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Border wars: Laughable demands


Monday, January 23, 2006

Officials in Mexico and Central America are incensed that the United States would have the temerity to propose tougher border enforcement that includes sending illegals back whence they came.

Diplomats are demanding -- demanding, mind you -- that Uncle Sam approve guest-worker programs pronto and legalize undocumented migrants.

"Migrants, regardless of their migratory status, should not be treated like criminals," according to a joint statement.

But they are criminals when they illegally cross borders and flout U.S. immigration laws.

The tougher border plan passed by the House makes illegal entry a felony. Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez called it "stupid and underhanded." He subsequently softened his stance.

Who are these south-of-the-border sophists kidding? They know full well that Mexican workers in the United States are a huge source of revenue that's sent back to Mexico -- more than $16 billion in 2004. It's the second largest source of foreign currency in Mexico after oil exports.

Moreover, if Mexican and Central American diplomats are so duly concerned about their countrymen, why are they not equally concerned that so many are so eager to leave Tijuana behind?

Maybe if Mexico and its neighbors encouraged economic opportunity instead of an exodus and policed its side of the border, we gringos wouldn't be so adamant about increasing enforcement on our side.