Immigration Crackdown: Reform or More Masssacres

Here is a link to an English translation of a column by Jorge Castañeda, former Foreign Minister of Mexico and an author and columnist who writes, both in Mexican and U.S. publications, about political issues in Mexico. The column proposes a link between U.S. immigration law, the illegal drug trade resulting from U.S. prohibition and the massacre of the 72 undocumented migrants in Tamaulipas. It actually parallels the New York Times editorial recently posted on this blog.

Immigration Reform or More Massacres: Beginning with the closing of the border, starting in 2005, and ... with the defeat of comprehensive immigration reform in 2006 and 2007, and now with the passivity of Obama in this regard, it has become much more difficult to get into the United States without papers - not impossible, just more expensive.

With the increasing risk, the price goes up; the business becomes more lucrative. And with its transformation into a more attractive business, it attracts more and more criminals. It is exactly the same phenomenon that happens with drug trafficking, according to my friend and former Salvadoran guerrilla commander Facundo Guardado. He believes that the persecution of drug trafficking only makes the business more attractive and more people want to participate .

When the business of smuggler or coyote turns hyper-lucrative, criminal gangs not only want it, they are fighting over the routes, points of entry and exit, transport and the corruption of Mexican and North American officials. Surely, in one way or another, the explanation for the slaughter of San Fernando lies in this process. 

Sept. 2, 2010, column by Jorge Castañeda, La Reforma