Mexico's President calls Az's Law discrimatory?

United States
May 19, 2010 2:37pm CST
Well the president of Mexico is visiting and putting in his two cents about the illegal immigrants law in AZ. He is calling it discrimatory. Really....how is that? How is it discrimatory to hold people accountable for breaking the law? Is it going to be discrimatory to hold ANYONE accountable for breaking any laws now? They are breaking the law....so they need to be held accountable. They knew when they crossed the border what would happen if they were caught. They showed a disreguard for the laws of this country, then dare us to hold them accountable for it...so aren't they discriminating against the US people and our country? It is holding people accountable for not following the law. The rest of us have to follow the laws of this country...why shouldn't they? If we break the law we get punished...why shouldn't they? Can anyone please explain to me how Mexico...with some of the toughest immigration policies and punishments on record...can dare to tell us our laws are discrimatory or even tell us how we should run our country?
5 responses
@peavey (16936)
• United States
19 May 10
Sure, it's discriminatory, but I don't see a thing wrong with discriminating against criminals, which is what illegal aliens are. I just don't understand why people have this blind spot when it comes to the word "illegal" only when it's attached to "aliens."
1 person likes this
@peavey (16936)
• United States
24 May 10
"If they can break the law and get away with it, why can't the rest of us? " Good question! I would like to see someone give a good answer. :)
@peavey (16936)
• United States
11 Aug 10
Thanks for "best response." Good discussion! :)
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
23 May 10
Isn't that the truth? I mean, what part of "illegal" do they not understand? Illegal goes hand in hand with criminal...and in this country criminals go to jail (well, often they do!) They broke the law by the way they came into this country, so they are illegal criminals! If they can break the law and get away with it, why can't the rest of us?
@DummyBlog (379)
• Pakistan
19 May 10
Nobody crosses the border illegally for fun. They have reasons for it and those reasons are worth it. The laws must be flexible enough to compensate genuine cases on the basis of humanitarian brotherhood.
• United States
19 May 10
Other countries don't. And we do have "anmesty" or "asylum" citizenship processes. We have a process to come to this country legally and to become a citizen of this country. They need to follow it. No one complians that Mexico has really strict immigration laws, so does France and England. Most countries have and enforce their immigration laws....but of if we americans try to enforce our own laws..then we are horrible people. Personally I think we should just make it a felony to hire an illegal. Then enforce the heck out of the law. If the businesses are too scared of going to jail...they won't hire illegals...if the illegals can't find a job they will deport themselves...and more won't cross the border. They come here for jobs...but if htey can't get them...they won't come. Problem solved.
• Pakistan
19 May 10
why not to handle them with border patrol?? Shoot at sight?? No entry, no jobs, no nothing!
• United States
19 May 10
Good idea. Don't get me wrong....I am ALL for immigration....but only if people come here legally. It is not like we are not letting people in at all. We do let them in. But htey have to follow the correct process. Every country has an immigration process. If poeple want to come to this country....great...but do it legally. It is not too much to ask. Follow the laws of this country if you want to live here.
@bestboy19 (5478)
• United States
19 May 10
Maybe someone should ask President Calderon why he is discriminating against his own citizens by sending them, the ones he doesn't want to be bothered with, across our border and expecting the United States to give them the help he won't. He has done nothing to help his own people and yet he has the impudence to criticize us. And to top it off, he's condoning and encouraging the breaking of our immigration laws.
• United States
24 May 10
I agree with you. I would also say...why are all these illegals spending all their time protesting here? Why not use that time and energy to improve their own country and make it a better place to live. They belong there...not here. So go home and work on making your country into waht you want it ot be...stop trying to change ours to suit you.
@j00nior (182)
• Canada
20 May 10
Mexico used to stretch farther North than the location of the present border. Previous to a sale of the land by a Mexican President to the United States of America, Mexicans of Spanish and Native decent lived in the areas now known as New Mexico, Arizona, California and Texas. The original languages spoken there was Spanish, and the people that inhabit those lands still have Mexican heritage but a lot of them ARE legal and have been U.S. citizens for years. What is discriminatory about the law that Arizona passed is that the police have the authority to racial profile. This means if anyone is 'brown' or looks of Mexican heritage, they are allowed to stop them from whatever they are doing and demand to see papers and evidence that they are legal citizens. I think its bs. Look at this scenario. Your great grandparents were Mexican, and you were born in the U.S. and have lived there your entire life and you and your family are legal citizens and residents. You are on your way to an important meeting and a police officer stops you and demands to see proof of citizenship. While trying to explain that you left your passport in your vehicle a block away, you miss the meeting and are detained for hours until things are set straight. White people do not have to go through these 'checks'. This in-equality is called discrimination. Therefore, the President is justified in saying that the law is discriminatory. A country that prides itself on freedom and equality should have no such law.
@xfahctor (14118)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
20 May 10
j00nior...perhaps you could show me the particular text from the law that is discriminatory? I'm sure since you seem to be so knowledgeable on it you must have read it and can do this right? Well....ok...I'll spare you the embarrassment as with your post you have already embarrassed yourself enough. The law specificly FORBIDS racial discrimination. The law also does NOT allow for "random checks" (this would be a blatant 4th amendment violation) It allows for law enforcement to check the citizenship status of people who are already either under arrest, already stopped at a traffic stop another offense such as speeding. It does NOT and FORBIDS stopping simply because the officer thinks the driver or person is there illegally. I would suggest you take a few minutes and read the actual bill and the amendments put on it as well. I would also like to remind you that your country has some pretty strict immigration laws as well. I used to travel up there quite frequently. I was once detained for nearly 2 hours once and nearly denied entry because I could not produce a birth certificate (didn't know one was required as I was never asked for one before when crossing there) and I was self employed.
1 person likes this
@j00nior (182)
• Canada
20 May 10
Lets be serious here, the illegal Russian is not the issue at hand. It is the illegal Mexicans, like you said, that are in close proximity to the border. What is racist is that Arizona is a state with a lot of citizens of Mexican heritage. But the majority of the people living there ARE in fact, U.S. citizens and have been living there for years. Now all of a sudden a piece of legislature makes it okay for random checks of these people when they are going about their daily business. This is not the answer to stop people from illegally entering your country. Tighter border security is the answer, instead of having gaps with no fencing or walls along the border,then build one. Discriminating against people just because they 'look suspicious' is not the answer. That is what Hitler did, he made laws that made it okay for his Nazi's to stop suspicious looking Jews in the streets. Let's not let history repeat itself. The law is discriminatory, white people are not going to be the ones deemed as suspicious. Not sure where you get your information from, but this Russian you are talking about is not a victim of the Arizona law because it has not even been put into practice yet, sure it was signed but it is not active until later in the year. The law COULD, go into effect as early as 90 days AFTER it was signed on April 23rd.
• United States
20 May 10
You are so wrong white people do have to go through the checks. Ask the Illegal Russian guy crying because he has been here working under the table for years and he is being sent back to his own country because he is illegal! It is not only to stop "brown" people as you say from being here illegally they have the right to stop anyone one who is suspicious. It is true that in that part of the country the majority of illegals is Mexican because of the proximity to the Mexican boarder, so what it is what it is that is not racist it is geography.
• United States
20 May 10
Well it is because he thinks it only means Mexicans because he doesn't realize we have illegal people from all over the world breaking into our country! There are Russians, Chinese, Cubans Australians, Iraqis, a little bit of everything. The man just doesn't want to have to deal with the real issues of his own country and instead of making it a place people want to live he will blame us for wanting people to legally come into our Nation.
• United States
24 May 10
Very true...we have illegals here from all over the world. Not just Mexico. But you never hear about that.
• United States
25 May 10
Well you do it just isn't as blown out of proportion when it comes to jokes and what not. I would love to hear what that Mexican President would do if we adopted their own immigration laws.