Donald Hank
Mexican Church confirms my 2006 accusation
By Donald Hank
In March of 2006, I wrote an open letter to President Vicente Fox in which I accused Mexican authorities of the hypocrisy of blaming the US for abusing Mexican immigrants while abusing their own immigrants — mostly Central Americans — in the most callous manner.
I wrote that the immigrant Central Americans I had spoken with consistently confirmed stories of the Mexican police and border guards stealing the money from male immigrants and raping or molesting immigrant women.
I had spoken with enough Central American immigrants about this to be convinced, but was concerned that there was no authority to cite. After all, the Mexican authorities could not be expected to denounce themselves, and the US authorities were busy supporting "immigration reform," so the false accusations of Mexican authorities of abuse by the US, i.e., by the border patrol and by any American opposed to illegal immigration, were grist for their mill. An accusation of abuses perpetrated by Mexican authorities would have softened their argument considerably. The media said nothing about this open blight on Mexico.
Hence, information on this abuse was painfully — tragically — slow to come.
Today, however, the local papers here in Panama reported on an editorial written by the Mexican Archdioces in response to the massacre of 72 Hispanic immigrants in Tamaulipas. With previously unheard-of candor, they explicitly condemn the Mexican authorities.
Below is my partial translation of that editorial. The first part is merely a summary of the massacre:
How true that is. And how terribly sad that 72 innocent people had to die before the world finally got its wake-up call.
Even now, there is no guarantee that the story of government complicity in immigrant abuse in Mexico will spread far enough to have a significant impact in the sense of bringing pressure to bear on Mexico. It may come down to your simply passing this along to your friends and asking them to do the same.
© Donald Hank
September 8, 2010
In March of 2006, I wrote an open letter to President Vicente Fox in which I accused Mexican authorities of the hypocrisy of blaming the US for abusing Mexican immigrants while abusing their own immigrants — mostly Central Americans — in the most callous manner.
I wrote that the immigrant Central Americans I had spoken with consistently confirmed stories of the Mexican police and border guards stealing the money from male immigrants and raping or molesting immigrant women.
I had spoken with enough Central American immigrants about this to be convinced, but was concerned that there was no authority to cite. After all, the Mexican authorities could not be expected to denounce themselves, and the US authorities were busy supporting "immigration reform," so the false accusations of Mexican authorities of abuse by the US, i.e., by the border patrol and by any American opposed to illegal immigration, were grist for their mill. An accusation of abuses perpetrated by Mexican authorities would have softened their argument considerably. The media said nothing about this open blight on Mexico.
Hence, information on this abuse was painfully — tragically — slow to come.
Today, however, the local papers here in Panama reported on an editorial written by the Mexican Archdioces in response to the massacre of 72 Hispanic immigrants in Tamaulipas. With previously unheard-of candor, they explicitly condemn the Mexican authorities.
Below is my partial translation of that editorial. The first part is merely a summary of the massacre:
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"The 72 immigrants murdered in Tamaulipas, Central and South Americans, were apparently undocumented and were pressured by the drug traffickers to join their ranks as hitmen. When they refused, they were murdered."
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The abuse of this group starts with the police and the immigration authorities [my emphasis]. The criminal gangs follow suit in view of the indifference and complicity of evil corrupt officials."
How true that is. And how terribly sad that 72 innocent people had to die before the world finally got its wake-up call.
Even now, there is no guarantee that the story of government complicity in immigrant abuse in Mexico will spread far enough to have a significant impact in the sense of bringing pressure to bear on Mexico. It may come down to your simply passing this along to your friends and asking them to do the same.
© Donald Hank
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