In an article by Michelle Malkin titled "How Mexico Treats Its Illegal Aliens", I found a well laid out argument showing the contrast between Mexico's immigration provisions and SB 1070 in Arizona.
The reality is that Mexico is making demands on the United States that it will not concede to its Southern neighbor, Central America. Just as immigrants cross the U.S./Mexico border, there are immigrants from Cuba and Central America crossing Mexico’s southern border. Does Mexico treat their illegal immigrants the same way that they demand Arizona and the United States treat their illegal immigrants?
Of course not. In fact, Mexico’s immigration laws and policies are far stricter than any imposed in the United States.
Malkin points out that "illegal entry into [Mexico] is equivalent to a felony punishable by two years’ imprisonment... Document fraud and alien marriage fraud is subject to fine and imprisonment; evading deportation is a serious crime; illegal re-entry after deportation is punishable by ten years’ imprisonment. Foreigners may be kicked out of the country without due process and the endless bites at the litigation apple that illegal aliens are afforded in our country."
If a person crosses the United States’ southern border into the state of Arizona the punishment that they can expect to receive is nowhere near what Mexico hands out. First, the immigrant has to have been “found out” and by law this will be when an officer of the law is suspicious of their citizenship status while executing his duties. If the officer becomes highly suspicious that a person is in the country illegally, he can request documents of proof from that person. At this point the new law requires the law enforcement officer to check with U.S. Immigrations or another federal agency to confirm and detain the person if they are in the country illegally.
Some type of civil offense has to have taken place before an officer even approaches an individual about their immigration status in Arizona. This is not the case in Mexico — the mere suspicion of a person's lack of citizenship is all the Mexican authorities need to detain and question a person.
It is a national mandate that all law enforcement personnel, local, state, and federal, are required to enforce Mexico’s immigration laws. Not only is the military required to assist in this, but a civilian/citizen can also make an arrest. Nowhere in the United States is a citizen authorized to arrest someone that they think is here illegally.
Mexico’s National Catalog of Foreigners tracks every tourist and foreign traveler at all times. They have a National Registry that tracks and verifies the identity of all Mexican citizens, who must carry identification card, just as Americans are required to do in the form of an identification card or driver's license. If someone is unable to produce this documentation, they can be arrested as an illegal alien.
Article comments
1 - Marco D'Angelo
We as Americans, need to stop complaining because Mexico has stricter laws. If it wasn't for these strict laws enacted at Mexico's southern border, we'd be seeing way more illegal immigrants than we already have. People need to see that Mexico is doing us a favor with their system.
2 - John Wilson
Edward Abbey used to say that the US Border Patrol should give every attempting immigrant a gun and a map to Mexico City.
3 - Doug Hunter
We should take a look at whatever Mexico is doing... and do the opposite. Really, we need to argue our own issues on their merits not compare ourselves with third world neighbors.
4 - Juan
hmmm, strict or not, at least Mexico has a path to legally immigrate, is you wish to whereas thew US restricts people of certain nations from even applying for any kind of legal status. It is fallacious to say "get to the end of the line" when there isn't even a line.
5 - John H
what did the USA do before the last 30 years of massive illegal immigration? (answer: It did fine: America was clean, safe, and its public schools were the envy of the world, not overcrowded or dumbed down to accommodate children who speak only a foreign language). Second, the USA is the only advanced society that does not enforce its immigration laws. Do european countries fail because they enforce their laws and manage their resources without being overrun by waves of people forcing their way in? No, modern countries like France, Germany and England do fine, better than we are in many ways, and they enforce their immigration laws and deport illegal aliens (as apparently does Mexico, too).
6 - Clavos
US public (read government) schools have never been "the envy of the world."
Deservedly so.
Among others, British, German and Scandinavian schools are vastly superior to American government institutions, as are Japanese, Australian and New Zealand's schools.
There are many others as well.
7 - Ruvy
It appears that the seizure of two ranches inside the United States by a Mexican drug cartel that is populated by Mexican politicians as well as corrupt cops from its various police services throw an entirely new light on "the man in the mirror" and the Americans without the cojones to shoot invaders of their country. Welcome to Israel, folks!
8 - Nick
There was a time when the U.S. public school system really was the "envy of the world," with high quality education that was a model for advanced society.
9 - Amber
People have the right to immigrate wherever and whenever they want!