Atlanta, GA, United States (AHN) – The Mexican government is revising its policy of opposing U.S. state laws designed to crack down on illegal immigration. The Mexican ambassador to the United States met this week in Atlanta with Mexican consulate officials from states with some of the toughest laws and proposed legislation against illegal immigration.
“The objective was to review and strengthen the strategy displayed by the government of Mexico to defend the fundamental rights of our citizens against state and local initiatives that are contrary to their rights and interests,” a Mexican Embassy statement said.
The embassy has not yet announced how its policy will change but left little doubt it would reflect growing outrage in Mexico against state laws intended to exclude illegal immigrants.
The embassy said there were a “disturbing number of initiatives under discussion unduly stigmatizing and blaming migrants for social problems in America.”
President Barack Obama pledged again this month to reform immigration laws.
Nevertheless, three state legislatures have approved laws against illegal immigration in the past year and other state laws are pending.
One proposal in Congress would change the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to deny citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants. Current federal law grants citizenship to anyone born in the United States.
Arizona started the trend in state initiatives against illegal immigration by approving a law in April 2010, S.B. 1070, that authorized local police to stop and question anyone they suspected of being an illegal immigrant. If they could not prove American citizenship, the local police could arrest and deport them.
Until then, enforcement of immigration laws was authorized exclusively by federal agencies.
Houses of the Georgia and South Carolina legislatures approved similar laws in recent months. They are awaiting final approval and their governors’ signatures.
Minnesota, New Mexico, Texas and Utah are considering other proposals against illegal immigration.
State Rep. Matt Ramsey, a Republican who sponsored the Georgia legislation, said, “The federal government’s failure to secure our borders serves as an open invitation for illegal immigration. The employers who encourage and reward illegal immigration are certainly not blameless.”
The Georgia law would require employers to verify the citizenship of all job applicants through the E-Verify database and broaden authority of police to investigate the immigration status of anyone they stop.
Last summer, a federal judge suspended enforcement of most of the Arizona law.
In each case, the laws are meeting with anger in Mexico that culminated in the meeting this week in Atlanta.
The meeting included representatives from the Mexican consulates in Atlanta, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Miami, New Orleans, Orlando, Raleigh and other Mexican diplomats. It was led by Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico’s ambassador to the United States.
So far, the Mexican strategy for influencing U.S. immigration has been to seek out sympathizers among business, religious, academic and community leaders.
The Mexican government also has supported litigation against the state laws, provided legal advice to Mexicans in the United States and disseminated public information about the negative effects of anti-immigrant laws.
Mexican diplomats describe the laws as racist.
“The most serious, if approved and entered into force, would violate inalienable human rights protected by international legal provisions enshrined in the U.S. Constitution,” said the Mexican Embassy statement this week.
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