Hello all,

I'm a UK citizen who has followed this illegal immigration debate in the US with interest as it has caused many heated discussions in my home - as my girlfriend is Mexican! (Please no curled lips, hissing or booing as she’s a really nice person with no desire to illegally migrate to the US). I'd just like to put some views across as I see them from a non-US citizen stand point but also as a person who has heard and seen the Mexican side of the story.

First of all - the fence - If we didn't already have the English Channel then I'm sure we'd all be petitioning our government to dig one! Don't understand why you don't already have a fence - common sense to me! However, even with a 21 mile stretch of water between us and the froggy garlic munchers (i.e. the French (no disrespect intended)) we still have a lot of illegal immigration into the UK. To be perfectly honest I think we need some illegal immigration to keep our costs down but our economy couldn’t cope with uncontrolled immigration – as I imagine nether can yours.

Whilst I respect and understand the need for controlled immigration into the US (if fact I don’t understand why some people can’t see the plain logic) I can also understand why some Mexicans have a total lack of respect for US immigration laws leading them not to give a damn about working illegally in the US.

Indeed I feel that US citizens, such as your good selves, really cannot expect the Mexicans to have any respect for US laws when the US Government takes such a repressive and overbearing attitude towards sovereign affairs in Mexico. Would you respect the laws of a country whose government continually told you what you can and cannot do within your own country? See this story as an example;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4971416.stm

So the Mexican government attempts to take an enlightened approach to drugs legislation (well current policies haven’t exactly stamped out the use of drugs have they and the Dutch society hasn’t collapsed into anarchy as of yet) but the US government says “NO” because it will encourage US citizens to visit Mexico to take drugs. Now, I would say that is up to the Mexicans to decide what happens in their own country and perhaps up to individual adult US citizens to decide whether or not they want to go to Mexico and smoke a few joints free from worries of prosecution. Why does the US government feel justified in getting so involved in the law making process of another country? Is not the Mexican government democratically elected by the Mexican people? Does Uncle Sam feel that the Mexicans are perhaps not mature or intelligent enough to make their own decisions and therefore need what amounts to parental guidance on the matter of law making?

The above story is just one example of how the US Government is continually getting involved in Mexican sovereign affairs which, arguably quite rightly, agitates Mexicans. How many of you US citizens would be happy with a foreign power telling you what you can and cannot do in your own country – I seem to remember some bossy little island in Europe (naming no names!) telling the people of the thirteen colonies what they could and couldn’t do and look what that lead to (no hard feelings eh!?)!

I’ve travelled extensively in Mexico and had many people smugly tell me (thinking I was from the US (I don’t have bad teeth and neither am I boring!)) how they always skip the border to find work when they need the money and explained that they have no respect for US law because the US Government has no respect for their laws. What I’m trying to say is that if the US Government showed a little respect towards the rights of Mexicans to make their own decisions then perhaps Mexicans would show some reciprocal respect for US immigration laws. I’m not saying that this would stop illegal immigration but it may just make Mexicans understand why many US citizens, again quite rightly in my opinion, get so annoyed with illegal immigration.

God Bless America, Viva Mexico and God Save the Queen!