Lawmakers Up in Arms Over Mexico's ‘How-to’ for Illegals

newsmax.com ^ | Friday, Jan. 7, 2005 | Jon E. Dougherty,

[VU4G10]

A 32-page "Guide For the Mexican Migrant" that tells illegal immigrants how to cross the U.S. border, and how to stay in the U.S. unobtrusively, was supposedly intended to keep Mexican citizens from risking breaking into the United States because it's dangerous, kills hundreds of Mexican migrants annually, and violates U.S. law.

To hear Mexican officials tell it, their government is all about law and order — which is why critics shouldn't take a new guide providing migrants with tips for sneaking into, then remaining, in the United States, the wrong way.

"We are a country that respects the law and we advise our people to respect the law," Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Carlos de Icaza tells The Washington Post.

Despite de Icaza's explanation, critics say the guide not only sends the wrong message to Mexican migrants, but they think it was specifically designed to better protect them while they break into the U.S., not to try and talk them out of it.

U.S. lawmakers who have long called for tighter border policing and immigration restrictions especially believe the guide is little more than a "how-to" manual for illegal immigrants.

"The Mexican government is aiding and abetting the illegal invasion" of migrants into the country, Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., told the Post.

In calling for the Mexican government to end it's planned distribution of about 1.5 million copies of the guide, which was written in comic-book form. "Can you imagine if our State Department ... put out a publication saying, 'We don't recommend stealing, but if you are going to be involved in stealing in Mexico anyway, here are some helpful hints on how to jimmy the door?'" Hayworth said.

Rep. Tom Tancredo, our most staunch border defender in Congress, cautioned Mexico over their Foreign Ministry’s distribution of the “comic book.”

“This is not an action of a friendly neighbor. What would the Mexican government say if we encouraged our citizens to violate Mexican law? It is a great example of how hooked Mexico has become on remittances, which are dollars sent home by alien nationals working in the U.S.,” explained Tancredo, Chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus.

Remittances - the money Mexicans in the U.S. send back to their relatives in mexico - are now at about $18 Billion dollars a year, account for more income to Mexico than any source other than PEMEX, the state owned Petroleum Company.

De Icaza swears U.S. officials are just misinterpreting the guide's true meaning and intentions. "Some are not interpreting the guide correctly," he told the Post.

He said information in the booklet also instructs migrants not to carry false identification, run from Border Patrol agents or throw rocks at them, and to be honest with U.S. officials.

But it also instructs migrants to stay away from scenes and situations which could draw attention to them or put them at risk of arrest.

Still, "the aim of the book is to save lives," says Alfonso Nieto, press secretary at the Mexican Embassy, in an interview with the Arizona Republic.

"It clearly states at the beginning and the end that the appropriate way to gain entry is with a passport or a visa," he said, adding the Mexican government has published such guides before. Yet according to a study of the guide, there is no detailed information regarding the U.S. visa application process.

On Wednesday White House spokesman Taylor Gross said President Bush had not seen the guide. He said the president nonetheless maintained "an excellent working relationship with the Mexican government" and that both governments remained committed to battling illegal immigration."

The U.S. State Department said virtually the same thing, issuing a statement claiming Washington "and the Mexican government have a strong commitment to ensuring that migration into the United States is safe, orderly and legal."

Others have also criticized the guide.

"This is more than just a wink and a nod," Rick Oltman, Western field director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, told the Republic earlier this week. "This is so transparent, this is the Mexican government trying to protect its most valuable export, which is illegal migrants."

Said John Keeley, director of communication for the U.S.-based Center for Immigration Studies, in an interview with New London, Connecticut newspaper The Day, "With this document the Mexican government not only has not instructed its citizens to obey immigration law but, in rich detail, it has supplied a manual on how to circumvent U.S. immigration law. It's very, very troubling."

In a letter of protest to the Mexican government, Hayworth described "Mexico's state sponsorship of illegal immigration is nothing less than an act of deliberate hostility against the United States - an attack on our sovereignty," saying "it must cease before it does permanent damage to our relationship."

Tancredo is now considering a provision that would cut Mexico’s foreign aid by the amount of remittances they receive, in order to both offset the strain illegal immigrants put on the American taxpayers and to pressure Mexico to stop encouraging their nationals to put their lives at risk in the desert.

[MissouriConservative]

"Tancredo is now considering a provision that would cut Mexico’s foreign aid by the amount of remittances they receive, in order to both offset the strain illegal immigrants put on the American taxpayers and to pressure Mexico to stop encouraging their nationals to put their lives at risk in the desert."

Tancredo ping

[America's Resolve]

the appropriate way to gain entry is with a passport or a visa

Two words: Plausible Deniability

[JustAnotherSavage]

"In a letter of protest to the Mexican government, Hayworth described "Mexico's state sponsorship of illegal immigration is nothing less than an act of deliberate hostility against the United States - an attack on our sovereignty," saying "it must cease before it does permanent damage to our relationship."

We need all our congresspeople and the White House relaying this message.

_______
BORDER CROSSING IN 17 EASY STEPS
By Michelle Malkin   ·   January 06, 2005 12:24 PM

That Mexican comic book for illegal aliens is available at the Mexico government's website here.

Dale Franks offers a unique translation of the guide at Q and O.

Meanwhile, the Arizona Republic reports that Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ.) has written a letter of protest to the Mexican government urging a halt to its distribution of a new how-to comic book providing safety information for border crossers, calling it "state-sponsored illegal immigration."

"As an act of good faith, I call on your government to immediately cease the distribution of the Guide for the Mexican Migrant, which is only the latest flagrant example of the Mexican government's lack of respect for U.S. laws," Republican Hayworth wrote Tuesday to Mexican Ambassador Carlos de Icaza..."Mexico's state sponsorship of illegal immigration is nothing less than an act of deliberate hostility against the United States - an attack on our sovereignty - and it must cease before it does permanent damage to our relationship."

"The Mexican government has expressed support for an accountable guest-worker program," Hayworth adds. "However, such a program is simply not possible as long as the illegal invasion of America's borders continues with the active encouragement of the Mexican government."


Update: Laurence Simon has his own illegal alien assistance send-up here.
http://www.michellemalkin.com/

[bayourod]

"Remittances - the money Mexicans in the U.S. send back to their relatives in mexico - are now at about $18 Billion dollars a year, "

That great man of principle, Tom Tancredo was proposing a 5% tax on remittances until someone told him that 95% of the remittances are through Western Union, which they informed him was headquartered in his district and was the largest employer in his district. Crawfish city.

[VU4G10]

(The states and cities with large immigrant labor pools are the prosperous ones.) Like California?

[hosepipe]

[ Uh, no we don't. It's gonna take a revolution to get this issue and the income tax issue resolved. I'm convinced. ]

I agree...
Thr barrels rotted almost to the bottom.. The few apples not rotted are very slimey from the rot.. and just legitimize the barrel.. Americans don't want to get their hands slimey from turning over the barrel.. Democrats are fully rotten, I'm talking republicans.. Cowards probably..

[FITZ]

I've heard it's over 400 --- there have been quite a few more murders in the past few weeks --- but there are far more young men and boys murdered and missing in the same town --- something like over 1000 in the same time period --- that doesn't make the news much. Vicente Fox has shown no interest in this --- until just very recently --- the elections are coming up of course --- and he will want his cronies to win.

[bayourod]

The private sector in Califprnia is booming, the only problem is the liberal government, and that can't be blamed on illegals.

[nonliberal]

We should make a bunch of booklets about getting into Mexico and airlift them to the Guatemalans.

[PFC]

Is that Charo?

[investigateworld]

Do you know there's such a labor shortage in Mexico, they have to bring in Guatemalans to do the jobs Mexicans won't do?

[nonliberal]

They also have troops on their southern border to keep the Guatemalans from crossing illegally.

[investigateworld]

All nations have the right to protect themselves (unless it's the USA)
I just like to throw out the Guatemalan factoid to tick-off the OBL.

[libs_kma]

I'm not positive or anything, but that lady in the purple dress might be wearing a thong.

[dennisw]

The Mexi-pests went too far on this one. Their ham handed arrogance is awakening a sleeping giant. Hillary Clinton is a leading indicator that something is astir.

[potlatch]

You are really good at posting things Happy! I'd like to get ahold of one of those books but we aren't planning to go down there right now.

[taxed2death]

or....a batter question:
How can anyone in this administration stand in front of a TV camera and speak with a straight face about "homeland security"?