Thread: Activists blast Mexico's immigration law, 'Mexican governmen

Activists blast Mexico's immigration law, 'Mexican government should ... clean up its own house'
By Chris Hawley / USA TODAY
Posted: 05/26/2010 07:23:53 AM MDT


TULTITLN, Mexico - Arizona's new law forcing local police to take a greater role in enforcing immigration law has caused a lot of criticism from Mexico, the largest single source of illegal immigrants in the United States.
But in Mexico, illegal immigrants receive terrible treatment from corrupt Mexican authorities, say people involved in the system.

And Mexico has a law that is no different from Arizona's that empowers local police to check the immigration documents of people suspected of not being in the country legally.

"There (in the United States), they'll deport you," Hector Vázquez, an illegal immigrant from Honduras, said as he rested in a makeshift camp with other migrants under a highway bridge in Tultitlán. "In Mexico they'll probably let you go, but they'll beat you up and steal everything you've got first."

Mexican authorities have harshly criticized Arizona's SB1070, a law that requires local police to check the status of persons suspected of being illegal immigrants. The law provides that a check be done in connection with another law enforcement event, such as a traffic stop, and also permits Arizona citizens to file lawsuits against local authorities for not fully enforcing immigration laws.

Mexico's Foreign Ministry said the law "violates inalienable human rights" and Democrats in Congress applauded Mexican President Felipe Calderón's criticisms of the law in a speech he gave on Capitol Hill last week.

Yet Mexico's Arizona-style law requires local police to check IDs. And Mexican police freely engage in racial profiling and routinely harass Central American migrants, say immigration activists.
"The Mexican government should probably clean up its own house before looking at someone else's," said Melissa VertÃ*z, spokeswoman for the Fray MatÃ*as de Córdova Human Rights Center in Tapachula, Mexico
In one six-month period from September 2008 through February 2009, at least 9,758 migrants were kidnapped and held for ransom in Mexico — 91 of them with the direct participation of Mexican police, a report by the National Human Rights Commission said. Other migrants are routinely stopped and shaken down for bribes, it said.

A separate survey conducted during one month in 2008 at 10 migrant shelters showed Mexican authorities were behind migrant attacks in 35 of 240 cases, or 15%.

Most migrants in Mexico are Central Americans who are simply passing through on their way to the United States, human rights groups say. Others are Guatemalans who live and work along Mexico's southern border, mainly as farm workers, as maids, or in bars and restaurants.

The Central American migrants headed to the United States travel mainly on freight trains, stopping to rest and beg for food at rail crossings like the one in Tultitlán, an industrial suburb of Mexico City.

On a recent afternoon, Victor Manuel Beltrán RodrÃ*guez of Managua, Nicaragua, trudged between the cars at a stop light, his hand outstretched.

"Can you give me a peso? I'm from Nicaragua," he said. Every 10 cars or so, a motorist would roll down the window and hand him a few coins. In a half-hour he had collected 10 pesos, about 80 U.S. cents, enough for a taco.

Beltrán RodrÃ*guez had arrived in Mexico with 950 pesos, about $76, enough to last him to the U.S. border. But near Tierra Blanca, Veracruz, he says municipal police had detained him, driven him to a deserted road and taken his money. He had been surviving since then by begging.

Abuses by Mexican authorities have persisted even as Mexico has relaxed its rules against illegal immigrants in recent years, according to the National Human Rights Commission.

In 2008, Mexico softened the punishment for illegal immigrants, from a maximum 10 years in prison to a maximum fine of $461. Most detainees are taken to detention centers and put on buses for home.

Mexican law calls for six to 12 years of prison and up to $46,000 in fines for anyone who shelters or transports illegal immigrants. The Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that the law applies only to people who do it for money.

For years, the Mexican government has allowed charity groups to openly operate migrant shelters, where travelers can rest for a few days on their journey north. The government also has a special unit of immigration agents, known as Grupo Beta, who patrol the countryside in orange pickups, helping immigrants who are in trouble.

At the same time, Article 67 of Mexico's immigration law requires that all authorities "whether federal, local or municipal" demand to see visas if approached by a foreigner and to hand over migrants to immigration authorities.

"In effect, this means that migrants who suffer crimes, including kidnapping, prefer not to report them to avoid … being detained by immigration authorities and returned to their country," the National Human Rights Commission said in a report last year.

As a result, the clause has strengthened gangs who abuse migrants, rights activists say.

"That Article 67 is an obstacle that urgently has to be removed," said Alberto Herrera, executive director of Amnesty International Mexico. "It has worsened this vicious cycle of abuse and impunity, and the same thing could happen (in Arizona)."

A bill passed by the Mexican Senate on Oct. 6 would eliminate the ID requirement in Article 67 and replace it with language saying "No attention in matters of human rights or the provision of justice shall be denied or restricted on any level (of government) to foreigners who require it, regardless of their migration status."

The Mexican House of Representatives approved a similar measure on March 16, but added a clause requiring the government to set aside funds to take care of foreigners during times of disaster. The revised bill has been stuck in the Senate's Population and Development Committee since then.

To discourage migrants from speaking out about abuse, Mexican authorities often tell detainees they will have to stay longer in detention centers if they file a complaint, VertÃ*z said.

A March 2007 order allows Mexican immigration agents to give "humanitarian visas" to migrants who have suffered crimes in Mexico. But the amnesty is not automatic, and most migrants don't know to ask for it, the commission said.

Hawley is Latin America correspondent for USA TODAY and The Arizona Republic
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_15164577? ... ost_viewed

The best plan to stop border crossings is for the AZ County Sheriffs on the borders to deputize US citizens and let them guard the borders. Other states who support this effort should call AZ and offer assistance both in manpower, citizens willing to go there and do this work, and financial help to pay those who need an income and expenses to do it.

I'M SO GLAD THAT THIS IS OUT THERE FOR ALL TO READ AND SEE JUST HOW MEXICO RUNS ITS COUNTRY AND ENFORCE ITS IMMIGRATION LAWS. THE MEXICAN PRESIDENT HAS GOT SOME NERVE. ITS ALRIGHT TO PROTECT THEIR SOUTHERN BORDER WITH HIS NEIGHBORS TO THE SOUTH OF MEXICO, BUT THE U.S.A. SHOULD JUST LEAVE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER WIDE OPEN, AND OUR IMMIGRATION LAWS SHOULD BE CHANGED TO SUITE MEXICO. (NOT)

Mexico Criticizes America Yet They Already Have Arizona's SB 1070

added to the homepage

http://www.alipac.us/article5320.html

Mexico -- Mr President Bill of ALIPAC SIR -- has much more than Arizona's Law....if we in the UNITED STATES ONLY HAD these sections of the Mexican Constitution and ENFORCED RIGIDLY like Mexico does:

1 “Foreigners may not in any way participate in the political affairs of the country.â€

Judy they could deputize me,since I am not working in this booming economy they brag about in DC.........LOL!

I already called Sen Richard Burr and Rep Virginia Foxx to ask them to stand UP for the State of Arizone and make a similiar statement as Sen McClintock from Calif......

Originally Posted by uniteasone

Judy they could deputize me,since I am not working in this booming economy they brag about in DC.........LOL!

I already called Sen Richard Burr and Rep Virginia Foxx to ask them to stand UP for the State of Arizone and make a similiar statement as Sen McClintock from Calif......

Absolutely! Yes I hope Burr and Foxx both stand UP for the state of Arizona and suggest our state follow-suit.

We should all contact our Sheriffs in NC and tell them we all want to be deputized to enforce US immigration law in North Carolina. The Sheriffs must be fed up to the gills with the crap they have to deal with because of illegal immigration.

Hi, great article here. Although is there an official link to an official copy of their law so i can show people that debate me for proof. I trust this site but an official link helps to dispell arguments that it's taken out of context.

Please if someone has it just PM me.

Thanks,

which law are you wanting a copy of to print.

the arizona law can be found on the governor's website and a few others.
the mexican immigration laws can be found here:

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=14632

Here's the pdf link to the final SB 1070 which is HB 2162,and the bill Jan Brewer signed into law.

http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/files/pdf/hb2162.pdf

http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/rep ... 10_hb2162/