Posted on 04/19/2006 4:08:53 PM PDT by HEMICRASHBOX
Native Utahn David Timmins makes it clear up front that he has no personal issue with Mexico or the Mexican people. During a well-traveled career as a U.S. foreign service officer, he lived for a time in Mexico and says he enjoyed his posting there immensely.
But in light of the current consternation over immigration, the Harvard-educated diplomat thinks it's applicable to the debate to bring up something he learned while he lived south of the border.
"Mexicans see the Western U.S. as part of Mexico that was stolen from them 150 years ago," he says. "They believe this with all their heart."
It's his view that the thousands flooding across the border every month don't see themselves illegally immigrating into a foreign land.
They see themselves coming home.
And we're the illegals.
"I lived in Mexico 20 years ago," says Timmins, referring to his days as an embassy worker in Hermosillo in the late 1980s, "and during that time I reported without much attention being paid in Washington on the evolving Mexican government policy of passively promoting illegal immigration as part of a deliberate and long-range strategy to regain control of the border and mountain states it lost during the Mexican War of 1847-48."
Timmins points to a specific incident he remembers that pounded home to him the reality of what he is saying:
"I was visiting the Museum of National History in Mexico City where I observed a class of perhaps 40 10-year-old school kids sitting on the ground in front of a huge mosaic map that was labeled 'Mexico Integral,' or 'Greater Mexico.' Their teacher expounded on how the Norteamericanos stole half of Mexico in 1847. The map showed Mexico to include Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California, most of Idaho, and Oregon and Washington up to the Alaska panhandle."
Timmins explains that, in addition to what the United States gained in 1847, Mexico also believes part of the territory sold to America by France in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 actually belonged to Spain, which by extension means Mexico.
"They (Mexicans) think we bought a disputed title," he says. "But luckily for us, (Thomas) Jefferson moved fast."
Add up all this history, Timmins says, and it explains "why every Mexican president, up to and including Vicente Fox, thinks his citizens are simply navigating to land that is historically their entitlement."
Further, he sees an objective to this passive navigation.
"They have an undeclared policy to retake by infiltration what they lost by infiltration," he says, comparing the large numbers of Mexicans currently streaming into U.S. territory to the large numbers of Americans who once poured into then Mexican-held strongholds in Texas, California and elsewhere; Americans who eventually turned their collective might into majority rule.
In other words, they're doing to us what we did to them.
Part of this "infiltration" is remaining fiercely loyal to their Latino culture — including such basics as music, food and, especially, language — while steering clear of becoming "Americanized" to any significant extent.
Timmins notes that unlike European immigrants who largely shake off their roots and their accents within a generation, Mexican immigrants — illegal and legal — tend to stay true to where they came from.
"Their object is to not shift the border on the maps but shift the border in people's minds," says Timmins.
At issue, he points out, is "Who will own the American Southwest a generation from now?"
The retired embassy worker isn't at all sure it's going to be the current home team. In his view, unless "serious reform" is put into place, including much stronger immigration rules that deny all benefits to illegals, including the ability to send money home, and impose serious penalties on American employers who hire illegals, the cultural slide will only increase.
"It is only going to corrupt our system if we don't get control of our borders and control of our assimilation process," he says. "The notion that all that is needed is enforcement of existing law plus a guest worker program is simplistic beyond description."
For the list.
To the victor go the spoils. Deal with it.
Plus, we paid for it at 6% per annum. Check out the treaty of Guadalupe Hildago. It is an eyeopener.
Apparently nobody's ever pointed out to them that "Spain" is and always has been part of "Europe".
bump
I hate revisionist historians.
Who "stole" it from the American Indians so Mexico could sell to the US?
Spanish is a European language too, just like English. If these folks want to return to their real homeland, they need to buy a ticket to Madrid, not Los Angeles.
Hey, Mexico ... come and get some!
It sure would be a great idea to give them back the western half of the United States; after all, they've done such a terrific job of running Mexico.
We have citizens of Mexican origin just like those from any other country. Most of them have become good AMERICANS the legal way.
We are now being invaded and the Mexican government and the illegals here know our government won't do a damned thing to stop it. Now they are shoving that fact in our faces and becoming more bold each day.
It's up to citizens now. We need a few million more minutemen. But once we clean up the border, perhaps we should also clean up D.C.
That's why we need to GET THEM ALL OUT OF HERE NOW, and KEEP THEM OUT FOREVER!!!!!!
(You bet I'm angry about this, I ain't been this angry in quite some time!)
GGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!
Burton
I hate revisionist historians
It worked for the PLO, and our government helped. Why shouldn't it happen for Mexico?
That's why we need to GET THEM ALL OUT OF HERE NOW, and KEEP THEM OUT FOREVER!!!!!!
(You bet I'm angry about this, I ain't been this angry in quite some time!)
GGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!
Burton
In the mid 1970s I took a cruise with my wife. One of the ports was Acapulco, Mexico. We took a bus tour of Acapulco. The guide was a Mexican who spoke fluent English. He would ask people where they were from and make a joke or tell a funny story about the American city or state they said they were from.
Then he asked "Is there anyone here from northern Mexico? No one answered. Then he said let me rephrase the question. "Anyone here from California, Arizona, New Mexico or Texas. A few answered yes, and he said "We are going to get those states back. The American tourists laughed, but I sensed he wasn't kidding, although at the time it seemed preposterous. Not today. - tom
It's his view that the thousands flooding across the border every month don't see themselves illegally immigrating into a foreign land.
They see themselves coming home.
And we're the illegals.
"I lived in Mexico 20 years ago," says Timmins, referring to his days as an embassy worker in Hermosillo in the late 1980s, "and during that time I reported without much attention being paid in Washington on the evolving Mexican government policy of passively promoting illegal immigration as part of a deliberate and long-range strategy to regain control of the border and mountain states it lost during the Mexican War of 1847-48."
The Mexicans had sovereign control over the Southwest for all of 27 years from 1821 (Independence from Spain) to 1848 (getting their heads handed to them in the Mexican American war).
Mexico was PAID for the land in addition to losing the war. If they are so pissed off, the mexicans can go whine to their government.
If we have to fight a new war over it, they will still lose..
Now isn't this just special.[/s] Won't change my mind one dang bit.
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