Mexico Files Brief in AZ Immigration Case

Via the BBC:  Mexico challenges Arizona’s immigration law:

The Mexican government submitted arguments as a “friend of the court”, or amicus curiae, meaning it is not a party to the case, but is offering a legal opinion which it believes has bearing on it.

It is in support of a case brought by a group of civil rights organisations, including the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Immigration Law Center, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

I am not a fan of the Arizona immigration bill for a variety of reasons, as I do believe that despite what the text of the bill says (an yes, I have read it) it inevitably leads to racial profiling.  Further, I have serious doubts about its ultimate efficacy amongst other issues.

Having said that, I think that the Mexican government’s direct involvement here  is counterproductive and will only have the effect of agitating a large number of Arizona citizens who will see this as an outsider getting involved in the internal business of the state.  Further, it will fuel the “it’s an invasion!” rhetoric and attitudes that prevail in some quarters of the immigration debate.  It will also further the notion in the minds of some that there is an active and conscious alliance between illegal immigrants, US civil rights organization and a foreign government.  None of this strikes me as helpful.

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Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. G.A.Phillips says:

    Can’t we just sue them for back taxes, bankrupt that so called government, buy them out and make the next few states out of that craphole and get it over with?

    Obama?