Wednesday, President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon stood side by side on the White House lawn, smiled, and attacked an American state. It was a display grotesque and bizarre, laden with the stink of lies and ripe with hypocrisy. For a half hour or so, the two men hammed it up for the assembled international press, reveling in themselves as they mischaracterized a law that, most likely, neither of them managed to read. Calderon later addressed Congress. Again, he targeted the U.S., focusing on Arizona’s immigration law and its nonexistent human rights abuses. As he did so, he received a standing ovation from those who populate the left side of the aisle.
Mr. Calderon then went on to reveal himself as a complete imbecile, though his opinion of Arizona’s law had little to do with it.
At the White House presser, he said “we will retain our firm rejection to criminalize migration so that people that work and provide things to this nation will be treated as criminals. And we oppose firmly the S.B. 1070 Arizona law given in fair principles that are partial and discriminatory. “
In his address to congress, which sounded like it had been lifted verbatim from the Obama playbook, he elaborated. “I strongly disagree with the recently adopted law in Arizona. It is a law that not only ignores a reality that cannot be erased by decree, but also introduces a terrible idea, using racial profiling as the basis for law enforcement.”
Obviously, his statements ignore the fact that the people targeted by the law are here illegally and are, for that very reason, criminals. It likewise ignores that the Arizona law specifically forbids profiling, and only allows police to question detainees about their immigration status after they’ve been picked up for another offense. However, it seems clear that Calderon is not one to let facts get in the way of his opinions.
Nor is he all that concerned with hypocrisy, as Mexico’s immigration policy is positively draconian when compared with the Arizona law. Calderon happily pointed this out during a Wednesday afternoon CNN interview with Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: So if people want to come from Guatemala or Honduras or El Salvador or Nicaragua, they want to just come into Mexico, they can just walk in?
CALDERON: No. They need to fulfill a form. They need to establish their right name. We analyze if they have not a criminal precedent. And they coming into Mexico. Actually…
BLITZER: Do Mexican police go around asking for papers of people they suspect are illegal immigrants?
CALDERON: Of course. Of course, in the border, we are asking the people, who are you?
And if they explain…
BLITZER: At the border, I understand, when they come in.
CALDERON: Yes.
BLITZER: But once they’re in…
CALDERON: But not — but not in — if — once they are inside the — inside the country, what the Mexican police do is, of course, enforce the law. But by any means, immigration is a crime anymore in Mexico.
BLITZER: Immigration is not a crime, you’re saying?
CALDERON: It’s not a crime.
BLITZER: So in other words, if somebody sneaks in from Nicaragua or some other country in Central America, through the southern border of Mexico, they wind up in Mexico, they can go get a job…
CALDERON: No, no.
BLITZER: They can work.
CALDERON: If — if somebody do that without permission, we send back — we send back them.
This will assuredly come as welcome news to all those out-of-work Americans trying to sneak into Mexico for jobs. Unfortunately, language barrier aside, Calderon got it all wrong. Upon entering Mexico, immigrants must prove who they are, that they are mentally fit, and that they can contribute to Mexican society. If they do that, they sign their papers, are given a number, and are allowed to entry into the country. Failure to play by these rules carries a stiff penalty.
– An illegal immigrant who sneaks into the country, or fails to file his papers, will face fines, jail, deportation, or a combination of the three.
– An illegal immigrant who forges his documents, or falsifies them by lying when he fills them out, will face fines, jail, deportation, or a combination of the three.
– An illegal immigrant who takes a job faces fines, up to six years in prison, and deportation.
– All immigrants must provide proof of their legal status if the authorities demand it. Failure to do so will result, once more, in fines, jail, deportation, or a combination of the three.
To be clear, Calderon’s opinion of Arizona’s law is not the thing that marks him as an imbecile. Nor is it the hubris and hypocrisy displayed when he dares lecture our country for its supposedly harsh immigration policy. The proof of the man’s stupidity is the fact that the Blitzer interview, which outlines his country’s willingness to detect and deport illegals, was sandwiched between two major appearances, both of which lectured the United States on the evils of that very same policy.
If Obama wants to loan out his teleprompter and talking points so the Mexican President can use them to lash out at Arizona, fine. He only reveals himself, yet again, as a man governing against the will of his own country. However, if the cowardly Democrats that stood and cheered as Calderon berated Arizona expect us to take this double-talking, south-of-the-border hypocrite seriously, they’re in for a rude awakening.
Perhaps President Obama should embrace a simple solution. If the U.S. would just adopt Mexico’s immigration laws, which are obviously fair and respectful of human rights, everyone would be happy.
Isn’t that right, Mr. President?
Robert Laurie is a Michigan-based Conservative columnist and freelance writer. He also runs a daily political commentary blog at RobertLaurie.net.