"Mexico publishes guide to assist border crossers"

Drudge is linking to this Arizona Republic article:

MEXICO CITY - The Mexican government is giving out a colorful new comic book with advice for migrants, but immigration-control advocates worry that some of the tips may encourage illegal border crossers.

The 32-page book, The Guide for the Mexican Migrant, was published in December by Mexico's Foreign Ministry. Using simple language, the book offers safety information for border crossers, a primer on their legal rights and advice on living unobtrusively in the United States...

The book is being distributed as a free supplement to El Libro Vaquero, a popular cowboy comic book, in five Mexican states that send many migrants to the United States: Zacatecas, Michoacan, Puebla, Oaxaca and Jalisco. The government plans to print 1.5 million copies...

...No official at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Mexico City would agree to an interview about the comic book, despite repeated requests through the ministry's media relations office...

...Seven pages are devoted to migrants' legal rights after they are detained and another four to living peacefully in the United States.

"Avoid attracting attention, at least while you are arranging your stay or documents to live in the United States," [or waiting for Jorge Arbusto to declare Amnistia! -- LW] it says. "The best formula is to not alter your routine of going from work to home..."

...Said John Vincent, editor of a newsletter published by Virginia-based Americans for Immigration Control: "It really looks like the Mexican government is encouraging illegal immigration. It shows the contempt that the Mexican government has for our laws..."

...The Mexican government produces a similar book aimed at Central American immigrants who try to enter Mexico illegally. The book covers much of the same information about legal rights and repeats many of the warnings. It even shows a group of migrants struggling to breathe inside a truck.

But that book doesn't give the same kind of safety tips on crossing the border or advise immigrants on how to live peacefully in Mexico.

See also their recent report of a Mexican consul paying a visit to an illegal alien day labor center:

"He basically told us to stay on a straight path and avoid getting into trouble," Hilario Morales, 48, a day laborer [and presumably an illegal alien --LW] from Oaxaca, said after the consul general's visit.

Immigration2005a · Sun, 01/02/2005 - 21:06 · · Importance: 1