"Migrants face harsh treatment in Mexico"

I just read an article in my local paper www.columbian.com written by Mark Stevenson, AP writer. According to him,\" migrants from Central America are considered felons by the Mexican government and subject to detention; rape and robbery by police and soldiers.\" \"While migrants in the U.S. demonstrated in recent weeks, the hundreds of thousnads of undocumented Central Americans in Mexico suffer in silence\". \"And while Mexico demands humane treatment for its citizens who migrate to the U.S., regardless of their legal status, Mexico provides few protections for migrants on its own soil\".

Now I guess I have just been really in the dark, but I had no idea that this was going on. Maybe the Mexican government should clean her own house before they try to clean some one elses house? Just a thought. Chuck... 8)

:soapbox: ¡ CUBA LIBRE ! :soapbox:

This is a recurring feature in the Orange County (CA) Weekly . Columnist Gustavo Arellano gives his uncensored views on many topics.

By Gustavo Arellano
Thursday, April 20, 2006 - 1:00 am
Dear Mexican,
Why do some illegal immigrants bring their familias over but others leave them in Mexico? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each option?

Esposa Noswimo


Dear Gabacho,
Have you tried sneaking your family across the border, Esposa Noswimo? Paid a coyote a minimum $6,000 per head? Fretted for days as they crossed la frontera stuffed in trunks or walking through deserts? And you have no way to know if your beloved is alive until they show up at your door, exhausted? Then you have to take care of them on your illegal immigrant salary? Makes leaving them back in Mexico easy, ¿qué no? Nevertheless, a surprisingly large number of Mexicans do it. “Because unauthorized migration is driven primarily by the search for better wages,” writes Jeffrey S. Passel in a recent Pew Hispanic Center study, “the undocumented migrant is commonly thought of as a young, male worker usually unaccompanied by a wife or children. In fact, the full portrait of the unauthorized migrant population is more varied.” His report found single men and women account for only 3.1 million of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States; by contrast, there are 6.6 million families where either spouse is undocumented. The obvious advantage in bringing over families is that they’re—and say the following as if you’re Edward James Olmos, por favor—familia, the spring from which Mexicans draw their strength and salsa. But some Mexicans don’t want that. Part of the attraction of El Norte is the absence of family. Some Mexicans want to strike out on their own, leave home and family and talk with the kids, spouses and parents only during funerals or to bail them out of debt. Some Mexicans want to become Americans.