LA Times urges Mexico to be softer on illegal immigration

Otherwise, how are all those “undocumented” workers from Central America going to make it across our southern border if they can’t make it across Mexico’s first? And just on principle, how can American leftists make the case for amnesty here if illegals there are getting two years in jail? Two years!

Emphasis in original!:

WHEN HOUSE Republicans last year sought to make the mere presence of illegal immigrants in the United States a felony punishable by one year in prison, the odious legislation sparked international condemnation. No country was more loudly indignant than Mexico. Then-President Vicente Fox called the legislation “shameful” and its targets “heroes” who make a crucial contribution to the U.S. economy.

Yet Mexico is hardly in a position to criticize. Since 1974, foreign immigrants in Mexico illegally have been subject to prison sentences of two years, plus a fine. Immigrants who are caught reentering Mexico after deportation face 10-year prison sentences, compared to two years here…

[Mexican] reforms would certainly improve the plight of detained migrants and also Mexico’s relationship with its southern neighbors, as well as giving Mexico more moral standing to agitate against laws affecting its citizens in the United States. Those in this country who oppose guest-worker programs and a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants often cite Mexico’s own harsher policies as the ones we should adopt, or at least complain about first.

Mexico can declaw that argument by closing the gap between its advocacy for Mexican nationals in the United States and how it treats illegal immigrants within its borders. Mexico is under pressure from the U.S. to block the flow of migrants heading north, and recent crackdowns, in part, have been to that end. Ensuring the human rights of its migrant population, however, is not only the right thing to do, it’s good politics.

No worries — Felipe Calderon’s way ahead of them, just in time for the big amnesty push in the Senate next month. Quote: “Just as we demand respect for the human rights of our countrymen, we have the ethical and legal responsibility to respect the human rights and the dignity of those who come from Central and South America and who cross our southern border.”

Exit question: How much must conditions reek in Central America that people are escaping to Mexico for a better life?

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