Originally Posted by
Boggie Dog
I simply cannot tie free trade and legal immigration together. To me they are not related.
Completely related even if you can't see that free trade of labor and free trade of products are the same.
Indeed your inability to tie the two together is at odds with your government.
One of the provisions of the Canada/US Free Trade agreement (before NAFTA) was to allow free movement of labor between the two countries. For many classes of labor, it was a simple matter to obtain a visa at the border and thus be allowed to worked as an alien in either country. I believe the visa for Canadians working in the USA was a TC-1. EDIT: it wasn't really a visa; more of a status. In general Canadians don't need visas to come to the USA for most purposes.
When the Canada/USA free trade treaty was expanded to include Mexico: NAFTA, the TC-1 became the TN-1. However, NAFTA was a racist treaty because it excluded Mexicans from enjoying the same access Canadians had to the US labor market. According to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TN_stat...ens_in_the_USA in 2004 Mexicans were finally allowed access but this strikes me a B.S., because it also says:
In US Fiscal Years 2007 through 2009, between 4,000 and 5,000 TN visas (i.e., TN-2 visas for Mexicans) were issued by US consulates each year
I know Mexicans in the USA who desparately want to get their relatives out of there due to the USA's drug war. These numbers are way too low. There must be something preventing more. Sure, enough,
http://www.kateraynor.com/en/work-ba...s/TN-Visa.html
Only 5550 TN-2 Visas are issued each year to Mexican citizens.
Racist!
Originally Posted by
Boggie Dog
Immigration should be controlled to keep certain persons from entering a country.
What are 'certain persons'?
Originally Posted by
Boggie Dog
What is your stand on the immigration laws in Mexico?
I'm not familiar with those laws. Bring me up to speed with references and I'll give you my opinion. I have heard that the Mexican government treats potential/illegal immigrants from south of the Mexican border worse than the USA treats potential/illegal immigrants from south of the US border, so I suspect I would not think very highly of Mexican immigration laws. In general, I'm not much of a fan of immigration laws that keep out healthy law abiding people who bring something of value: hard working, wealth, skills, etc.
EDIT: if your point is that Mexico is hypocritical I won't disagree. If the USA made it a precondition for eliminating the TN-2 quota that Mexico provide reciprocity for Americans on its equivalent of TN-2 visas, then I think the Mexican government would do so.