Advocacy for the Mexican Immigrant

Hello, my husband and I are intensely interested in the issues of the Mexican Immigrant. I have lived on the Mexican border periodically since I was a young woman. In the last 4 years, we returned to the border area and have been shocked and dismayed by the huge increase in illegal border crossing and the inhuman treatment of the people who cross illegally.

We are upset to see that so many millions of Mexicans and other people from South America have such a great need to leave their families and cross into the U.S. in order to support their families. We know that one of the reasons that so many take leave of their families and risk their lives crossing illegally is that Mexico has become so much poorer since the establishment of the North American Trade Agreement in 1994. This Trade agreement has been extremely devastating to the poor of Mexico, especially oil workers and the farmers.

We believe that these people are our brothers and sisters and that they deserve fair and respectful treatment even if they are crossing illegally. Their only crime is that they want to earn a living for their families. They want their families to have housing, food and education.

We advocate that the building of a wall is a wasteful, destructive and ineffective act. It will not stop the crossing of millions of illegal workers. It will close us in the United States. It is an environmental crime, as the animals on the Rio Grande will not have access to water. It will be a terrible eyesore. It will be a very ugly sight for the people who live along the border on both sides, Mexico and the U.S..

We advocate that the solution to the problem is in development of business in Mexico. We are involved in a project of starting a cottage industry in Mexico.

I welcome any constructive discussion of this issue.