Is Mexico adopting an old British practice from the colonial era? Is Donald Trump correct when he says Mexico is sending some of its criminals into the United States mixed in with otherwise law abiding immigrants?
During the colonial period Britain cut the cost of operating jails
by sentencing some of its criminals to
"penal transportation to" the North American colonies.
After the American Revolution "transportation" meant being sent to
Australia or New Zealand. The practice was particularly
common with Irish and Scottish criminals and is mentioned in some
Irish folk songs. .
Later criminals would slip into the United States along with
honest immigrants. Some of those with criminal pasts, including some
Nazi war criminals, came to the United States to try to change their
lives and become honest citizens. Back when America had
a frontier, Americans who started out on the wrong side of the law
would move to the frontier to try to start over.
Mexico, like the United States, has multiple government units of
various sizes. Government corruption is a problem in
Mexico. It is very possible that some Mexican government
agencies are helping or encouraging criminals to go to the United
States by mixing them in with honest people who are entering the
U.S. illegally. The Obama administration's lax enforcement of
immigration laws could encourage such a process.
I don't know if Mexico is encouraging some its criminals to come to
the U.S. or not, but the claim should not be automatically
dismissed. We know Mexican drug lords are smuggling drugs into
the U.S. so Mexican criminals are able to enter the U.S.
CNN reports that Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo"
Guzman controls 80% of the drug trade in President Barack
Obama's home town of Chicago. Let's hope Guzman doesn't
Trump's claim deserves a thorough investigation.
I'm not going to do a separate post on Trump's comment about Captain
John McCain nor am I going to repeat it or provide a link. I
disagree with what Trump said, but I recall hearing a similar
criticism being made from some of those in the military a few
decades ago. I don't recall the details of the earlier