As much as I would like to round up all of the 10M or so illegal immigrants in this country and send them back to their country of origin. Some realpolitik is in order.
Immigrants in Mexico send some $30B US back home every year. This is Mexico’s second greatest source of cash(foreign exchange). Link: http://scyllacharybdis.blogspot.com/2005/05/even-banco-mexico-counts-20-billion.html
We must realize that an election is coming soon in Mexico and with Mexico’s inefficient economy unable to provide enough good jobs for it’s own people there is ample scope for a leftest populist such as Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, this guy is a leftest in the same strain as Hugo Chavez.
If the US was to abruptly shut off the flow of dollars going south this would impact President Fox’s reelection chances and possibly cause him to loose the election.
The idea of a leftest such as Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador with close ties to Chevezz and Castro would not be allowed to pass, but the methods to stop such an outcome are much more costly to the US than the toleration of 10 - 20M illegal mexicans.
Info on Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador:
Link: http://www.publiuspundit.com/index.php?cat=78
http://www.answers.com/topic/andr-s-manuel-l-pez-obrador
http://www.mexidata.info/id196.html
From a long departed freeper, Fitz, I learned rudimentary facts about politics in Mexico:
Fox is limited to one term;
all Mexico politicians are leftest.
Obrador has a history of helping the people, stood up to Fox & was thrown in jail for building a road to a hospital. Mexico has more billionaires than Saudi Arabia, riches gained by stealing the country blind, picking our pockets, running drugs & forcing their farmers north. It is past time they invest in building their own country.
Quoting one of your links, "The comparison with (Obrado to)Chávez is based on the perceived disregard of both for law and institutions coupled with an insistence on the authority of the 'People' over established institutions". Jeez, wouldn't just about anything be better than the status quo when millions flee every year?
Obrador will win in 2005 if he isn't killed.