Immigration Equity in a Nutshell: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Emigration to Mexico

There's an AP story out today that appeared in the Des Moines Register that makes some interesting comparisons between the emigration policy of the U.S. (or the lack thereof) and that of Mexico, which is well developed. In view of the hue and cry over extralegal immigration to the states, it should be of interest to fair minded and right thinking folks everywhere. It's most interesting because the politicos in Mexico are fond of beating up on Uncle Sugar for being a xenophobe or worse, a racist. Let's do the math.

In particular:

In the US, only two political positions, the President and the Vice President, are reserved for native born Americans. In Mexico, the foreign born cannot hold a seat in congress, state legislatures, sit on the supreme court, or become a governor like Arnold Schwarzenegger. A non native cannot join the military or the merchant marine in Mexico. Numerous state and city ordinances ban non native Mexicans from holding jobs like police and firefighters, and these are descended from model ordinances ever so thoughtfully passed around by the party apparatchiks in the Big City who of course, would never discriminate against anyone, would they?

Foreign born citizens make up 0.5 per cent of Mexico's population, compared to about 13 per cent in the much maligned and vilified Gringo Republic to the North. Mexico naturalizes about 3,000 people a year, which is about one day's production of illegals in Yuma. The U.S., by comparison, naturalizes about half a million legals every year.

And yet.....and yet....Uncle Sugar is the bad guy here?