Since the article appeals to history, it is useful to cover the Mexico-US relations of our lifetime. Pre-Nixon Local Law enforcement was the primary means of enforcing immigration.
When Local cops apprehended a murderer or major drug dealer, he went to jail for a long time.
But when they were called to a bar fight between drunk “cousins” the jail time was small or none. The cops didn’t want to re-visit the same drunken brawls every week. So they deported the illegals. I facilitated some of these deportations in the ‘60s. Local cops in the US had a close relationship with local cops in Mexico. They exchanged heads up on 10 most wanted and trouble makers moving both directions.
Then far left president Nixon centralized all immigration power in the INS (now ICE). That destroyed the good relations between local cops on both sides of the border.
That centralization of immigration enforcement has been the single biggest mistake in immigration policy in my lifetime.
Close second is US Treas Sec Rubin destroying the Maquiladoras and sending all those Mexican Jobs to Asia. That action is what greatly increased the rate of Mexican immigration to the US.
Central Planners seem to never learn from history. The Asst to a member of the President’s cabinet really believes that he is smarter than the local cop in direct contact with the lawbreaker. The Assistant Bureaucrat really believes that destruction of Maquiladoras is in the best interest of those impacted. He knows what is best for them better than they do.
Interesting, I don’t doubt you. I know what has been called the “Migra” by Mexicans has been around for a long time, at least early ‘60s, when the Braceros program was around. I’d think the Migra was still a national agency, Naturalization?, I’m not sure.