Closed Country

Every day, those people who want to protect the borders language and culture of this country are lambasted by those who wish to destroy it. Yet, even with the protectionist sentiment, we still have some of the most liberal immigration laws in the world. Don't believe me? Try reading a playboy in Saudi Arabia or owning a bible for that matter. Regarding the current flux of people from Mexico, look at their policies.

From IBD:
Posted 5/23/2006

Immigration: "Do as we say, not as we do," could be Mexico's motto for treatment of the foreign-born. It's the last nation that should be lecturing the U.S.

Vicente Fox declared this week that the reform of American immigration law would be an "act of justice" toward Mexicans now working here illegally.

What the Mexican president did not say is that the laws of his own nation could stand some reform as well.
It's no stretch to say that Mexico's current treatment of immigrants, legal as well as illegal, makes the much-maligned House bill look downright liberal.

Mexican law treats illegal entry as a crime punishable by up to two years in prison. It calls for a prison term of up to five years for someone who marries a foreigner solely to help that person live in the country.

Under the Mexican constitution, even legal immigrants are barred from expressing political opinions in public. Property rights of foreigners are sharply restricted.

The native-born get priority over foreigners in public-sector jobs. Even naturalized citizens are barred from the Mexican congress, state legislatures, governorships, the Supreme Court, the peacetime military and the merchant marine.

Up until 1999, the presidency was limited not only to the native-born but to those with native-born parents. The law was changed so that candidates with one foreign-born parent — like Fox, whose mother is from Spain — could run for the office.

Terms like "xenophobic" and "anti-immigrant" get thrown around too loosely these days.

But they do seem to fit Mexico, where a fear of foreigners (other than tourists) and of foreign influence is deeply embedded in the nation's law and political culture. Even the use of naturalized citizens on the national soccer team is controversial.

Not surprisingly, Mexico has very few nonnatives. Just half a percent of the Mexican population is foreign-born, according to the Associated Press, compared to about 13% in the U.S.

Laws and attitudes aren't the only factors at work here.

Mexico is also short on economic opportunities, either for its own citizens or foreigners. But xenophobia and stagnation could well be related. By stacking the deck in favor of the native-born, Mexico turns away immigrants with the skills, energy and fresh ideas needed for a world-class economy.

So Mexico, rather than lecturing us, could stand to learn from us. U.S. immigration policies need order and rationality right now, but that doesn't detract from this nation's remarkable long-term success at attracting productive people and turning them into Americans.