlined law, seeking to ensure that foreign visitors and immigrants are:

_ In the country legally.
_ Have the means to sustain themselves economically.
_ Not destined to be burdens on society.
_ Of economic and social benefit to society.
_ Of good character, with no criminal record.

Yeah, Mexico has definitely adopted a "do as I say, not as I do" approach to meddling in U.S. immigration policy. Vicente Fox had barely been sworn into office as president of Mexico when he conveyed what he thought Mexicans should be served by the United States...The Whole Enchilada.

The Mexican constitution strictly defines the rights of citizens, and the denial of many rights to non-citizens. The General Law on Population, spelling out the country's immigration policy, should cause Americans to ask: Why is our southern neighbor pushing us to water down our immigration laws and policies when its own immigration restrictions are the toughest on the continent? If a felony is a crime punishable by more than a year in prison, Mexican law makes it a felony to be an illegal alien in Mexico. Yet if the United States adopted such a law, Mexico would no doubt denounce it as a manifestation of American bigotry.

No doubt, indeed. And, as Grace of Will & Grace fame would say...ironical.

The stark contrast between Mexico's immigration practices and its American-immigration preachings reveals the Mexican government's agenda: to have a one-way immigration relationship with the United States.

Let's call Mexico's bluff on its interference in U.S. immigration policy. Let us propose, just to make a point, that North American Free Trade Agreement member nations standardize their immigration laws by using Mexico's law as a model.