Tancredo Letter to Mexican
President Calderon
To:
Sen. Blanche Lincoln
February 15, 2008
Subject:
Tancredo Letter to Mexican President Calderon
To:
President George Bush
Sen. John Cornyn
Rep. Lamar Smith
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison
February 15, 2008
Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Littleton) - doing the JOB the REST OF YOU SELL OUTS WON'T
DO. Mr. President, you are a disgrace. Just exactly how much is Mexico paying
you to destroy Americas sovereignty? Sending 1.4 billion TAX PAYER DOLLARS to
the Mexican mafia, which Calderon leads, is THEFT. Instead of throwing crumbs at
the US taxpayers with your purely politically motivated economic stimulus joke,
why not throw some money we can really use, say 1.4 billion dollars. That way
those of us who still believe in this country and the rule of law can buy more
guns and ammo so we can defend our family and friends from the illegal alien
scumbags you pathetic "leaders" are pandering too with your open
borders
I was disappointed by misguided comments you recently made regarding U.S.-Mexico
relations and U.S. immigration laws. Purveying misinformation and absurd
allegations is hardly a positive step to building a constructive partnership.
According to the Associated Press you recently said, "You have two
economies. One economy is intensive in capital, which is the American economy.
One economy is intensive in labor, which is the Mexican economy. We are two
complementary economies, and that phenomenon is impossible to stop. Yes, both
countries benefit by the 85% of Mexico's manufacturing exports that come to the
U.S., but people are not commodities. While I appreciate your concern for our
joint prosperity, the economic and social ills that plague your country cannot
be resolved by simply exporting your citizens to the United States.
It is undeniable that Mexico faces major challenges. Endemic corruption and the
power of violent drug cartels still dominate everyday life across Mexico. Beyond
the headlines, Mexico has deep institutional maladies. Mexico's absurdly
antiquated Napoleonic-inquisition styled legal system and the squandering of
robust energy-industry opportunity by a poorly managed, state-run Pemex monopoly
are just two examples of the kind of self-inflicted wounds that hobble your
troubled nation.
I understand that you are attempting to resolve some of these problems and
applaud your leadership in trying to do so. But what would contribute more to
the long term stability of your economy and your country would be to focus more
energy on addressing your domestic challenges and less on lobbying the U.S. to
provide amnesty for Mexicans who have illegally entered this country with the
blessing of your government. In doing so, you might be able to keep Mexico's best
and brightest young men in Mexico where they can contribute more to Mexico's economy than remittance payments. Unfortunately, your recent comments indicate
that Mexico will continue its policy of encouraging illegal immigration and
treating the United States as little more than a dumping ground for your social
and economic problems.
In your speech yesterday to the California State legislature, you lectured the
American people on how to improve our immigration policies. Why did you not
propose that we model our policies on Mexico's own policies toward illegal entry
across your own southern border? Mexico expends enormous resources to prevent
Guatemalans, Hondurans and Salvadorans from entering the country illegally, but
you castigate the United States for wanting secure borders. Mr. President, in my
neighborhood that is called hypocrisy.
You proposed in your Sacramento speech that "migration be made legal, safe
and organized. Mr. President, we already have such a program and it is called
legal immigration. Over one million legal immigrants come through our ports of
entry each year, not across our border fences. The American people set limits on
the number of legal immigrants through our immigration laws, and it is not the
job of the Mexican government to revise or expand those limits.
President Calderon, you are insulting the American people when you tell us that
fifteen to twenty million illegal aliens in our country bring only benefits and
no costs. I challenge you to give one concrete example of how the enforcement of
our existing immigration laws violates anyone's human rights. The people of
Oklahoma are not anti-Mexican for passing laws to require verification of
employment eligibility. The people of Indiana are not anti-immigrant for passing
laws to require photo identification for voting. The people of California are
not anti-Mexican for denying drivers licenses to illegal aliens. The people of
Arizona are not anti-immigrant for passing laws that deny welfare benefits to
people who are in that state unlawfully.
It is no secret that the purpose of your visit is to influence the American
election, and in fact your trip has been billed as a high-stakes effort to shape
the immigration debate underway in the U.S. presidential race. What is perhaps
more disappointing, however, is your attempt to insinuate that anti-amnesty
sentiment here in the U.S. is the same as anti-Mexican sentiment. I am referring
to your statement, â€"I need to change in the perception that
the Americans are the enemy, and it is important to change the perception that
the Mexicans are the enemy.
It is both disingenuous and dangerous for you to inject this kind of xenophobia
into this debate. The fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans support
the enforcement of our immigration laws and take issue with the notion that we
should reward illegal behavior, hardly qualifies as ethnic animosity or
international enmity. What you must understand is that a treasured aspect of our
national foundation is a respect for the rule of law. Perhaps if corruption were
not so widespread and commonplace in Mexico, it would be easier for you to
understand this.
President Calderon, in many ways your trip thus far has been a long series of
mixed messages. You accuse the United States of recent protectionist trends, yet
you heavily restrict foreign entry into Mexico's energy sector
through a massive, state-run Pemex monopoly. You assure American politicians
that an open flow of cheap Mexican labor is not only benign but vitally
necessary, but you take great care in securing your own southern border with
Guatemala. You come to the United States purportedly to promote better political
and economic ties with the U.S., but then issue a thinly veiled threat that
Mexicans will regard the U.S. as an enemy if we refuse to provide millions of
illegal aliens with unconditional amnesty.
President Calderon, I respectfully suggest that the next time you visit our
country, rather than trying to influence U.S. policymakers or our election
process, you take time to listen to Americans rather than lecture them. If you
want to make changes in government policies, apply your energies to Mexico's laundry list of problems rather than meddling in domestic American politics.
Source: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?letter_id=1747356266