Undocumented Migrants are Criminals in Mexico

By Enrique Andrade González

Mexico is a nation that generates emigrants, with one out of every seven workers leaving the country. Furthermore, it receives immigrants from abroad, mainly from Central and South America. Yet up to now Mexico’s national migration policy and practices have failed to respond to complaints that we must insure proper treatment of Mexicans living abroad, and respect for their human rights in the United States regardless of their legal status.

In Mexico however, according to the General Population Law, a migrant who does not have proper documents legalizing his or her presence in the country is considered a criminal. Still, the law is not generally applied in such harsh terms although the legal requisites exist, and with them the possibility of penalizing what is legally a crime.

Mexico’s migration policy responds more to repressive police questions, rather than to an understanding of the phenomenon and respect for the human rights of foreign migrants.

Even the United Nations, through its Committee on Migrant Workers that oversees rights of all migrant workers and their families, has stated that there are legal violations in the detentions, holding procedures, detention facility conditions, processing of migrants, and in the expulsion of foreigners.

Mexico does not "practice what it preaches". If the USA treated illegal Mexican in the same manner that the Mexican government treats Central and South Americans who enter Mexico illegally, the press would have a field day, the UN would be up in arms and the Mexican government itself would be screaming about the injustice. But we hear hardly a word about these violations of human rights in Mexico. -mm