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#Opinion: Should the U. S. be more like Mexico?

Story highlights

Ruben Navarrette hears some nonsensical solutions to the U.S. immigration problem He says one of the worst is that U.S. adopt a harsh immigration policy like Mexico's Navarrette: Mexico's bad economy, other woes are related to keeping immigrants out He asks whether we want a nation people want to leave, and where immigrants are despised

As the immigration debate moves to the House of Representatives, Americans are fully engaged. Is it too much to ask that they also be fully informed?

Not many are. They have strong opinions on a subject they don't really understand. They know what they believe, but they long ago stopped asking themselves why they believe it. Worst of all, as bad as the immigration problem is, some of the solutions they propose range from the nonworkable to the nonsensical.

One proposed remedy sticks out as the nuttiest of all. In fact, if you love this country, it's actually quite offensive.

Consider the interaction I had recently with a friend who follows politics. The son of a Pennsylvania coal miner and a graduate of Yale Law School and Oxford University, my buddy wanted to put in his two cents about immigration -- and how to fix a broken system. A moderate Republican, he doesn't support the bill that the Senate passed by a vote of 68-32, and he is looking for something better. He doesn't mind the idea of legalizing at least some of the undocumented, but he wants the United States to secure the border first. He's reasonable, but this issue troubles him -- and so do some of the proposed remedies.

Ruben Navarrette Jr.

As for his solution, my friend blurted out: "Why don't we just do whatever Mexico does? I mean, they must be doing a good job of keeping out illegal immigrants. Why not adopt their policies?"

Ay Chihuahua. Not this again. I hear this argument, or variations of it, at least three times a week from readers. I've heard it from audiences when I give speeches. I've heard it from callers when I host radio shows.