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Editorial
Is reciprocity an option for U.S. immigration law?
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
After spending the primaries touting a "deportation force" and vowing to have Mexico pay for construction of a wall on the U.S. southern border, Donald Trump is reconsidering his stance on illegal immigration.
He made a quick trip to meet President Enrique Peņa Nieto in Mexico today in preparation for a major immigration speech in Arizona.
Trump has drawn protests from the Hispanic community and been attacked by political opponents -- despite the latter's previous similar stance on illegal immigration.
And should Trump win the election, there are practical considerations, such as how to deal with the estimated 11 million people here illegally, how to enforce new restrictions, fill the jobs they leave empty, what happens to their children born here and other difficult questions.
But it doesn't seem unreasonable to treat those who enter our country illegally similarly to how we would be treated if we entered theirs without going through the proper channels.
Mexico, for example, admits only foreigners who will be useful to Mexican society, have enough money to take care of themselves, and don't upset "the equilibrium of the national demographics."
Mexican authorities must keep track of every single person in the country, and federal, local and municipal police must cooperate with federal immigration authorities to arrest illegal immigrants, if requested.
Forging papers subjects one to being imprisoned as a felon, and any attempt to re-enter without authorization can result in up to 10 years in prison.
The Mexican constitution expressly forbids non-citizens to participate in the country's political life and denies them fundamental property rights.
Foreigners, even naturalized ones, are not treated as real Mexican citizens, banned from serving as military officers or in the time of peace serving in the Army or police or public security forces.
Both the president and his parents must be Mexican-born citizens, and the constitution says foreigners may be expelled for any reason and without due process.
The United States is, for the most part, a nation of immigrants and any attempt to deny it will only meet in failure.
But a certain amount of reciprocity in immigration laws seems reasonable.