William Harper

Texas Government

9-10-14

Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn
English or leave the country. This was brilliantly spoken by our twenty sixth President
Theodore Roosevelt. Now, while addressing the idea of immigration policy there are two
different countries that we as Texans have a moral and cultural obligation to know
about, and those would be the policies of the United States of America and the
United Mexican States.
Two countries united by a common border and many a treaty or agreement, but
both Mexico and the United States have very different policies for obtaining entrance
into their borders. They show a world of different economic possibilities and cultural
ideals, but their geographic location forces cooperation or at least basic knowledge on
the others border and immigration policies. With that quest for common knowledge in
mind, we have to analyze first the requirements for entering the country as a citizen and
finally the punishment for entering the country illegally.
So lets start with the Mexican requirements, there are several concepts that
could be further understood and maybe movement towards implementation in the
United States. The chiefly among these ideals would be immigrants are granted
citizenship according to their possibilities of contributing to national progress, (Article
32 of the Mexican constitution) and immigrants will be useful elements for the country
and that they have the necessary funds for their sustenance. (Article 34) The
importance of these miniscule sections of the Mexican constitution is that it shows us a
glimpse into a much more brutal immigration system then we would expect to come
from our neighbors to the south. So in comparison what does Americas road to
citizenship look like?

William Harper

Texas Government

9-10-14

In contrast the American prerequisites are much more relaxed requiring LPR
status (a green card) for at least 5 years (or 3 years if he or she obtained the green card
through a U.S.-citizen spouse or through the Violence Against Women Act, VAWA).
There are, of course, fast tracks for movement into American citizenship namely military
service in a time of hostility, at least according to the official immigration control web
site. There are several non-direct ways to move into the country without actually
acquiring citizenship, mainly visas of several types, for impressive abilities, for
advanced abilities, for skilled workers with at least two years of training, for religious
workers, and for the most interesting of all anyone willing to invest five hundred
thousand dollars in America businesses. The ease of access into this country is a very
unique aspect, and it, in and of itself, holds many positives and negatives. With basic
concepts established lets move onto another very important topic that anyone planning
on entering either country needs to be aware of the topic of the punishment for illegally
entering a county.
With direct deportation, a very real threat inside of America, we can move
towards Mexico and there lies a real threat of punishment, A penalty of up to two years
in prison and a fine of three hundred to five thousand pesos will be imposed on the
foreigner who enters the country illegally, (Article 23) while the fine is an issue, the jail
time compounds the issue because of the dehumanizing conditions that are
represented inside Mexican prisons. That fear is a very effective tool to motivate people
not to get caught. With the threat of deportation present inside of both countries we see
a similar pattern that can be observed. The punishment inside both Mexico and the US

William Harper

Texas Government

9-10-14

are very similar. With that note of parallelism, we move further with a reasonable
comparison of the two countries immigration policies.
Within the methods and ideals of both countries, there is a stark contrast
between the two, specifically the harsh and more brutal ideals inside of the Mexican
policy, and the much more relaxed and welcoming policy brandished by the United
States. The requirements for entering both countries play a key role in any evaluation,
so looking towards Mexico we see a much harder system that requires a large amount
of skill to be considered for citizenship, but while observing America we see a much
more welcoming and simplistic system. With the two systems explained Remember,
remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from
immigrants and revolutionists, as was said by Franklin D. Roosevelt.