Mexican Government Builds Wall Along Southern Border

The Mexican government, like our own American version, has fashioned itself  as an immigration enforcer, one willing to imitate its neighbor to the north when it comes to immigration policy. As there are nativists in the United States, so too are there immigrant-bashing forces at work in Mexico. And they are now busily erecting a fence along Mexico's border with Guatemala, presumably to keep out as many immigrants as possible.

A recent report by the Inter-Press Service News Agency details a plan by the Mexican government to erect a wall along the Suchiate River, a body of water straddling the country's border with Guatemala. In its official capacity, the wall will serve to hinder the transportation of drugs and other illicit materials into Mexico. But in practice, the wall will serve as another obstacle to migrants seeking a path to the United States. Once erected, the wall will force migrants to find other, more perilous routes into Mexico, mirroring the events now occurring in the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, where death tolls among migrants have skyrocketed to record highs.

Many Americans make the mistake of ignoring the plight of Latin American immigrants not from Mexico. Granted, the largest group of immigrants coming from Latin America are Mexicans; immigrants from countries in Central and South America trail far behind.

But the fact of the matter is that immigrants from other regions in Latin America, particularly Central America, often face a more perilous journey to the United States than their Mexican counterparts. After all, their journey is longer, requiring travel over longer distances, which in turn requires more money. After migrating from their country of origin to the southern tip of Mexico, they must ford through one of the largest countries in Latin America, an increasingly hostile environment. Border crossings into Mexico often require a hefty bribe, a sum known to be more expensive than hiring a coyote to help one enter the United States illegally. The Suchiate River frequently serves host to migrants unwilling to pay such prices, but here too the journey is especially dangerous.

Kidnapping and robbery are routine for Central American immigrants moving through Mexico on their way to the United States. Harassment and assault are to be expected. Bands of opportunistic criminals prey on migrants, sometimes with the help of corrupt local police. From September 2008 to February 2009, Mexican authorities reported the kidnapping of 9,758 migrants, according to a report by the Mexican National Commission on Human Rights. Untold others have been threatened, beaten, robbed, raped and murdered. In some instances, average Mexican citizens stood up and fought back against the crimes committed against these migrants, but the offenses are too many to count, and often go unnoticed and unopposed. Last month, the brutal murders of 72 migrants, mostly from Central America, sent reverberations throughout Mexico, calling attention to the dangers immigrants from other parts of Latin America face as they journey northward.

Mexico's plan to build a fence along its southern border is no more wise than our country's plan to build a wall along our southern border with Mexico. Desperation is unstoppable by bricks and mortar. As the history of recent American immigration shows us, an opportunity for a better life will often trump the consequences required to achieve it, especially for those who see a way out of unremitting poverty.

Photo credit: Esparta