How Mexico Treats Its Immigrants

As the debate on immigration reform continues in the U.S. Senate, it might be instructive for the senators to read the Constitution of Mexico. Consider Article 33:

“[T]he Federal Executive shall have the exclusive power to compel any foreigner whose remaining he may deem inexpedient to abandon the national territory immediately and without the necessity of previous legal action.”

Can one even imagine President Bush or the Attorney General having such blanket authority to expel foreigners—those here legally and illegally—without due process? No way.

Such a thing could never—and should never—happen in the United States. Yet the Mexican Constitution explicitly authorizes this power.

In recent weeks, hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants and their supporters have engaged in mass demonstrations in the U.S. to pressure our senators into allowing them amnesty. How would these protestors be treated in Mexico? According to Article 33,

“Foreigners may not in any way participate in the political affairs of the country.”

It’s rather ironic, isn’t it? Illegal immigrants who have taken to the streets in the U.S. to demand amnesty would be arrested for doing the same thing in Mexico.

Indeed, the Mexican Constitution actually grants Mexican citizens the right to arrest illegal immigrants. Article 16 states,

“In cases of flagrante delicto, any person may arrest the offender and his accomplices, turning them over without delay to the nearest authorities.”

Can one imagine the U.S. government granting such a right to the Minutemen who voluntarily patrol our borders? Absolutely not.

With respect to issues of employment and receiving government benefits, Article 32 of the Mexican Constitution provides:

“Mexicans shall have priority over foreigners under equality of circumstances for all classes of concessions and for all employment, positions, or commissions of the Government in which the status of citizenship is not indispensable.”

Let’s face it: the United States is—and always has been—the most immigration-friendly country in the world. We welcome the tired, the poor and the huddled masses of the world yearning to breathe free. We are a nation of immigrants. And that should not change.

But, at the same time, we should not be afraid to demand law and order and to secure our borders.

—Bill Lauderback.