Mexico should offer concessions to United States

Illegal Immigration: the debate that continues to rage and now seems to center on how many “rights,” including outright citizenship, must be conferred upon the millions of illegal immigrants now occupying the U.S.

One point is conspicuous by its absence. What is Mexico bringing to the table? Although it has been generally agreed that Mexico and its people are the main beneficiaries of any change in U.S. policy, nobody has asked Mexico to make this a fair exchange. In return for the generous “rights” that Mexico demands for its people who have illegally entered the U.S., Mexico has offered us no concessions.

Is it possible that Mexico has nothing to offer?

In fact, there is much it can offer, and much that we as Americans can demand in return for concessions given to their citizens who illegally entered our country. We should demand the right for our citizens to own property in Mexico and demand due process and equal employment rights. We should demand one for one reciprocal conveyance of all Mexican citizenship rights for Americans. Twenty million Mexicans legalized, 20 million Americans given the same rights native Mexicans have in Mexico.

American investment in Mexico would skyrocket if we were allowed to own property there. This new American money would certainly benefit Mexico’s bottom line and would help to fix Mexico’s real economic problems. Unfortunately, this will not happen unless Mexico revises its exclusionary constitution.

The Mexican Constitution severely limits the fundamental property rights of foreigners and illegal immigrants. For example, Article 27 states: “Only Mexicans by birth or naturalization and Mexican companies have the right to acquire ownership of lands, waters and their appurtenances, or to obtain concessions for the exploitation of mines or of waters.” This section basically rules out American ownership of property in Mexico. America has no such exclusion regarding foreigners owning property here, be they illegal or otherwise.

In essence, Americans are being told that we must convey every right to millions of Mexicans who will then be allowed dual citizenship by Mexico when we, as Americans, have very limited rights in Mexico. It seems odd to this observer that only one side is being asked to bring anything to the bargaining table.

If Mexico wants the benefits of massive immigration to the U.S. and opportunities for its people, it should be willing to offer something of comparable value in return.

We should demand of our president, senators and representatives that this be a fair exchange. Any negotiation that they broker should not be to the detri- ment of their constituents. If it is imper- ative that concessions must be made, for God’s sake, get something in return.