I've been giving this whole immigration thing a lot of thought, and I think that I just might have come up with what could be a pretty good suggestion for the Republicans as they go about working on what they think the immigration policy of this country should look like. How about if they were to use, at least as a guide in formulating their legislation, the Mexican Constitution? Because the Mexican Constitution is pretty specific in how it strictly defines the rights of citizens, as well as the denial of many rights to non-citizens. And, quite frankly, if those policies as spelled out are good enough for Mexico, why shouldn't they be good for us as well?
In Mexico something that's referred to as the General Law on Population, spells out, with very few gray areas, the country’s immigration policy. And even a cursory glance at it should cause any reasonable American to ask one very simple question: 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.
It would seem that Mexico’s main immigration law welcomes 'only' foreigners deemed useful to Mexican society:
Article 32 - Foreigners are admitted into Mexico "according to their possibilities of contributing to national progress."
Article 34 - Immigration officials must "ensure (that) immigrants will be useful elements for the country and that they have the necessary funds for their sustenance" and that of their dependents.
Article 37 - Foreigners may be barred from the country if their presence has upset "the equilibrium of the national demographics," if they are deemed detrimental to "economic or national interests," if they are not good citizens in their own country, if they have broken Mexican laws, or if "they are not found to be physically or mentally healthy."
Article 38 - The secretary of governance may "suspend or prohibit the admission of foreigners when he determines it to be in the national interest."
Mexican authorities keep track of every person in the country:
Article 73 - Federal, local and municipal police must cooperate with federal immigration authorities upon request: i.e., help in the arrest of illegal immigrants.
Articles 85 and 86 - A National Population Registry tracks every "individual who comprises (sic) the population of the country," verifying each individual’s identity.
Article 87 - A national Catalogue of Foreigners tracks foreign tourists and immigrants, Article 91 - assigning each a tracking number.
Foreigners with fake papers or who enter the country under false pretenses may be imprisoned:
Article 116 - Foreigners with fake immigration papers may be fined or imprisoned.
Article 116 - Foreigners who sign government documents "with a signature that is false or different from that which he normally uses" are subject to fine and imprisonment.
Foreigners who fail to obey the rules will be fined, deported, and/or imprisoned as felons:
Article 117 - Foreigners who fail to obey a deportation order are to be punished.
Article 118 - Deported foreigners who try to re-enter Mexico without authorization can be imprisoned for up to 10 years.
Articles 119, 120, and 121 - Foreigners who violate terms of their visa may be sentenced for up to six years in prison. Foreigners who misrepresent the terms of their visa (as by working without a permit) can also be imprisoned.
Under Mexican law, illegal immigration is a felony. The General Law on Population says:
Article 123 - "A penalty of up to two years in prison and a fine of 300 to 5,000 pesos will be imposed on the foreigner who enters the country illegally."
Article 125 - Foreigners with immigration problems may be deported, rather than imprisoned.
Article 126 - Foreigners who "(make attempts) against national sovereignty or security" will be deported
Mexicans who help illegal aliens enter the country are considered criminals:
Article 127 - A Mexican who marries a foreigner with the sole objective of helping the foreigner live in the country is subject to up to five years in prison
Article 132 - Shipping and airline companies that bring undocumented foreigners into Mexico will be fined.
And yet, every single one of the above articles run completely counter to what Mexican leaders keep demanding of the United States. There seems to be a rather stark contrast between Mexico’s immigration practices and its American-immigration preachings which makes very clear the Mexican government’s rather disingenuous, even dishonest, agenda to have what is obviously a one-way immigration relationship with the United States. And in taking the above regulations into consideration I find myself wondering why it might be that someone like a Marco Rubio would be so anxious to accommodate Mexico in that endeavor.
So again, I would like to recommend to the House Republicans, as they begin their own deliberations on the issue that they perhaps use some, or all, of the above articles as at least a starting point for any policy that they may see fit to come up with. And in so doing, I'm pretty sure that they will need nowhere near the thousand or so pages of legislation that the Senate somehow felt was necessary. Of course the one issue that is of much more importance to the United States than to Mexico is the issue of border security. Other than that, I see no reason not to pattern our own immigration policy after that of Mexico's. It only makes sense.
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