| | |  Editorials | Opinions 
Immigration Woes
 Mike Ellis - Daily Camera
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January 11, 2010
 |  | Immigration problems have gotten so bad that the Mexican government has imposed new border security for all entering Americans and Canadians. When arriving in the country, visitors must first pass through a gauntlet of cheap jewelry vendors, timeshare salesmen, and pushy taxi drivers. |  | | |
Immigration reform has been in the news lately. On my recent Mexican vacation, I saw the seriousness of the problem from the other side of the border fence.
Tens of millions of folks from north of the border are crossing into Mexico every year. A million Americans are living there, more than half illegally.
Many Americans move to Mexico because of its high quality, inexpensive health care system. Drugs are widely available and inexpensive. Drug dealers, called "farmacias," are on every street corner, anxious to sell the addict anything she thinks she needs.
The tensest moment on our return to the United States was the question at immigration about whether we were bringing back any drugs. The agent didn't care about the ganja a street vendor had offered us in downtown Puerto Vallarta; he wanted to know if we had made one too many trips to the farmacia. Fortunately, the agent was satisfied when I said I was only carrying back drugs I had originally brought from the United States.
In Mexico, immigrants from the north call themselves "expats," but the natives disparagingly refer to them as "gringos." Foreigners are often forced to live in their own part of town. In Puerto Vallarta, for example, there's a ghetto known as "Gringo Gulch," up on the hillside, where the northerners can only look down over the old town and the bay.
Local police have been accused of racial profiling, perhaps because of terrorism fears. We were stopped for the crime of "driving while gringo" on a busy street downtown. Apparently, this crime has something to do with driving a rental car, or perhaps slowing down for potholes. Fortunately, the "polica" were able to process our ticket (known in Spanish as a "bribe") on the spot so we weren't inconvenienced by having to go to court or jail. And at 400 pesos (two Mexican greenbacks) it was quite a deal.
One source of tension is that many immigrants refuse to learn the language. Some speak a dialect known as "Spanglish," scorned by locals. It's gotten to the point where many signs are not even bilingual, but only in English - signs like "Starbucks," "McDonald's," and "Office Depot."
Tension also arises when expats take jobs that some say should go to citizens. These are good, high-paying jobs, like English teacher, Maui Wowi franchisee, and maquiladora operator.
Northerners also impact the environment in Mexico. Tourist dollars enable Mexican citizens to enter the middle class and become tourists themselves, thereby increasing their carbon footprints.
Immigration problems have gotten so bad that the Mexican government has imposed new border security for all entering Americans and Canadians. When arriving in the country, visitors must first pass through a gauntlet of cheap jewelry vendors, timeshare salesmen, and pushy taxi drivers. I saw one couple who had been stuck at the airport at least eight days, which was actually convenient for them as it was almost time for them to catch their return flight to the States.
If your mind is made up in the immigration debate, I encourage you to head to Mexico to challenge your beliefs. But remember to do so soon, as Mexican immigration will end on Dec. 12, 2012, according to Mayan experts.
Mike Ellis had 400 fewer pesos than he thought he should after his recent vacation. More of his thoughts on immigration can be found at insomnialog.blogspot.com, and he welcomes email at EllisCamera(at)gmail.com. |
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