VDARE.COM - http://www.vdare.com/awall/070516_memo.htm

May 16, 2007

Memo From Mexico

By Allan Wall

Learning About Immigration Policy From Mexico

Almost everybody believes that the U.S.A. needs immigration reform. I’d
like to propose that we study immigration systems in other countries, to
see what we can learn from them.

It's arrogant to assume that we Americans have all the answers, and that
no
other country can do anything better than we can.

Some of the biggest critics of our immigration policy are Mexicans. So
let's examine Mexico’s immigration policy and see what we can learn from
it.

We might even decide that Mexico has some approaches to the issue that we
could copy. Surely they wouldn’t object to that.

Would they?

How can we summarize Mexican immigration/nationality policies? Here’s how:
Mexico has an immigration system tailored to fit the interests of Mexico.

And what’s wrong with that?

The legal basis for Mexico’s immigration law is found in the Ley General
de
Población [the General Population Law]. PDF.

The cabinet-level department responsible for immigration is the Secretaria
de Gobernación, loosely translated as the Interior Department.

According to Article 3, section VII of the General Population Law, the
responsibility of this department is to

"Subject the immigration of foreigners to the methods it deems relevant,
and to achieve the best assimilation of these [immigrants] to the national
environment and their adequate distribution in [Mexican] territory."
[Sujetar la inmigración de extranjeros a las modalidades que juzgue
pertinentes, y procurar la mejor asimilación de éstos al medio nacional y
su adecuada distribución en el territorio.]

So the goals of Mexican immigration policy are assimilation and the
distribution of immigrants throughout Mexican territory.

Mexico has had immigrants from many countries, from Latin America, Europe,
Asia, the Middle East and even the U.S.A. And Mexico has done a good job
in
assimilating these immigrants. Part of it is because the immigration
levels
are so much lower than in the U.S., and partly because the Mexican system
does indeed encourage assimilation.

According to Article 32 of the General Population Law,

"The Interior Department will establish, subject to the corresponding
demographic studies, the number of foreigners whose entrance to the
country
may be permitted, whether by activities or zone of residence, and will
subject to the methods that it deems relevant the immigration of
foreigners, according to their possibilities of contributing to the
national progress." [Artículo 32.- La Secretaría de Gobernación fijará,
previos los estudios demográficos correspondientes, el número de
extranjeros cuya internación podrá permitirse al país, ya sea por
actividades o por zonas de residencia, y sujetará a las modalidades que
juzgue pertinentes, la inmigración de extranjeros, según sean sus
posibilidades de contribuir al progreso nacional.]

So the Interior Department establishes immigration quotas based on the
demographic situation of the country, and wants immigrants who will
contribute to the development of the nation.

Article 34 even explains what kinds of immigrants Mexico is looking for:

"The Department of the Interior may establish for the foreigners who enter
Mexico the conditions that it deems appropriate with respect to the
activities to which they will engage in and the place or places of their
residence. It will take care thusly that the immigrants shall be useful
elements for the country and that they will have the necessary income
levels for their subsistence… and of the persons who are under their
economic dependence." [Artículo 34.- La Secretaría de Gobernación podrá
fijar a los extranjeros que se internen en el país las condiciones que
estime convenientes respecto a las actividades a que habrán de dedicarse y
al lugar o lugares de su residencia. Cuidará asimismo de que los
inmigrantes sean elementos útiles para el país y de que cuenten con los
ingresos necesarios para su subsistencia y en su caso, la de las personas
que estén bajo su dependencia económica.]

"Useful elements"?" Necessary income levels?" It sounds as though Mexico
is
being rather choosy. Mexico wants immigrants who are (1) useful to Mexico
and (2) who have enough income to take care of themselves and their
families. How discriminatory!

OK, so what kinds of immigrants does Mexico not want? Well, that’s spelled
out in the General Population Law, Article 37. It states that

"The Department of the Interior may deny to foreigners the entrance into
the country or a change in immigration status for any of the following
reasons:

I. When there is no international reciprocity."


(What if we did that? What if we conditioned our immigration policy on how
other countries took in our people—starting with Mexico?)

"II. When the national demographic equilibrium demands it."


(When it doesn’t upset Mexico’s demographic equilibrium).

"III. When the quotas referred to in Article 32 of this law don’t permit
it."


(See Article 32 above).

IV. "When it is considered harmful to the economic interests of Mexicans."


(Shouldn’t we also limit immigration if it’s harmful to the economic
interests of ordinary Americans?)

V. When they (the immigrants) have broken the laws of Mexico or have
criminal antecedents abroad.


(Mexico doesn’t want criminal immigrants).

VI. When they have broken this [immigration] law, its regulations or other
applicable administrative orders in the matter, or if they don’t comply
with the established requirements.


(What if we did that—instead of repeatedly amnestying illegals?)

VII. If they are not physically or mentally healthy in the judgment of the
health authority, or are prevented by other legal orders.


And, just to make sure everything’s covered, Article 38 stipulates that

"The Department of the Interior is authorized to suspend or forbid the
admission of foreigners, when it is determined to be in the national
interest."

That pretty much covers everything, does it not?

There are several myths and misunderstandings about Mexican immigration
policy.

Many Mexicans think that Mexico has no immigration policy, that anybody
can
come into the country without any kind of visa. I’ve been asked why the
U.S. demands visas and Mexico doesn’t! Reason: few Mexicans have any
contact with the Mexican immigration bureaucracy, the INM [Instituto
Nacional de Migracion] and they’ve believed the rhetoric of the Open Door
Mexico.

Some Americans think Mexico has a lax immigration system because it’s so
easy for American tourists to enter Mexico.

Yes, it is easy. But the tourist only sees the tip of the iceberg. Mexico
has a whole range of immigration options. The tourist visa is just the
easiest level.

The system is carefully designed to keep out paupers, to discriminate
between citizens and non-citizens, and even to discriminate between
native-born Mexicans and naturalized Mexicans.

Mexican immigration law recognizes several levels of immigration status.
The most temporary status is that of no-inmigrante, which includes,
tourists, transmigrants, visitors, religious workers, political asylees,
refugees, students, distinguished visitors, local visitors, provisional
visitors and journalists. All these individuals have the right to bring a
spouse or children. But they are responsible for them.

A more permanent status is that of "inmigrante," which includes rentistas
(people with independent means), investors, professionals, certain
administrators, scientists, technicians, artists, athletes, spouses and
parents of Mexicans, and family members of such persons (once again, at
the
responsibility of the head of family).

After 5 years of being an "inmigrante", one may pass to the level of
"inmigrado" which is more permanent still.

There are restrictions on land ownership for foreigners, as I have pointed
out before. There are ways to get around this, but when a foreigner buys
or
gets effective control of Mexican property, he waives his rights to the
intervention of his country of citizenship in case of a land dispute. And
I
have never seen the U.S. government take any effective action to defend an
American in Mexico in a land dispute.

As far as illegal immigration, the government of Mexico detains and
deports
over a quarter of a million illegals annually, most of them from Central
American countries, which are poorer than Mexico. All Mexican police are
required to enforce Mexican immigration law, and so does the Army, which
has already militarized the northern border. [Vdare.com note: Mexico's
northern border is, of course, American's southern border. Mexico has a
southern border of its own, of course, and it faces pressure from further
south.]

Mexican immigration officials don't hesitate to use racial profiling. In a
previous article, I reported how officials in the north of Mexico tried to
deport Mexican Indians thinking they were Central Americans. And, in a
recent case, Mexican police used tear gas to get some illegal aliens out
of
a trailer. What if our immigration officials did that?

Not only that, according to Article 67, any Mexican official who deals
with
a foreigner is responsible to verify the foreigner’s legal status as part
of the transaction. The "sanctuary policy" practiced in so many U.S.
cities
would not get very far in Mexico.

When Lilia and I were married, here in Mexico, I had to ask permission of
the Mexican government to marry her, and I had to prove I was here
legally.
Of course, I love my wife and so it was worth it. But just imagine, once
again, what if the U.S. did that?

Legal foreigners living here in Mexico can pretty much do anything we
want.
We’re free to travel throughout Mexico to our heart’s content.

However, there are limits. It is strictly verboten for us to get mixed up
in Mexican politics, even to march in a protest demonstration.

The Mexican constitution has a particular and well-known article which
deals very clearly with the status and expectations of non-Mexicans in
Mexico. It’s the famous Article 33:

Article 33—Foreigners are those who do not possess the qualities
determined
in Article 30. They have the right to the guarantees of Chapter I of the
first title of this Constitution, but the Executive of the Union has the
exclusive right to expel from the national territory, immediately and
without necessity of judicial proceedings, all foreigners whose stay it
judges inconvenient. Foreigners may not, in any manner, involve themselves
in the political affairs of the country.

Articulo 33. Son extranjeros los que no posean las calidades determinadas
en el articulo 30. Tienen derecho a las garantias que otorga el capitulo
i,
titulo primero, de la presente constitucion ; pero el ejecutivo de la
union
tendra la facultad exclusiva de hacer abandonar el territorio nacional,
inmediatamente y sin necesidad de juicio previo, a todo extranjero cuya
permanencia juzgue inconveniente.

Los extranjeros no podran de ninguna manera inmiscuirse en los asuntos
politicos del pais.

Contrast that with the U.S.'s impossible deportation procedures, as
chronicled by Juan Mann!

Article 43 of the General Law of Population (Ley General de Población)
states that:

"The admission to the country of a foreigner obliges him to strictly
comply
with the conditions established for him in the immigration permit and the
dispositions established by the respective laws."

Americans and other foreigners are regularly expelled for overstepping
these bounds. In 2002, 18 gringos were expelled for participating in May
Day marches. Later in the same year, five American citizens were expelled
for participating in a demonstration demanding the release of some
campesinos.

In contrast, the U.S. allows even illegal aliens to march openly in the
streets demanding their "rights."

Does the U.S. need an Article 33?

Mexico’s citizenship laws are spelled out in the legal corpus known as the
Ley de Nacionalidad. PDF

In order to become a citizen, the applicant must renounce his home country
citizenship, demonstrate that he speaks Spanish, knows Mexican history and
has assimilated to Mexican life.[VDARE.COM note: A previous Mexican
Government had a very bad experience with some Texans who failed to
assimilate. Remember the Alamo?] And he must have lived in Mexico for 5
years.

Certain classes of people, however, can get citizenship in less than 5
years. For example, an immigrant married to a Mexican, or parent of a
Mexican child, can get it in 2 years. An adoptee can get it in 1 year.

And note this: Other preferences are based upon ancestry or country of
origin. An immigrant of Mexican ancestry gets a preference and only has to
wait two years. Immigrants from Latin America or the Iberian Peninsula
(Spain and Portugal) only have to wait 2 years for citizenship.

All other things being equal, this would give an immigrant from Spain a
preference over an immigrant from Germany, an immigrant from Argentina
preference over an American, and a Mexican-American would have preference
over an Anglo-American.

Hmmm! What would happen if the U.S. gave preference to immigrants from the
British Isles, Canada, and Australia? I imagine they’d call us racists.
But
it's a fact: Mexico gives preference to persons of Mexican ancestry, other
Latin Americans and Spaniards.

In the U.S.A., a naturalized citizen can do almost anything that a
natural-born citizen can do, except be president (and some people even
want
to change that).

But in Mexico, naturalized citizens are limited from many positions
government positions, which are spelled out in the Mexican Constitution. A
naturalized Mexican citizen can never serve in the military during
peacetime, can never be a policeman, and can never be a pilot, captain or
crew member on any vessel or aircraft bearing a Mexican insignia. (Article
32) And a naturalized Mexican can never be in charge of a port or airport.

A naturalized Mexican can never be president (Article 82), just as in the
U.S. But he can also never be in the Mexican Congress (unlike ours)
(Articles 55 and 58), can never be on the Supreme Court (article 95), and
never be a governor of a Mexican state (Article 116) nor serve in the
legislature or as mayor of Mexico City (Article 122) .

The truth of the matter is, no matter how well-assimilated a naturalized
Mexican is, he will always be a sort of second-class citizen.

And, while a natural-born Mexican can never be stripped of his
citizenship,
a naturalized Mexican can be (Constitution Article 37). A naturalized
Mexican citizen could lose his citizenship by acquiring another
nationality, working for a foreign government without permission,
accepting
titles or decorations from a foreign government or helping a foreigner or
foreign nation in a diplomatic dispute or before an international
tribunal.

Hmmm again. In other words, the kind of thing a lot of our Latino
officials
do all the time. But Mexican law flatly prohibits that sort of thing.

If it’s good for the goose, isn’t it good for the gander.

Bottom line: although the Mexican elite constantly attacks U.S.
immigration
policy, Mexico’s own system is stricter, and explicitly focused on the
interests of Mexico.

There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s their country. But our officials
should not be intimidated one whit when scolded by Mexicans about
immigration.

In fact, we ought to turn the tables and ask Mexico about its own
immigration policy. And, frankly, we would be wise to import many aspects
of Mexican immigration policy ourselves!

American citizen Allan Wall (email him) resides in Mexico, with a legal
permit issued him by the Mexican government. Allan recently returned from
a
tour of duty in Iraq with the Texas Army National Guard. His VDARE.COM
articles are archived here; his FRONTPAGEMAG.COM articles are archived
here
his "Dispatches from Iraq" are archived here his website is here.


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*************************************************************************
PLEASE EMAIL THESE LINKS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW:

"The Illegal-Alien Crime Wave" by Heather MacDonald
www.City-Journal.org/html/14_1_the_illegal_alien.html

www.PredatoryAliens.com
www.ImmigrationsHumanCost.org
www.DayLaborers.org
www.Alipac.us
www.ImmigrationWatchdog.com
www.AmericanPatrol.com
www.SaveOurState.org
www.EscapingJustice.com
www.MothersAgainstIllegalAliens.org
See the COLOSSAL costs of illegal aliens to the American taxpayer:
www.ImmigrationCounters.com
---------------------------------------------
"Por La Raza todo. Fuera de La Raza nada"
("For The Race everything, for those outside The Race nothing")

-- Motto of MEChA, one of the nation's largest publically-funded
organizations with cells on high school and college campuses across the
USA
(Note: Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez says he "used to be" a member)
---------------------------------------------
“How Eisenhower solved illegal border crossings from Mexico”
By John Dillin
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0706/p09s01-coop.html

Excerpt:

“General Eisenhower ... quoted a report in The New York Times,
highlighting one paragraph that said: ‘The rise in illegal border-crossing
by Mexican 'wetbacks' to a current rate of more than
1,000,000 cases a year has been accompanied by a curious relaxation
in ethical standards extending all the way from the farmer-exploiters
of this contraband labor to the highest levels of the Federal
Government ..."

“Herbert Brownell Jr., Eisenhower's first attorney general, said the
president had a sense of urgency about illegal immigration when he took
office.

“America ‘was faced with a breakdown in law enforcement on a very large
scale,’ Mr. Brownell said. ‘When I say large scale, I mean hundreds of
thousands were coming in from Mexico [every year] without restraint.’"
--------------------------------------------------
Just two of MANY American cops murdered by illegals:
www.DeputyDavidMarch.com
www.KrisEggle.org

"Unfortunately, the majority of illegal aliens who are here are engaged in
criminal activity. Identity theft, use of fraudulent Social Security
numbers and green cards, tax evasion, driving without licenses represent
some of the crimes that are engaged in by the majority of illegal aliens
on
a daily basis merely to maintain and hide their illegal status. In
addition, violent crime and drug distribution and possession is also
prevalent among illegal aliens. Over 25% of today's federal prison
population are illegal aliens. In some areas of the country, 12% of
felonies, 25% of burglaries and 34% of thefts are committed by illegal
aliens."

-- Testimony of District Attorney John M. Morganelli before the House
Subcommittee on Immigration, Border, Security and Claims [Note: 99% of
warrants for murder in Los Angeles, California -- the USA's 2nd
most-populous city -- are for illegal aliens]

"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate,
tireless minority keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of
men."
-- Samuel Adams

"“All great truths begin as heresies.”

-- Former Democrat Governor of Colorado Richard Lamm, official of
Defend Colorado Now, a movement opposed to illegal immigration
and public services for illegal aliens