The Appalling Mire of Mexican Abuse

Who's Not Getting It Now?
Answer: Texas Lawmakers
Issue: Building Texas Prisons Inside Mexico's Border

As I wrote this article, two things were prompting me. I'm putting them up-front for consideration as you read about the proposed Texas legislation.

ONE FRIGHTENING THOUGHT:
Just think of the "mixed" guard unit serving inside the prison on Mexican soil - part Mexican Nationals and part U.S. citizens. Pity the poor American Guard who offends his prisoner or his Superior. It didn't work on the American side of the border, it will never work on the Mexican side.

ONE URGENT THOUGHT:
Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean. Every American will benefit from looking into the details of their cases. For multiple sourced details, read and follow the links from In-Depth Information on Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean.

Texas State Senator Craig Estes (R) has proposed building a Texas prison, over the border, inside Mexico. This prison would house non-violent, illegal offenders, now currently residing in Texas prisons.

Here's quotes and pertinent points made by U.S. and Mexican officials about Senator's Estes' submitted legislation:

Senator Estes: "This is more humane," he said."... the inmates would be closer to home." "They would be closer to their families. It would be a prison system where Spanish is predominantly spoken. There probably would be a mix of guards: U.S. citizens and quite a few Mexican nationals." And... "The plusses are that it's a heck of a lot less expensive to build and staff prisons down there," Sen. Craig Estes said. "They would be Texas quality and they'd roughly cost about half."

Texas State Senator John Whitmire: "Hell no!" he said. "It's pretty generally accepted it's unconstitutional and unworkable. It's interesting to talk about it, but Mexico prisons are dysfunctional."

Ronaldo Del Carmen, Corrections expert at Sam Houston State University:"a novel idea" he said, but doubted its legality. The transfer of inmates just between states requires court hearings. The transfer between countries raises entirely different legal hurdles, Del Carmen said. "You have some serious due process problems," he said. "I think it can be done through a treaty, but I doubt very much if it can be done by legislation, to contract with a private contractor in Mexico. I doubt even Congress could do it."

Mexican, Rep. Antonio Valladolid, a member of the Mexican Congress' Border and Migrant Committee, said Estes would have a tough sell. "Somebody would have a difficult time trying to explain to Mexico what the benefits would be to participate in such a scheme," he said.

My Points:
Rep. Valladolid ponders what this "scheme" can do for Mexico - what would be the benefits? Let us not give him and his fellow Congressmen much time to mull this over. We know jobs for the people aren't a top priority for Mexico's leaders, but nationalizing a "Texas quality" institution might be.

Yes, I do get it: the cost of illegals in this country is astounding, but let us not give more power to Mexico! Let us spend our tax dollars on building new prisons, if needed. When illegals recognize they will spend the appropriate time in American prisons, they will not so eagerly encroach our borders. To the "humane" issue: If Texas prisons are good enough for legal Texans, then they are good enough for illegals in Texas. By comparison, the Texas prison will win the Prison Hospitality Award of the Year, over any Mexican prison, any time. When the shiny, multi-million dollar prisons are built, and new immigration laws become more efficient (i.e. not as many illegal offenders in our country), I'm betting legal Texans will fill those prisons, probably sooner rather than later. History shows that if we build them, they will fill them.

Let us make certain there is nothing, absolutely nothing, in this for Mexico, with the exception of getting their criminals released right back into the middle of their stellar societies. We don't build prisons there, we don't do anything to help their economy, at the very least, until they cooperate with the U.S. in closing and guarding their own borders.

To read Michael Gracyzk's Associated Press Report (quoted above) in its entirety, visit Texas Lawmaker Proposing Texas-Run Prison in Mexico. Mr. Gracyzk's article makes it clear that Senator Estes' proposed legislation is dead-in-the-water, this time, but let's face it: it is always about what is good for Mexico. Most of us care deeply about what is good for America, and many times, when it is "best for America" it makes things better somewhere else in the world.

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