Mexican President Criticizes Arizona Law---At the White House

What a strange political move. Barack Obama is pandering to Latino voters who are going to be sorely disappointed when immigration reform is a dud, yet he is angering the majority of Americans who support the Arizona law. The logic of it would escape me even if this was not a situation of a foreign leader coming to the White House to criticize a provincial law.

Here is the most peculiar part. Felipe Calderon’s criticism is that Mexicans aregoing to be treated unfairly by the Arizona law. If he means that Mexicans here legally are subject to showing their papers, he is off the mark. According to existing law, naturalized citizens are required to carry proof of citizenship any way. Plus, under the Arizona law, one has to be stopped for some other reason than just to check immigrant status. With the spirit of immigration law being what it is, I cannot give him credit even for those concerns.

But let us be honest here. Calderon’s real concern is two fold. One, he wants to poor in Mexico to come to the United States so they do not burden his economy. Two, he wants illegals to work in the United States and send money to family back home. This is not about Mexican citizens getting hassled in the United States. This is about what is good for Mexico, period.

I do not know what Obama thought he was accomplishing with this stunt, but Americans are not sympathetic to lawbreakers , particularly when a foreign leader is complaining about their alleged oppression under immigration law.