Jorge Castaneda Blames U.S. for Migrant Massacre

CIS ^ | September 3, 2010 | Jerry Krammer

[La Lydia]

"Immigration Reform or More Massacres." That's the provocative headline of today's column in the Mexican daily Reforma by Jorge Castaneda, who as Mexico's foreign secretary from 2000 to 2003 pushed the Bush administration to pass "comprehensive immigration reform" legislation. He is now Global Distinguished Professor of Politics and Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University.

Castaneda believes that unless the U.S. accepts the inevitability of large-scale migration of low-wage workers, it will be at fault for more slaughter like last week's horrific massacre of 72 illegal immigrants in the border state of Tamaulipas.

Castaneda's thesis is that the absence of legislation to provide not only sweeping legalization for illegal immigrants but also a steady source of low-wage workers for American employers led inevitably to the slaughter.

There is general agreement that the drug gang responsible for mowing down the migrants is one of many criminal organizations attracted to smuggling by the rising costs of the trade. There is also agreement that costs have risen because professional guides are increasingly necessary as the difficulty of making the journey has increased.

Castaneda does not directly credit the buildup of the Border Patrol. Ultimately, he believes, enforcement at the border is futile given the cheap-labor hunger of U.S. employers and the determination of desperate migrants. But he does acknowledge that in recent years "it has become much more difficult to enter the United States without papers..As the risk increases, the cost rises and the business becomes more juicy."

Castaneda likens the phenomenon to the rising profitability of smuggling illegal drugs, claiming that it breeds not only competition among criminal gangs but also corruption amongst officials on both sides of the border. "One way or another, the explication of the massacre...surely lies in this process," he writes. Then he assigns blame:

"Many are at fault. The sending countries incapable of providing work to their people. The Mexican authorities who have neglected the southern border and internal immigration for decades. But most of all the United States, which by refusing to adapt its laws to reality just changes that reality for the worse into horror."

[La Lydia]

"Legalize the 10 percent of our population that is in the US illegally or we will kill ourselves." What unmitigated gall.

[Redleg Duke]

Spanish should only be allowed in Hell!

[AuntB]

Wow. Takes a lot of nerve to offer up 10% of Mexico’s population for death as a threat!

Nothing will be enough from these invaders. Nothing.

Another radical professor using up tax dollars of the real victims. US!

[Michael.SF.]

This guy sounds like a candidate for a position in the Obama administration

[Darth Dan]

George Castanza??? Festivus for the rest of us!!

[DustyMoment]

Castaneda believes that unless the U.S. accepts the inevitability of large-scale migration of low-wage workers, it will be at fault for more slaughter like last week's horrific massacre of 72 illegal immigrants in the border state of Tamaulipas.

EXACTLY!!! It ISN'T the failure of decades of Mexican "leaders" more focused on ripping the country off than governing; it ISN'T the failure of Vicente Fox to aggressively fight the increasing drug violence in Mexico and it CERTAINLY isn't the failure of Calderon to aggressively fight the drug and gang violence in Mexico, it's AMERICA'S fault!!!

Why didn't he just keep it simple and say "Bush's fault"????

God, I am sick of these third world whiners who hate America but complain that we aren't doing for THEM!!! In case these fools haven't noticed, we have bent over backwards to accommodate their invading hordes at the expense of natural born American citizens.

FYI, Jorge, Mexico is NOT going to become the 51st state so they can become the number 1 leech sucking the US dry!!! We don't wancha!!!

[rrrod]

Good for you. This BS about Latino studies is a total farcetoo. Most Latins from SA look down on the sleezy scumbag mexicans as trashy and savages.
mexico has NEVER beena functioning country and owes its very existance to the US.
mexican elites have tried for yrs...successfully to a point...trying to portray themselves as civilized...but the vast majority are the ones that openly condon the massacres.

Everytime something like this I hear comments from here about them...folks are sad for the situation but KNOW what mexicans are all about.

[Charlespg]

my dad once told me that 80 to 90 % of mexico's wealth is owned by the top ten percent of the population.

how much money does the mexican government spend on building up a middle class or improving the lives of its people?

[Charlespg]

my dad once told me that 80 to 90 % of mexico's wealth is owned by the top ten percent of the population.

how much money does the mexican government spend on building up a middle class or improving the lives of its people?

[Liz]

Castaneda Blames U.S. for Migrant Massacre....

Oh please----these latino parasites see US taxpayers as a bottomless ATM. They make up these idiotic stories to suckup US tax dollars. They are saliviating over the prospect of lining their pockets with billions of OUR tax dollars---they will say and do ANYTHING to facilitate this extortion.

The facts are these: These people are apparently too stupid to realize the Mexican military is facilitating the drug avalanche over the border into the US. The corrupt Mexican federales are aiding and abetting the drug wars as a way to get their reconquista shock troops into the US.

Reconquista shock troops at Phoenix Capital protest, May 29, 2010.