Thread: The MEXICAN AGENDA

Federation for American Immigration Reform




Mexico's Defense of Illegal Immigrants



Mexico is waging an aggressive diplomatic battle to protect its interests and the interests of its citizens who are working and residing illegally in the United States. While it is appropriate for a foreign government to protect the rights of its citizens abroad, it is not appropriate to encourage them or counsel them to violate the laws of the foreign government where their nationals are living, nor is it appropriate diplomacy to interfere in domestic policy making and implementation of a foreign government.

The appropriateness of the Mexican government's actions regarding the illegal immigration of Mexicans into the United States became a controversial issue in 2004 when it published a guide book in late 2004 for illegal border crossers1 that not just warned them about the dangers of crossing desert areas but also provided tips on how best to make the crossing. In addition it provided guidance on how to avoid coming to the attention of immigration authorities once the Mexican illegal alien was in the United States. Despite the controversy over this guide book, there was no apparent action by the U.S. government to protest this action.

The Mexican government has also established a network of local Mexican community advisors across the United States to interact with the Mexican government both through its consular representatives and directly with Mexico City2. It appears from press accounts that this arrangement is not simply a sounding board for the Mexican government to stay informed on local conditions, but rather a two-way communications channel for the Mexican government to provide policy advice to Mexican communities in the United States. In fact there are several U.S. domestic political issues in which the Mexican government is apparently attempting to mobilize Mexicans and Americans of Mexican ancestry to influence the national and local laws of the United States.

Besides the Mexican consular network of 55 consulates in 24 states plus Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., the Mexican government also works closely with established Mexican ethnic advocacy groups in this country such as the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, National Council of La Raza, League of United Latin American Citizens, etc.

The Mexican Agenda
Among the U.S. domestic issues on which the Mexican government is actively exerting influence outside of normal diplomatic channels both through its broad network of consular offices and through the new structure of overseas communities are the following:

Driver's licenses. Mexican consular officers and Mexican community activists have aggressively been lobbying state legislatures to adopt laws that allow illegal immigrants to obtain state driver's licenses. This effort has been successful in a number of states but met with a setback in 2005 when the REAL ID bill was adopted as part of the Iraq-Afghanistan Supplemental bill. This action led to Mexican President Fox's announcement on May 12, that his government would take unspecified actions to oppose the new U.S. law and his intemperate comment that "Mexican immigrants...are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States."
Mexican Consular IDs â€â€