Help Mexico Fix Its Problems -- Instead of Sending Them North

If there’s one positive consequence of President Bush’s guest worker proposal, it’s that it has sparked debate on our failed policies on illegal immigration.

Now, if only it would spark a discussion of our troubled relationship with Mexico. It’s clear our southern neighbor will be the greatest beneficiary of what can only be called another amnesty program. An estimated 70% of illegal immigrants in the U.S. come from Mexico. They provide an economic boon to Mexico by easing its unemployment rate and providing cash for the Mexican economy through remittances.

Last year, Mexico received more than $14 billion from Mexicans living in the U.S. who sent part of their paychecks to relatives back home. That’s more than Mexico earns from either tourism or direct foreign investment, according to the Inter-American Development Bank.

But while Mexico is profiting from its relationship with the U.S., it’s not so clear what we’re getting from Mexico. When Mexicans take our jobs, U.S. workers suffer. More than 8 million Americans are out of work. Hotel and restaurant jobs -- which used to be filled by legal U.S. residents and citizens -- are now filled by illegal immigrants who are paid much less than what U.S. workers were paid.

Slaughterhouses -- which used to be a high-paying field for U.S. workers -- are now filled with illegal immigrants who are paid a fraction of the former wages and given no benefits. It’s dangerous work, with many injuries. Without health insurance -- a given in the illegal immigrant community -- hospitals are stuck footing the bill. In 2001, California and the federal government reimbursed health-care providers for $648 million worth of services to illegal immigrants.

Mexican trucks roll into California and other border states. Currently, they are restricted to within 20 miles of the border, but Mexican President Vicente Fox and President Bush want to remove that restriction. That’s good news for Mexican truckers but bad news for U.S. truckers who have to compete with those willing to work for a pittance. Mexico’s lust for U.S. dollars can be seen in its lobbying of local and state governments to accept its national ID card -- the matricula consular -- for use in the U.S. The only ones who need those cards are illegal immigrants, criminals and terrorists. Those Mexicans who are in this country legally have other means of identification. But the card makes it easier for Mexican nationals to flout our laws and send money back to Mexico, which is all Mexico cares about.

At the same time, Mexico has steadfastly refused to extradite criminals who have committed heinous murders in the U.S. and then fled to the safety of their homeland. In L.A. alone, at least 150 Mexican nationals are wanted for murder and other serious crimes committed here.

There is even talk of making the U.S. an electoral district of Mexico. Maywood resident Manuel de la Cruz is a naturalized U.S. citizen who retained his Mexican citizenship and who won a seat in Mexico’s Congress last year. He says that 10 million Mexicans in the U.S. are eligible to vote in Mexico and, therefore, the U.S. should be an electoral district for his native country.

Instead of giving away the store, the U.S. should be helping Mexico to pull itself up by its bootstraps.

Mexico is our neighbor, and it is in our best interest to see that it succeeds. But U.S. workers and taxpayers shouldn’t have to suffer in the process. The U.S. should make it clear that our relationship is a two-way street. It’s time for some tough love. Until Mexico proves itself to be a good neighbor and willing to make a better life for its own citizens in their own land, the U.S. should not continue to be the department of social services for Mexico.

Congressman Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) is chair of the House Subcommittee on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights.