Normally I have a very liberal view when it comes to immigration - however, considering how American citizens are treated by the Mexican government, I will have to re-think the whole matter...
http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/usimmigrant.asp
Subject: an american working in mexico
Before any more 'outrage' at the Arizona law . . .
read what it's like from the other side of the fence...
Received the following from Tom O'Malley,
who was a Director with S.W. BELL in Mexico City:
I spent five years working in Mexico. I worked under a tourist Visa for
three months and could legally renew it for three more months. After
that you were working illegally. I was technically illegal for three
weeks waiting on the FM3 approval.
During that six months our Mexican and U.S. attorneys were working to
secure a permanent work visa called a 'FM3'. It was in addition to my
U.S. passport that I had to show each time I entered and left the
country. Barbara's was the same, except hers did not permit her to work.
To apply for the FM3, I needed to submit the following notarized
originals (not copies):
1. Birth certificate for Barbara and me.
2. Marriage certificate.
3. High school transcripts and proof of graduation.
4. College transcripts for every college I attended and proof of
graduation.
5. Two letters of recommendation from supervisors I had worked for at
least one year.
6. A letter from the St. Louis Chief of Police indicating that I had no
arrest record in the U.S. and no outstanding warrants and, was "a
citizen in good standing".
7. "Finally, I had to write a letter about myself that clearly stated
why there was no Mexican citizen withmy skills and why my skills were
important to Mexico. We called it our 'I am the greatest person on
Earth' letter. It was fun to write."
All of the above were in English that had to be translated into Spanish
and be certified as legal translations, and our signatures notarized.
It produced a folder about 1.5 inches thick with English on the left
side & Spanish on the right."
Once they were completed Barbara and I spent about five hours,
accompanied by a Mexican attorney, touring Mexican government office
locations and being photographed and fingerprinted at least three times
at each location, and we remember at least four locations where we were
instructed on Mexican tax, labor, housing, and criminal law and that we
were required to obey their laws or face the consequences. We could not
protest any of the government's actions or we would be committing a
felony. We paid out four thousand dollars in fees and bribes to
complete the process. When this was done we could legally bring in our
household goods that were held by U.S. Customs in Laredo, Texas. This
meant we had rented furniture in Mexico while awaiting our goods. There
were extensive fees involved here that the company paid.
We could not buy a home and were required to rent at very high rates
and under contract and compliance with Mexican law."
We were required to get a Mexican driver's license. This was an amazing
process. The company arranged for the licensing agency to come to our
headquarters location with their photography and fingerprint equipment
and the laminating machine. We showed our U.S. license,were
photographed and fingerprinted again and issued the license instantly
after paying out a six dollar fee. We did not take a written or driving
test and never received instructions on the rules of the road. Our only
instructionï was to never give a policeman your license if stopped and
asked. We were instructed to hold it against the inside window away
from his grasp. If he got his hands on it you would have to pay ransom
to get it back. We then had to pay and file Mexican income tax annually
using the number of our FM3 as our ID number. The company's Mexican
accountants did this for us and we just signed what they prepared. It
was about twenty legal size pages annually."
The FM3 was good for three years and renewable for two more after
paying more fees."
Leaving the country meant turning in the FM3 and certifying we were
leaving no debts behind and no outstanding legal affairs (warrants,
tickets or liens)before our household goods were released to customs."
It was a real adventure and if any of our Senators or Congressmen went
through it once they would have a different attitude toward Mexico."
The Mexican government uses its vast military and police forces to keep
its citizens intimidated and compliant. They never protest at their
capitol or government offices, but do protest daily in front of the
United States Embassy. The U.S. Embassy looks like a strongly
reinforced fortress and during most protests the Mexican military
surrounds the block with their men standing shoulder to shoulder in
full riot gear to protect the Embassy. These protests are never shown
on U.S. or Mexican TV. There is a large public park across the street
where they do their protesting. Anything can cause a protest such as
proposed law changes in California or Texas."
Please feel free to share this with everyone who thinks we are being
hard on the illegals.
