When Mexico’s President Felipe Calderón dissed the state of Arizona and the United States as a whole, he actually did us a favor; he gave us a microscope after bashing our immigration law to look at Mexican immigration law.

For example, Mexico doesn’t allow moochers;

• Mexico welcomes only foreigners who will be useful to Mexican society:
- Foreigners are admitted into Mexico “according to their possibilities of contributing to national progress.” (Article 32)
- Immigration officials must “ensure” that “immigrants will be useful elements for the country and that they have the necessary funds for their sustenance” and for their dependents. (Article 34)
- Foreigners may be barred from the country if their presence upsets “the equilibrium of the national demographics,” when foreigners are deemed detrimental to “economic or national interests,” when they do not behave like good citizens in their own country, when they have broken Mexican laws, and when “they are not found to be physically or mentally healthy.” (Article 37)
- The Secretary of Governance may “suspend or prohibit the admission of foreigners when he determines it to be in the national interest.” (Article 38)

Mexico “vantz to zee your papers”, any time and at all times;

• Mexican authorities must keep track of every single person in the country:
- Federal, local and municipal police must cooperate with federal immigration authorities upon request, i.e., to assist in the arrests of illegal immigrants. (Article 73)
- A National Population Registry keeps track of “every single individual who comprises the population of the country,” and verifies each individual’s identity. (Articles 85 and 86)
- A national Catalog of Foreigners tracks foreign tourists and immigrants (Article 87), and assigns each individual with a unique tracking number (Article 91).

No Fake Social Security cards;

• Foreigners with fake papers, or who enter the country under false pretenses, may be imprisoned:
- Foreigners with fake immigration papers may be fined or imprisoned. (Article 116)
- Foreigners who sign government documents “with a signature that is false or different from that which he normally uses” are subject to fine and imprisonment. (Article 116)

There are more here, but what I really liked was Mexico doesn’t want any illegal immigrants doing this;

• The Mexican constitution expressly forbids non-citizens to participate in the country’s political life.
Non-citizens are forbidden to participate in demonstrations or express opinions in public about domestic politics. Article 9 states, “only citizens of the Republic may do so to take part in the political affairs of the country.” Article 33 is unambiguous: “Foreigners may not in any way participate in the political affairs of the country.” [My italics]

No wonder Americans aren’t sneaking into their country!

h/t Stix for the picture

[UPDATE] Via a commenter, the law has since been changed since “1999″, and I’ve embedded the current law below to make things fair. Have at it. There have been changes (doesn’t mention prison for forged documents), but I maintain without further proof of my own that with all the graft and corruption, I’ll bet “It’s No Fun Being and Illegal Alien” in Mexico.

Updated (2009) Mexican Immigration Law

You can download the document and upload it here to translate.

Crossposted