View from Mexico. What businessman MARVIN DURAN RODRIGUEZ wishes Americans knew about immigration

“From the U.S. perspective, the “immigration problem” is about control of sovereign borders and an economic cost-benefit analysis of undocumented labor, as well as other related issues. Moreover, the usually unspoken truth is that, most of the time, you are talking about the “Mexican immigration problem.” While I understand these concerns, I would like to put forth the perspective of law-abiding, passport-holding, middle-class Mexicans like me.

Down here, the usually unspoken truth is that the daily emigration northward is a source of deep national shame that the country we love does not provide conditions wherein much of the underclass can afford adequate educations, medical care or even sufficient nourishment for their families. It would be nice if your country understood, at least to some degree, what it means to us that, in a recent national poll conducted by El Universal, more than 45 percent of Mexicans surveyed agreed that their lives would be better if they lived in the U.S. For many millions of Mexicans, our dream is the “American dream” – and I do not use the word “American” as some Latino Americanos do in the hemispheric sense.”

Stumble it! | |