Memo From Middle America | Mexican Foreign Ministry Meddling In Amnesty Debate—Where Is U.S. Government (And GOP)?
02/10/2013
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Over ten years ago, when I was teaching in Mexico (see The Education of a Gringo in Mexico), a sixth-grade student in my English class told me there was going to be an amnesty. Now where had he gotten that idea?

Well, it’s a topic Mexicans hear a lot about. Millions of Mexicans have relatives in the United States, and the Mexican media harps upon it constantly.

The latest amnesty drive coincides with a new Mexican president: Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office on December 1st, 2012. (See my recent VDARE.COM article on Presidente Pena Nieto here).

Not that it makes a great deal of difference—all recent Mexican presidents, regardless of party, have supported amnesty for Mexican illegals in the U.S.

Pena Nieto now has his team in place, including Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade Kuribrena. And the new ambassador to the United States, who presented his credentials on January 15th, is Eduardo Tomas Medina Mora Icaza. (Medina Mora was formerly Mexico’s ambassador to the UK during the farcical Top Gear imbroglio).

While still in Mexico, at a January 10th press conference, Medina-Mora cited “the presence of Mexicans in the United States of America, as much those of Mexican origin [i.e. U.S.-born] as those who were born in Mexico and reside there” and the 2010 U.S. Census—how many Hispanics are in the U.S., what percentage are of Mexican origin, the importance of the Hispanic vote etc. [Transcript, in Spanish |Google Translate]

A Mexican diplomat studying the U.S. census? Of course.  After all, the Mexican foreign ministry was a “partner” with the U.S. Census Bureau in carrying out the 2010 U.S. Census. See 2010 Census Already Politically Correct—But Mexico Is Meddling Anyway.

At the same press conference, Medina-Mora was asked:

What role do you think that you will play in Washington over that debate [amnesty] and what is the Mexican government going to say to President Obama and the [U.S.] Congress over the possibility of reforms to the migratory policy in the United States?
Medina-Mora replied:
That is a subject of the agenda and of the internal policy of the United States, and not a subject of the bilateral [Mexican and American] agenda…
Wow! That sounds like Medina-Mora respects our sovereignty and says he’s not going to meddle!

Yes—until you read the rest of the sentence:

…..we [Mexicans] nevertheless, have a very great interest, an inescapable responsibility to defend the interests of our fellow Mexicans and for asserting an argument that increases the opportunities for them.
In others words, yes, Mexico is meddling. And with its powerful diplomatic network in the U.S. (an embassy and 51 consulates) there’s a lot it can do.

Here’s one example: on the very same day as Obama’s amnesty speech in Las Vegas, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry (SRE, from its Spanish name Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores) released Declaración del Gobierno de México sobre el debate de una reforma migratoria en Estados Unidos , (SER Communique #016 January 29th, 2013).

Just think about that a moment. The Mexican government thinks it has the right to release an official document commenting on the internal U.S. debate on amnesty. Of course, most of the illegals who may be amnestied are Mexicans.

The Mexican foreign ministry helpfully provided a version of the document in English (something it doesn’t usually do, although the U.S.  government does it all the time): “Statement from the Government of Mexico on the Debate on Immigration Reform in the United States”.

Here’s the text, interspersed with my comments:

The Government of Mexico welcomes the principles for a comprehensive reform of the immigration system of the United States that have been laid out both by President Barack Obama and a bipartisan group of US Senators. It also acknowledges the valuable input that has been provided in recent weeks by numerous economic groups and civil society organizations.
The Mexican government knows that Obama and “a bipartisan group of US Senators” are promoting amnesty and that “numerous” pressure groups are involved in the onslaught. From its point of view, things are looking good.

The Statement goes on:

The Government of Mexico recognizes the commitment shown by an increasing number of US actors to ensure that the legal frameworks in North America reflect the region’s demographic realities, the existing complementarities between our economies, the need for a prosperous, competitive, secure and efficient border, and the family links and shared values between our societies. The priority of protecting the rights of every individual, regardless of his or her immigration status, has rightly been included at the core of this debate.
Note the objective: “that the legal frameworks in North America reflect the region’s demographic realities”. In other words, if millions of Mexicans move to the U.S., then our legal system must be altered.

Later in the same sentence: “family links”—millions of Mexicans have relatives in the United States. The Mexican government and media see this diaspora as a tool of influence in the U.S. They’ve been working on this for years.

Note the last sentence: “the rights of every individual, regardless of his or her immigration status”.

Illegal aliens have rights! (Except in Mexico itself, of course).

The Statement’s last paragraph makes what appears to be an acknowledgment of U.S. sovereignty, but look what follows:

“Immigration policy is a federal domestic issue in the United States. Nevertheless, it has an effect on the lives of millions of individuals living within that and other countries. The Government of Mexico will continue to respectfully promote an informed discussion of the many dimensions of this subject, and to protect the rights of its citizens abroad.”
My emphasis. So the U.S. government does have say over U.S. immigration policy—notice that the Statement says “federal domestic issue,” a way of tweaking the nose of Arizona and other states attempting to defend U.S. sovereignty. Of course, what Arizona is doing is upholding federal law, which the federal government refuses to do.

But after this brief nod to U.S. law, the Statement continues with its “nevertheless” statement about “millions of individuals,” with the last sentence declaring that the Mexican government

will continue to respectfully promote an informed discussion…and to protect the rights of its citizens abroad.
In recent years, the Mexican government has been openly meddling in U.S. immigration policy on behalf of illegal aliens and even asserting sovereignty over U.S.-born Mexican-Americans. And it intends to continue.

In reality, the government of Mexico has no legitimate authority whatsoever over U.S. immigration and naturalization policies. If it really thought its citizens were being mistreated north of the border, it ought to tell them all to return to Mexico.

Another SRE report, dated January 25th, provides a flagrant example of this meddling. Title:  Undersecretary For North America Meets With Hispanic And Civil Rights Organizations In Alabama And Georgia, USA [Se reúne el Subsecretario para América del Norte con organizaciones hispanas y de derechos civiles de Alabama y Georgia, Estados Unidos Communique 014]

It’s about a working visit to Atlanta, Georgia by Sergio Alcocer Martinez de Castro, the SRE’s Undersecretary for North America. He met with “representatives of Hispanic and civil rights NGOs” [non-governmental organizations].

And just what were these NGOs? Why, none other than the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR), the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (HICA), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Georgia, and—the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC—$PLC to VDARE.com)!

At the meeting, they all discussed “the political environment of the migratory subject, both at the national level in the United States and in the states of Alabama and Georgia.” You see, worries the report, legislation has been passed in both Georgia and Alabama “whose application could have contrary effects to the rights and interests of Mexican residents and visitors.”

In other words, the laws could cramp the style of illegal aliens in those states.

The groups agreed “on the need to strengthen efforts to promote a culture of inclusion and respect to migrants.”

(By the way, if you ever wonder why we refer to these people as the Treason Lobby, please note that here they are actually intriguing with the representative of a foreign government.)

The SRE official specifically committed the Mexican government to

keep strengthening consular services and labors of assistance that it offers to Mexicans abroad, regardless of their migratory status.
My emphasis. In other words, the SRE officially doesn’t care if Mexicans break American law.

So the mighty Mexican Foreign Service is hard at work subverting U.S. law and sovereignty.

It can be expected to do its part in the war against the historical American nation.

But who in our government—or in the GOP—is standing up to this brazen meddling?

American citizen Allan Wall (email him) moved back to the U.S.A. after many years residing in Mexico. Allan's wife is Mexican, and their two sons are bilingual. In 2005, Allan served a tour of duty in Iraq with the Texas Army National Guard. His VDARE.COM articles are archived here; his Mexidata.info articles are archived here; his News With Views columns are archived here; and his website is here.

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