No kidding. Things were "well along" even back in '97-'98. (The border was supposed to have been secured for 11 years back then, donchaknow.) Probably never had a need to learn English.
And I guess that drunk driving is legal there, too?
Just how stupid do they think the reader of this article is?
If this pendejo has been in the country for 17 years and isn't fluent in English, then he is either:
Retarded.
Or lying.