FOR MANY Americans, the defining image of the last few weeks' immigration debate has been an infuriating one. We have seen demonstrators protest so that illegal immigrants can stay in America, but wave the flag of Mexico, the country they do not want to return to. The only conclusion one can draw is that illegal immigrants want the higher wages and better life they have found in America, but they still feel more loyal to their old homeland. So far, nearly all of the debate on illegal immigration has been about America's response, but perhaps the image of those Mexican flags will spur discussion about the other side of the border. The root causes of illegal immigration can never be resolved unless reform comes about in Mexico.
On paper, Mexico ought to be a wealthy country. With its long coastline, warm climate and beach resorts, it already attracts considerable amounts of tourism. It has significant natural resources, including oil, and fertile land for agriculture. However, economic prosperity has not resulted for most in Mexico, where an estimated 40 percent live in poverty. Instead, illegal immigrants continue to pour into the United States to flee the socioeconomic and political problems of their homeland, problems such as economic corruption, racism against native Indian populations and government control over the economy.
The first step that the United States can take to help solve these problems is to seal off the southern border. Our current immigration situation discourages reform in Mexico, for many disaffected citizens simply cross the border to the states. Unsurprisingly, the Mexican government has been strongly opposed to any tightening of border controls. In December, Mexico's foreign secretary, Luis Ernesto Derbez, promised that the Mexican government would do "whatever is needed" to prevent a border wall from being constructed. Mexico's ruling class has been able to hold on to power and avoid pressure for reform by simply having the most dissatisfied leave. If that avenue is removed, the government will be forced to truly deal with the problems of lower-class Mexicans.
Securing the border will have additional long-term positive effects for Mexico. For instance, it will help to reduce the gang violence plaguing Mexican border towns such as Nuevo Laredo, where over 60 violent deaths have occurred in the first three months of 2006 alone, according to an Associated Press report. In Mexican border regions, gangs fight over the multibillion-dollar, cross-border drug trade. As well as selling the drugs into American markets, the Miami Herald found that these gangs are also increasingly smuggling guns into Mexico from Texas, because the state has less stringent gun control laws. Sealing the border would break the power of the drug gangs and restore peace along the border, in Mexico as well as the United States.
When the southern border has been secured, the United States can then concentrate on improving economic conditions in Mexico. There is a danger that Mexicans frustrated by economic problems willembrace socialism, as has recently occurred in other Latin American countries. This is a very real possibility, as the leading candidate for Mexico's presidential election in July is leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. While not as radical as Hugo Chavez in Venezuela or Evo Morales in Bolivia, Lopez Obrador is running a populist campaign and is criticizing free trade. To prevent short-sighted policies like these from doing further damage to the Mexican economy, then, the United States needs to ensure that economic reforms move towards an open, free market.
Last Friday at the World Economic Forum in Sao Paulo, Brazil, several Latin American experts discussed proposals to improve the region's economic growth. These ideas included such basic changes as tax simplification and greater stability in central bank systems. To encourage the Mexican government to adopt these reforms, the United States could offer economic aid on a conditional basis. If the Mexican government will agree to pursue economic liberalization, the United States should help fund development projects.
So far, little of the immigration debate has been focused on Mexico. Any changes in our immigration policy, however, will have important effects south of the border as well. If the United States intends to take control of its border, then we have a duty to help the Mexican poor whose lives will, at least temporarily, be harmed. In the long run, putting a halt to illegal immigration will lead Mexico to make the necessary reforms for a vibrant,economy.
Stephen Parsley's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at sparsley@cavalierdaily.com.
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