THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 15, 1995 TAG: 9502150020
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
Regarding the $40 billion bailout the administration wants to give Mexico: Recently, at the so-called summit of the Americas, the Mexican government sought a commitment from the Clinton administration to fight Prop 187.
But one nation in the Americas has immigration laws tougher than ours. This country deported 60,000 illegal immigrants from its southern border in 1994 alone. It subjects deported immigrants who return illegally to a ten- year prison sentence. It levies heavy fines to tourists who overstay their visas. It requires public hospitals to ask patients if they are legal residents. If the answer is no, the hospital is obligated to report offenders to immigration officials. It requires schoolchildren to provide a birth certificate before being allowed to register for classes. It does not allow foreign spouses of legal citizens to work. What country is this? Mexico.
By the way, the $40 billion is not to bail out Mexico at all, and the administration knows it. It's to bail out the Wall Street brokers who loaned Mexico money or who lost money in the Mexican market.
I say let these people take their hit for being so dumb to invest in Mexico in the first place. Let's tell these government bureaucrats that this is not their money to give Mexico, it belongs to the American people. This is taxpayers' money; keep it here.
Better yet, give it back.
JACK TRITTIPOE
Carrollton, Feb. 2, 1995 by CNB