Monday, June 19, 2006
U.S. Immigration Policy – a Mexican Campaign Issue
By Allan Wall
Amidst all the other campaign issues in this Mexican
presidential election, which are many, is the matter of U.S. immigration policy.
Yes, that’s right – U.S. immigration policy is an issue in the Mexican election.
This may be regarded as meddling by Americans. But the way Mexican politicians see it, Mexico should have veto power over how the
U.S. handles immigration. For Mexican politicians of all parties, emigration is an escape valve that relieves social
and political pressures by getting many Mexicans out of the country. It’s
called the “safety valve.”
That’s why the presidential contenders,
Felipe Calderon (of the National Action Party, or PAN), Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (known as AMLO, of the Party of the Democratic
Revolution), Roberto Madrazo (Institutional Revolutionary Party), and the micro-party candidates, talk about U.S. immigration
policy. And their proposals are for the most part the same.
All the candidates oppose a wall on the border. They all want amnesty for Mexican illegal migrants in the U.S., a guest worker program,
and more emigration. And they support the recent pro-illegal immigrant marches and demonstrations in the U.S.A.
Whether indefinite encouragement of emigration
to the United States is really a good long-term strategy for Mexico is another question. I personally doubt it, but among
Mexican politicians it’s a fundamental political principle.
All the Mexican candidates do admit that more
jobs should be created here in Mexico. But they still want to keep that northern safety valve open.
A prime example was the June 6th debate, when
“Migratory Foreign Policy” was one of the five topics of discussion. The
five candidates had plenty of concrete proposals for U.S. immigration policy, but only two mentioned Mexican immigration policy,
never a popular topic among Mexican politicians!
The principal disagreement among the candidates
is not on the issues themselves, but on who can be more effective in keeping the northern border open. The non-PAN candidates
criticize the Vicente Fox administration for not having achieved a migratory accord with the U.S., and for not having sufficiently
defended Mexican illegal migrants in the United States. They are hoping this will rub off on PAN candidate Calderon.
Not to be outdone on the migration front, Calderon
supports the same migratory goals, just without the Fox-bashing. In regards to
the proposed border wall, Calderon joked that even if walls are built, “we’ll jump over them anyway.”
The U.S. immigration proposals by the frontrunners
are almost identical. Both Calderon and AMLO want amnesty, and they both promise
to use Mexican consulates to defend Mexicans in the U.S.
Both AMLO and Calderon call for the United States
to provide aid to depressed areas in Mexico. This idea has some merit –
the economic development of Mexico is in the best interest of everybody. However,
if the border remains open it doesn’t matter how much aid money is pumped into Mexico – high levels of emigration
will continue.
The Mexican population bureaucracy CONAPO (National
Population Council), in fact, has predicted mass emigration to continue until at least 2033 regardless of Mexican demographics
and the state of the Mexican economy. Emigration has become an important part
of Mexican society, with a life all its own.
AMLO’s party platform goes so far as to
even call for “… the termination of all threats, arrests, apprehensions, raids and other abuses of the American
immigration authorities against undocumented workers” on U.S. soil, and for the suppression of American groups such
as the Minutemen.
AMLO has also proposed that the Mexican Congress
be enlarged to include legislators who specifically represent Mexicans living in the United States. This idea has been proposed
before, and would establish a sixth circunscripción. Mexico is currently divided into five electoral super-districts,
each called a “circunscripción” or constituency subdivision. The proposal would add a sixth – the U.S.A. Mexicans
living in the United States would vote by absentee ballots in Mexican elections – not for Members of Congress of a Mexican
state such as Chiapas or Chihuahua, but for congresspersons specifically representing Mexicans in the United States.
Just imagine the citizenship complications this
could cause with the United States. But it’s an inevitable result of Mexican
politicians pushing the envelope on the immigration question.
And what might they be proposing in Mexico’s
next presidential election?
Allan Wall, a MexiData.info columnist, recently
returned from a tour of duty in Iraq. He currently resides in Mexico, where he
has lived since 1991. He can be reached
via e-mail at allan39@prodigy.net.mx.
