Immigration from Mexico.

Why does there seem to be so much opposition to immigration from Mexico? I don't see strong feelings against Russian, German, Italian, Japanese, or any other group of foreign nationals. Why Mexicans? Some say it is because we once fought a war with them. But we fought wars (hot or cold) with others, and those memories are faded.

My opinion:

I have spent some time in Mexico. Acapulco, Mexico City, Cozumel, Cuernavaca, Columbus, and many trips to Ciudad Juarez. I have some familiarity with Mexico and Mexicans. Mexico is a beautiful country. Spectacular mountains. Beaches that are the envy of the world. A gentle, pleasant climate.

Mexican people offer much to be admired. I have found them universally a warm, friendly people. Strong family values, strong religious faith. I go to Mexico and stumble through my broken Spanish, always to be met with patience and understanding. I once translated a Spanish saying for a granddaughter and was congratulated by an elderly Mexican woman for having translated correctly. And, Mexicans are most often hard-working, industrious people.

But, in Mexicans there is an interesting dichotomy. One that is deep-rooted and slow to change.

It all began with the Aztecs. Legend has it that the Aztecs were a tribe located somewhere in (what is now) the southwest United States, or northern Mexico. For some reason they migrated south, settling where they found an eagle, perched on a cactus, devouring a snake. (Honest!) That area is now known as Mexico, D.F. - Mexico City.

The Aztecs were a highly advanced people with one major flaw: their religion. Like the innocents of Jonestown, they let their priests convince them that human sacrifice was required to appease their Gods.

The Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortez defeated the Aztecs, but while the Spanish rulers brought much modernity to Mexico, their ways were nearly as harsh as the Aztecs (minus, of course, the human sacrifice). Eventually, the Mexicans overthrew the Spaniards.

Next it was the French. The madman Maximilian was installed as Emperor of Mexico and continued the oppression of the Mexican people until the French, like the Aztecs and the Spanish, were thrown aside.

A purely Mexican (or Indian) government was installed. Sadly, they had learned governing from the Aztecs, the Spanish and the French, and corruption was all they understood.

Then, of course, came the Americans. Mexicans tried to claim all the territory once held by Spain, but the onslaught of western migration in America by European immigrants overwhelmed them. Eventually all territory north of the Rio Grande was lost to Mexico, by force or otherwise.

Fast-forward a century and a half. South American drug cartels, thwarted at delivering their wares to American consumers, through the Bahamas, Florida and gulf cities, or the coast of California, chose to move through Mexico. This brought a wave of violence unequaled even by the Aztecs, plus a flood of cash to tempt the population.

Today, the retiring police chief of Ciudad Juarez estimates that 80% of the population of his city are involved in crime to some degree. Not necessarily what we would consider "serious" crime, but a willingness to be complicit in some degree of corruption if it is of personal benefit. It is all the Mexicans have ever known.

In the United States, we began as a government of the people.We have held respect for our government officials. Despite the tendency of our youth, since the 1960s, to 'question authority', Americans largely respect the rule of law.

Many Mexicans, with good reason, have no such grounding. We often see it in an unwillingness to assimilate. A willingness to accept government largesse, deserved, earned, or not.

Many Americans resent this. But mostly they resent the speaking in Spanish. Generations of immigrants have come to America and have learned to speak English. Imperfectly, perhaps, but they worked at it. Always speaking Spanish is like speaking in code - Americans do not understand. And they greatly resent telephone answering systems that require 'press one' for English.

Yes, there are the youth - the gang-bangers. But that is a stage, inherent in people of most every ethnicity. I have seen virtually no adversarial tendencies in Mexican adults.

Mexicans are good people. They become great Americans. Consider how many persons of Mexican descent have proven their courage and loyalty in the U.S. military. How many Mexican Americans have distinguished themselves as jurists, legislators, educators, entrepreneurs?

Perhaps it will be those outstanding Mexican-Americans who will teach their former countrymen that there is no part-time honesty. That corruption is never acceptable, in any degree. And, that assimilation into American culture and language would be very much appreciated.

My opinion.