I saw this car window reading "ILLEGAL CANADIAN, PULL ME OVER," while walking my dog, and I got to thinking about the huge difference in our relationships with Mexico and Canada when it comes to immigration.
According to the Jan Brewer right, Mexico exports its crime and poverty up north, as the undocumented take jobs from Americans and drain the treasury with their profligate use of social services. While this conveniently ignores, among other things, the fact that Arizona crime rates are very low, let's say we at least agree on the fact that Mexicans are economic migrants. They wouldn't bother coming to a foreign land if they could find decent paying jobs at home.
Canada is also battling high unemployment, yet there is virtually no problem with Canadian illegal immigration southward, even though one of the states alongside their long and porous border is underpopulated North Dakota -- the only state with a labor shortage. If the lack of jobs weren't enough, Canada has that supposedly awful national health care system-- socialism by any other name. So why aren't they streaming south to get what the Republicans keep insisting is the best medical care in the world, not to mention pursue the American dream without all that Big Government red tape? They would fit right in, after all, as long as they learned how to say "about" a little differently.
Let's take a closer look at Mexico. They have weak unions and extremely inefficient tax collection. They own lots of guns -- and use them -- along with a harsh penal system. Clearly they have enormous entrepreneurial spirit -- the drug cartels are as big as many American corporations, and the richest man in the world, Carlos Slim, is Mexican. They have oil and mineral wealth. There's not a lot of enforced regulation on business, and immense pools of cheap labor. Social mores are conservative. Sounds to me like Mexico is a perfect example of what a society run on Tea Party principles would look like. And yet a whole lot of Mexicans don't seem to consider it paradise at all.
It would appear that the citizens of a heavily-regulated, quasi-socialist, gun-free, highly secular country have little or no desire to come to live in the United States in any significant numbers; while the citizens of a fairly violent, mostly unregulated, extremely religious, and wealth-concentrated country keep coming in droves.
Clearly, the anti-immigrant forces in the United States need to start agitating for a Mexico that looks and acts a lot more like Canada. That would mean advocating strict gun control, higher taxes on the rich, strong unions, and even bilingualism (who can argue that Mexicans shouldn't learn English?)
They better start soon, before a new wave of immigration starts. To Canada that is, made up of Americans whose unemployment benefits have been cut off. Maybe Ottawa will grant asylum based on a well-grounded fear of persecution from the Republican Party.
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Actually, they're not, and if you compare rural vs. metropolitan areas, crime is way UP along the border, a rural area. Averages, which you're quoting, hid a lot.
As for Canada, yes, Mexico should try to be more like Canada, but it's not willing to. In fact, Mexico seems eager to send its citizens to Canada and is protesting Canada's stricter control over the admission of Mexicans to that country because so many have abused Canada's asylum process. Now, if only the U.S. would learn from Canada's example, and stop "enabling" Mexico to continue the policies that drive its citizens from their own country to this one illegally.
If one quarter the population of Spain migrated to Germany, there would be international concern and outrage for these refugees.
Yet the finger is never pointed at the Mexican Government.
They had an election Sunday and still no one knows who is in charge! Clearly, Mexico has become an anarchist state, without the wherewithal to care for its citizens. Everyone is losing! We need to take action and stabilize Mexico, with due process.
America for Americans; Canadians for Canadians, Mexico for Mexicans. It's time to fix our own problems in our collective backyards before interferring in someone elses.
Though to be honest, I've considered moving to Canada, but if I do so, I will do so legally and once I'm finished with my current degree, so I have something to actually offer to your nation.
Canada's immigration policy is pretty strict but it could be better. Many immigrants are coming here on work/citizenship programs which is how the Canadian government legalized slave labour in this country. You put in 20k for the citizen and work for half-price then you get your citizenship.
Both the US and Canada need an immigration moritorium for now. There's more than enough labour to go around for those who want it. We dont need any more immigrants right now.
The Corporations running all three nations, Canada, Mexico and the US, under the NATO, GAT and WTO treaties dont want immigration to fail because they NEED the cheap labour to make their products. Corporations are unwilling to pay high wages unless forced too. Once they have pillaged and raped a nation they move on. After China demands better working conditions then the corporations will move to Latin America, I guarantee it.
The other thing that should be eliminated are those immigration lawyers. They charge $500 a day (paid by Canada) to teach immigrants how to beat the system to enter Canada, get 2 passports, apply for welfare and then go back to the rathole they came from and live off the money they suck from Canada. Some also come to Canada a week or two before they give birth to get a Canadian citizenship for their child and free health care.
The shocker was when Israel attacked Lebanon in 2006. Thousands of Lebanese were waving their Canadian passports so Canada would get their asses out of their country. Three weeks after the war was over, they were all back in Lebanon. No more dual citizenships.
You can read more about my reasoning for putting this on the back of my car here: http://lostgrrrls.tumblr.com/post/729350702/illegal-canadian-pull-me-over-is-currently