Mexico’s Immigration Laws: The Untold Story

Andres Celedon / April 04, 2011

There is no shortage of criticism of our immigration laws from detractors who contend that they are unjust and immoral. And though criticism of U.S. immigration laws can be fierce – particularly in the case of Arizona’s SB 1070, the Support our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhood Acts – Mexico’s much harsher immigration laws rarely get noticed.

Upon Arizona’s passage of SB 1070,  critics attacked the law with claims of racial profiling. Among the opponents were the open border lobby, including the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF), other liberal interest groups, President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder.  In addition to critics here at home, the bill also found an enemy in Mexican President Felipe Calderon.  He famously lectured our country in his address to Congress in 2010, declaring that the law “ignores a reality that cannot be erased by decree” and “[that it] introduces a terrible idea using racial profiling as a basis for law enforcement,” he said to cheers from some in the House chamber.

The speech and Calderon’s remarks received considerable media attention, particularly from a largely sympathetic Hispanic media. But receiving far less scrutiny was how President Calderon and his country are dealing with illegal immigration.  Upon closer examination, Arizona’s SB 1070 looks like amnesty compared to Mexican law. (more…)