[mad_as_he$$]

20 years ago I agreed with you. Now the US is number 17 in economic freedom.

https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking

[cloudmountain]

Well, heritage.org is as good as anyone for the ranking.
Being #17 on the planet is relative to the pitholes of the world...and there are a LOT of them.

People don't "sneak" into places like Bangladesh, Central Africa or South American dictatorships. They don't even sneak into second world countries. They sneak into FIRST WORLD countries like ours, Europe, Australia and a hand full of anomalous countries.

Mexico HELPS the Central/South Americans who want to get to the USA. With friends like Mexico we don't need any enemies.

And, in Central America MEXICO is called the "GIANT OF THE NORTH."
It's a lot to do with perspective, don't you think?