Mexican president calls Arizona law 'discrimination'

[sabra]

Source: AFP

MEXICO CITY - Mexico's president denounced Monday as "racial discrimination" a law enacted in Arizona that allows police to question and detain anyone in the U.S. border state they believe may be an illegal entrant.

President Felipe Calderon said his government would seek to challenge the law, which has also stirred rumblings north of the border at a time when the federal government in the United States is debating immigration reform.

Calderon said Mexico would "use all means at its disposal" to defend its nationals against what he called a "violation of human rights" and "unacceptable racial discrimination."

He said he had instructed his foreign ministry and Mexico's consulates in the United States to work with legal experts "to defend the rights of Mexicans" in the face of the new law.

Read more: http://www.canada.com/Mexican+president+calls+Arizona+discrimination/2952840/story.html

[emilyg]

1. How does he feel

about illegal Americans in Mexico?

[Xipe Totec]

5. Here, educate yourself

Passport holders from countries on Mexico's "no visa required list" do not need to apply for a formal visa to visit Mexico. They may, instead, use a visitor's permit known as a FMT.

The United States is on the list. All you have to do to visit is ask.

http://www.mexperience.com/guide/essentials/entry_req.htm

You can enter Mexico up to 22 kilometers inland without even a visitor's permit.


You would be hard pressed to figure out a way to enter Mexico illegally, and stupid if you did.

[Old Troop]

59. It really sucks though if you're from Central America

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

2. Mexican immigration laws are pretty stiff... no? (n/t)

[slackmaster]

3. Mexican federal police certainly do their share of racial profiling

The President of Mexico is a big fat hypocrite.

[Flaneur]

7. ???????

Who are Mexican federal police profiling?

[slackmaster]

8. Visitors from the USA

Most of whom are white.

Try driving there some time.

[Tempest]

11. I'm calling B.S.

I'm white and travel to Mexico extensively for business and pleasure.

I've never experienced, witnessed or heard of whites being targeted by the police.


Do you have any credible cites to prove your belief?

[slackmaster]

13. Since you have already decided that nothing I am going to say is "credible"

There is no real point in continuing this discussion.

Every time I'm down there I get stopped and questioned frequently, even if I am driving a car with Mexican plates.

Have a fine day.

[Tempest]

15. I knew you were full of crap

I guess my asking for a credible cite proving your contention was just too much for you.

[zonkers]

22. That's what happens to my friends. Hassled by cops. Pulled over for no reason. Forced to pay a

fine.

[SnakeEyes]

29. I and many others have visited Mexico City multiple times

And have experienced, witnessed, and heard many similar incidents while visiting the city for US vs Mexico soccer games. A couple locals that we know say the cops love when US vs Mexico comes to town so that they can shake us down and it doesn't just happen at this time either.

[Flaneur]

36. That happens to me on American highways.

[Lagomorph]

54. Maybe it's the...

"Remember the Alamo" bumper sticker.

j/k

[European Historian]

39. Nothing I can point you to online

but when my son and his girlfriend visited Mexico last year they were hit up three times by cops looking for money. The first time it happened it took my son a while to figure out they wanted money (and didn't want to tow the rental car, which is part of the hustle). By the second and third time my son and his girlfriend had their "escape" down pat, due to her acting skills (drama major in college) and ability to weep on cue.

The scam ran something like this: You made an illegal u-turn, were speeding, whatever. You need to go to court to pay the fine, we'll need to tow the car, unless you just want to pay the fine right here and now?

I have no idea how widespread this practice is, but it does happen. Happened to my kid three times in about four days.

[AlphaCentauri]

53. Also some immigrants are disrupting the peace in Mexico

The dispute among rival factions of Chula Vista homeowners took a dramatic twist late this week with the detention of two residents who served on the Asociacion de Colonos board under president Gary Bradley. John McLeroth and Stuart Browne were picked up at their places of residence between 2 and 3 p.m. Thursday, April 22 by plain clothes detectives assigned to the local branch of Jalisco’s Policia Investigadora (PI). At press time, an officer at the PI office confirmed that the two men were being held at Ceinjure prison located on the outskirts of Chapala.

McLeroth and Browne were detained under an arrest warrant issued by Efrain Lopez Ramirez, judge of the local criminal court. Bradley and six other individuals who served on his board were also named in the warrant.

The order stems from a criminal complaint filed by Janet Peace, Stan Rawson and Werner Zuercher on behalf of the Asociacion de Colonos and a finding of probable cause determined by the Chapala’s Ministerio Publico public prosecutor’s office.

http://guadalajarareporter.com/news-mainmenu-82/lake-chapala-mainmenu-84/26693-chula-vista-dispute-escalates-with-arrests.html

[RBay]

58. But who is Janet Peace?

I would appreciate more information about Janet Peace.  Why
does the Dean Park homeowner association back in Canada deny
her claims that she has ever paid dues or been on the board? 
What is Janet's response to that?  Does she have any evidence
supporting her claims of experience with Dean Park Estates? 
What small manufacturing businesses did she own and run?  What
did they manufacture and where were they located?  Under what
title of practice did she work as a corporate mediator and
management consultant?  Are there any clients that would vouch
for her work? People who inflate or lie about their experience
could be dangerous to our community here in Mexico. 

[jobycom]

19. I've never seen that.

I've driven in Mexico and have lots of friends who have. Never heard of whites being harrassed by the police, other than in cases where whites were creating problems.

[Flaneur]

34. I've driven thousands of miles in Mexico. Never been hassled.

Although I have heard some unverified tales...

[galileoreloaded]

23. Guatemalans, Hondurans, etc........they have more than one border you know....n/t

[Xithras]

33. Indeed. I was about to bring that up.

Human Rights Watch and other groups have repeatedly criticized Mexico for its policies toward immigrants from other Central and South American countries who are caught entering the country illegally. Mexico patrols its southern border with its army, and stories are common of violent beatings, rapes, and occasionally even murders at the hands of Mexican soldiers. Detainment and forced deportation without trial are standard, legally recognized, operating procedure. The Mexican army works in a state of de facto legal impunity, where crimes are not prosecuted so long as the soldiers can demonstrate that their actions were in some way related to defending the country or enforcing its laws.

We're not talking occasional instances here either. There are over 1000 reported human rights abuses of unarmed citizens at the hands of the Mexican military every year. Everyone from HRW to the UN has called out Mexico for their behavior, and the government there has pretty much ignored them.

It's a bit hypocritical for the Mexican government to get involved here.

[Tempest]

9. Can you give us some examples of it?

I've traveled to Mexico extensively and have never witnessed or heard of any profiling occurring.

[slackmaster]

10. Have you ever been stopped and questioned by police in Mexico?

Why do you think they stopped you?

[Tempest]

12. Never

Nor has anyone I've been with or anyone I've talked with.

[slackmaster]

14. ROFL!

:rofl:

[Tempest]

17. Back at you

I'm sure everyone I share your "story" with will get a big laugh out of it too.

[jobycom]

20. Yeah, the rofl fail.

When you got nothing, pretend to be amused.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

32. That doesn't make sense.

Most people in Mexico who have any power are white people,not mestizos or indians. I used to live there and I can tell you with 100% certainty that poor, dark Mexicans get it much worse from the police than wealthy white Mexicans or Americans.

[xsquid]

62. Both actually, we have a house in the us and a small one

close to toluca where the wife is from. "Morditas" are common in mexico but mexicams are also hit:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/5707952.html

Americans ARE targeted for morditas, dark skinned people are targeted for harrasment and this even extenda into the schools. My wife and stepdaughter have both talked about how dark skinned people are treated even in school. hey are both dark skinned, I am lighter skinned.

The cops will not do anything withjout being bribed, but if it's enough they will go rough up the person when they arrest him. Before we got married the wife's ex broke her nose but she did not have enough money to pay the cops to arrest him. Have to go to court? Better have money to bribe the judge.

I won't post links for how people on the southern border are treated, it's easy to google for abuse on mexico's southern border. OK, heres one.:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100429/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_migrants_1

People are beaten, raped, etc. I know a woman from guatamala that was kidnapped by a mexican officer and he kept her for three years, her youngest daughter is his. She finally got away after 3 years.

Up north here the coyotes treat the people (especially women) extremely bad. Women are told by the women recruiters, yes they have recruiters, to take birth control pills because a good number get raped. Even young ones.

I'm not agreeing with arizonas law it's extremely hypocritical for calderon to be commenting.

[defendandprotect]

4. Mexico needs to use its money to create jobs in Mexico and not finance US debt -- !!

Repugs/capitalists would find that inconvenient, I assume!!??

[MidwestRick]

6. Maybe

He could do more to get his people to stop wanting to leave their country.

-MR

[Rapier09]

16. He views those kind of people as a liability

Much as he viewed the kids killing each other for drug money as "criminals".Yes,they are criminals but if they'd grown up in an environment that didn't treat them as a disposable....

In the end once you start believing that your nation is served better with less of its underprivileged around.............you can kiss your country goodbye.

[Tempest]

18. It would help if U.S. companies stopped seeing Mexico as a sweat shop

Mexican presidents and leaders have been in U.S. company's back pockets for decades.

[MidwestRick]

27. It would also help

if US companies stopped hiring illegals.

-MR

[pipoman]

55. Mexican Presidents and leaders

have been in ANYONE'S back pockets who has back pockets forever...the problem in a nutshell.

US companies couldn't treat Mexico like a sweat shop if Mexican officials didn't allow it. You are suggesting the equivalent of blaming the wealthy for following tax code which is currently in place to minimize their taxes, instead of the .gov who wrote the tax code.

[cutlassmama]

41. Exactly.

[galileoreloaded]

21. What a bunch of hypocritical crap. Ask a Central American trying to get in to Mexicos south

this is getting stupid.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

24. Mexican president can go fuck himself

Discrimination or not, clean up Mexico first, then tell the Unites States how to run things. Seriously, he can just go fuck himself.

[razorman]

43. Agreed. Even this AZ law is mild compared to the way Mexico treats its immigrants.

[Fruittree]

25. I'm totally against the law in Arizona but

from what I've read, Mexico is not super-tolerant of Central Americans coming into Mexico so this is maybe just a touch hypocritical. The problem with this law is not that it targets people who are here illegally - it's that it also targets people who, in the eyes of the police, look like they might be here illegally. People who have committed absolutely no crime can be stopped and even jailed.

[iris27]

40. +1 n/t

[Zavulon]

63. +2.

Besides, who does Calderon think he's convincing here? Those against the law already are, but those on the fence aren't going to be swayed by the president of a country that has been exporting poverty to us for decades.

Seriously, I'm against the AZ law, too, and my first instinct upon reading this was "Fuck you, President Calderon. Fix your goddamn country and maybe so many people won't want to leave."

[tclambert]

26. Here in Michigan, we harass Canadian immigrants. They don't seem to mind. They're always so polite.

And they never swear at the police. That's how we know for sure they're Canadian.

[struggle4progress]

44. Michigan stands proud to prevent US from being overrun by hoards of polite people!

:patriot:


:rofl:

[tclambert]

52. The Detroit Red Wings are doing their share. They hire a lot from Sweden and Russia.

Wait, those are foreigners, too. Since Chelios left, I don't think they have any Americans left. Darn NAFTA!

[pipoman]

57. Do their heads quit splitting in half when they become US citizens?

[BlueStater]

28. This bastard should be cleaning up his own country...

...rather than encouraging his people to come here.

He needs to shut the fuck up and stay out of our politics. I know the Arizona law is a piece of shit. I don't need this clown to tell me that.

[SnakeEyes]

30. The real reason

The Mexican president couldn't care less about racial profiling in the US. What he really cares about is Mexicans continuing to be able to flee his country and then send money back so that he has to do less to fix his country's problems.

[NaturalHigh]

31. BFD. Who cares what the president of Mexico says?

I don't like the way the law is set up, either, but Mexico wants unlimited migration north to get rid of the poor it chooses to ignore. When the president of Mexico takes steps to stop people from crossing the U.S. border, then we might listen to his opinions.

[Flaneur]

37. Really? You want a country to stop its citizens from being able to leave?

We mostly don't approve of that. We call such countries dictatorships and the like.

[NaturalHigh]

42. Very bad example.

There are legal avenues for people who want to migrate, just as there are legal avenues for people to leave the United States.

[Flaneur]

45. I don't ask the US government for permission when I leave the country.

[Flaneur]

35. Gotta love the Ugly Americanism that breaks out on threads like this.

"Mexico should STFU."

"Calderon can go fuck himself."

You folks do realize that we share a 1700 mile border with Mexico, that the two countries are closely intertwined and so are many of our problems?

[Posteritatis]

48. How dare they criticise the US! They're foreigners, not humans!

I've seen (and gotten) my share of it around here for rather more innocuous stuff than this, so I can't say I'm surprised it breaks out when someone throws the main rhetorical grenade in US politics these days into the room.

[classysassy]

60. Oh ,that good to know

all americans are humans.Does that include Brewer,sheriff Joe and their supporters?Crawl back into your hole.

[Posteritatis]

61. And the winner for Most Inane Misinterpretation Of A Post goes to you. (nt)

[TerribleLarryDingle]

38. A lot of freeper like talk in this thread.

Disheartening.

[CrunchMaster]

46. Calderon runs a corrupt Narco state with no jobs...

...people living in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Guess he forgets about all of the Mexican government sponsored corruption going on, on the borders. Juarez anyone??? And don't go to Tiajuana without your papers and a wad of cash to bribe Mexican police. It is in his best interest to export his poor people to the U.S. to keep down tensions at home. But he is right, the Arizona law is racial discrimination at its core. If they wanted to stop illegal immigration they should punish employers who hire illegals.

[proteus_lives]

47. Of course they're going to fight it.

Mexico loves immigration, legal and illegal. They send millions back to Mexico each month.

[Ter]

49. "President Felipe Calderon said his government would seek to challenge the law"

What's he gonna do?

[Romulox]

50. The guy who runs the country the people in question are fleeing from is offering advice?

My daddy told me to only take advice from those doing better than I. :shrug:

[mamaleah]

51. And just how does Mexico treat immigrants?

Last I heard, not real well.

Perhaps the President of Mexico would like to practice what he preaches instead of wanting to keep open an avenue to get rid of his poor.

[fascisthunter]

56. well sir, if ya took care of your people better, they wouldn't feel a need to leave Mexico

if so-called conservatives have their way here, Americans might be crossing your border to find work.

Funny thing, you'd get along with the republicans who want to do business in your country, a country that pays people shit... the economy sicks so bad under conservatives, yet american conservatives still are fucking clueless to the realization that they created this mess here and there!

[conservdem]

64. I think this article misstates the law.

The law does not allow "the police to question and detain anyone in the U.S. border state they believe may be an illegal entrant."

[Honeycombe8]

65. It's not really his business what our laws are, is it? I mean, it's not OUR business...

what Mexico's laws are regarding immigration.