Sounds like home….Mexicans worry that Central American illegal alien “migrants” will take Mexican jobs. Hmmmm… they sound like a bunch of nativist, bigoted, xenophobic extremeists! Right Cynthia?

( If you missed my reply to Cynthia Tucker last year, I link it here.)

Migrants mistreated in Mexico, report says
Chris Hawley
Arizona Republic
Mexico City Bureau
Feb. 6, 2007

Mexico’s human rights agency has accused officials in Sonora of mistreating illegal Central American migrants, saying detainees were jammed into overcrowded cells and denied food and water for hours during a crackdown last year.

Many Mexicans empathize with these Central American travelers. But other people, especially in southern states like Chiapas, fear that Central Americans will eventually begin settling in Mexico and taking Mexicans’ jobs. They also are worried about crime brought by the Mara Salvatrucha, Central American gangsters who control the immigration routes.

On Dec. 14, new President Felipe Calderón announced expanded security measures to stem the flow of Central American migrants. They include new police task forces along the Chiapas-Guatemala border, an overhaul of Mexico’s visa program for seasonal farmworkers, and inspections to make sure Central Americans are in Mexico legally.

“I have the firm conviction that we can achieve a secure border and, at the same time, guarantee the human rights of all,” Calderón said in a speech in Chiapas.

Here in Sonora, Central American migrants are an afterthought,” said Noemi Peregrino González, director of the Nogales, Sonora, Migrant Support Committee. “There’s a lack of interest in their rights and a lack of resources to deal with them.”

READ the rest from the Arizona Republic here.
( Note- from the above linked news report: Mexico deported 179,345 people last year, most of them Central Americans. Note again from ICE stats: ICE removed more than 186,600 illegal aliens from the country in FY 2006, a record for the agency and a ten percent increase over the number of removals during the prior fiscal year…)
Finally, the U.S. has deported more people than has Mexico…the first year since I have been keeping track!