El Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848

[By the Louisiana Purchase, Texas had become a part of the United States; but in 1819 it had been ceded to Spain in the negotiations for Florida. Two years later Mexico, including Texas, had become independent, and the United States made two unsuccessful attempts to purchase Texas from Mexico. The settlement of Texas by immigrants from the United States finally led to the secession of Texas and its annexation by the United States, with the result that the Mexican War broke out in May, 1846. It was closed by this treaty, by which the United States gained not only Texas but New Mexico and Upper California.]

TREATY OF PEACE, FRIENDSHIP, LIMITS, AND SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE UNITED MEXICAN STATES CONCLUDED AT GUADALUPE HIDALGO, FEBRUARY 2, 1848;

RATIFICATION ADVISED BY SENATE, WITH AMENDMENTS, MARCH 10, 1848; RATIFIED BY PRESIDENT, MARCH 16, 1848; RATIFICATIONS EXCHANGED AT QUERETARO, MAY 30, 1848; PROCLAIMED, JULY 4, 1848.

IN THE NAME OF ALMIGHTY GOD

The United States of America and the United Mexican States animated by a sincere desire to put an end to the calamities of the war which unhappily exists between the two Republics and to establish Upon a solid basis relations of peace and friendship, which shall confer reciprocal benefits upon the citizens of both, and assure the concord, harmony, and mutual confidence wherein the two people should live, as good neighbors have for that purpose appointed their respective plenipotentiaries, that is to say: The President of the United States has appointed Nicholas P Trist, a citizen of the United States, and the President of the Mexican Republic has appointed Don Luis Gonzaga Cuevas, Don Bernardo Couto, and Don Miguel Atristain, citizens of the said Republic; Who, after a reciprocal communication of their respective full powers, have, under the protection of Almighty God, the author of peace, arranged, agreed upon, and signed the following:

Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the Mexican Republic.

ARTICLE I

There shall be firm and universal peace between the United States of America and the Mexican Republic, and between their respective countries, territories, cities, towns, and people, without exception of places or persons.

ARTICLE II

Immediately upon the signature of this treaty, a convention shall be entered into between a commissioner or commissioners appointed ~y the General-in-chief of the forces of the United States, and such as may be appointed by the Mexican Government, to the end that a provisional suspension of hostilities shall take place, and that, in the places occupied by the said forces, constitutional order may be reestablished, as regards the political, administrative, and judicial branches, so far as this shall be permitted by the circumstances of military occupation.

ARTICLE III

Immediately upon the ratification of the present treaty by the Government of the United States, orders shall be transmitted to the commanders of their land and naval forces, requiring the latter (provided this treaty shall then have been ratified by the Government of the Mexican Republic, and the ratifications exchanged) immediately to desist from blockading any Mexican ports and requiring the former (under the same condition) to commence, at the earliest moment practicable, withdrawing all troops of the United State then in the interior of the Mexican Republic, to points that shall be selected by common agreement, at a distance from the seaports not exceeding thirty leagues; and such evacuation of the interior of the Republic shall be completed with the least possible delay; the Mexican Government hereby binding itself to afford every facility in i~ power for rendering the same convenient to the troops, on their march and in their new positions, and for promoting a good understanding between them and the inhabitants. In like manner orders shall be despatched to the persons in charge of the custom houses at all ports occupied by the forces of the United States, requiring them (under the same condition) immediately to deliver possession of the same to the persons authorized by the Mexican Government to receive it, together with all bonds and evidences of debt for duties on importations and on exportations, not yet fallen due. Moreover, a faithful and exact account shall be made out, showing the entire amount of all duties on imports and on exports, collected at such custom-houses, or elsewhere in Mexico, by authority of the United States, from and after the day of ratification of this treaty by the Government of the Mexican Republic; and also an account of the cost of collection; and such entire amount, deducting only the cost of collection, shall be delivered to the Mexican Government, at the city of Mexico, within three months after the exchange of ratifications.

The evacuation of the capital of the Mexican Republic by the troops of the United States, in virtue of the above stipulation, shall be completed in one month after the orders there stipulated for shall have been received by the commander of said troops, or sooner if possible.

ARTICLE IV

Immediately after the exchange of ratifications of the present treaty all castles, forts, territories, places, and possessions, which have been taken or occupied by the forces of the United States during the present war, within the limits of the Mexican Republic, as about to be established by the following article, shall be definitely restored to the said Republic, together with all the artillery, arms, apparatus of war, munitions, and other public property, which were in the said castles and forts when captured, and which shall remain there at the time when this treaty shall be duly ratified by the Government of the Mexican Republic. To this end, immediately upon the signature of this treaty, orders shall be despatched to the American officers commanding such castles and forts, securing against the removal or destruction of any such artillery, arms, apparatus of war, munitions, or other public property. The city of Mexico, within the inner line of intrenchments surrounding the said city, is comprehended in the above stipulation, as regards the restoration of artillery, apparatus of war, & c.

The final evacuation of the territory of the Mexican Republic, by the forces of the United States, shall be completed in three months -from the said exchange of ratifications, or sooner if possible; the Mexican Government hereby engaging, as in the foregoing article to use all means in its power for facilitating such evacuation, and rendering it convenient to the troops, and for promoting a good understanding between them and the inhabitants.

If, however, the ratification of this treaty by both parties should not take place in time to allow the embarcation of the troops of the United States to be completed before the commencement of the sickly season, at the Mexican ports on the Gulf of Mexico, in such case a friendly arrangement shall be entered into between the General-in-Chief of the said troops and the Mexican Government, whereby healthy and otherwise suitable places, at a distance from the ports not exceeding thirty leagues, shall be designated for the residence of such troops as may not yet have embarked, until the return 1i of the healthy season. And the space of time here referred to as, comprehending the sickly season shall be understood to extend from the first day of May to the first day of November.

All prisoners of war taken on either side, on land or on sea, shall be restored as soon as practicable after the exchange of ratifications of this treaty. It is also agreed that if any Mexicans should now be held as captives by any savage tribe within the limits of the United States, as about to be established by the following article, the Government of the said United States will exact the release of such captives and cause them to be restored to their country.

ARTICLE V

The boundary line between the two Republics shall commence in the Gulf of Mexico, three leagues from land, opposite the mouth of the Rio Grande, otherwise called Rio Bravo del Norte, or Opposite the mouth of its deepest branch, if it should have more than one branch emptying directly into the sea; from thence up the middle of that river, following the deepest channel, where it has more than one, to the point where it strikes the southern boundary of New Mexico; thence, westwardly, along the whole southern boundary of New Mexico (which runs north of the town called Paso) to its western termination; thence, northward, along the western line of New Mexico, until it intersects the first branch of the river Gila; (or if it should not intersect any branch of that river, then to the point on the said line nearest to such branch, and thence in a direct line to the same); thence down the middle of the said branch and of the said river, until it empties into the Rio Colorado; thence across the Rio Colorado, following the division line between Upper and Lower California, to the Pacific Ocean.

The southern and western limits of New Mexico, mentioned in the article, are those laid down in the map entitled "Map of the United Mexican States, as organized and defined by various acts of the Congress of said republic, and constructed according to the best authorities. Revised edition. Published at New York, in 1847, by J. Disturnell," of which map a copy is added to this treaty, bearing the signatures and seals of the undersigned Plenipotentiaries,. And, in order to preclude all difficulty in tracing upon the ground the limit separating Upper from Lower California, it is agreed that the said limit shall consist of a straight line drawn from the middle of the Rio Gila, where it unites with the Colorado, to a point on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, distant one marine league due south of the southernmost point of the port of San Diego, according to the plan of said port made in the year 1782 by Don Juan Pantoja, second sailing-master of the Spanish fleet, and published at Madrid in the year 1802, in the atlas to the voyage of the schooners Sutil and Mexicana; of which plan a copy is hereunto added, signed and sealed by the respective Plenipotentiaries.

In order to designate the boundary line with due precision, upon authoritative maps, and to establish upon the ground land-marks which shall show the limits of both republics, as described in the present article, the two Governments shall each appoint a commissioner and a surveyor, who, before the expiration of one year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty, shall meet at the port of San Diego, and proceed to run and mark the said boundary in its whole course to the mouth of the Rio Bravo del Norte. They shall keep journals and make out plans of their operations; and the result agreed upon by them shall be deemed a part of this treaty, and shall have the same force as if it were inserted therein. The two Governments will amicably agree regarding what may be necessary to these persons, and also as to their respective escorts, should such be necessary.

The boundary line established by this article shall be religiously respected by each of the two republics, and no change shall ever be made therein, except by the express and free consent of both nations, lawfully given by the General Government of each, in conformity with its own constitution.

ARTICLE VI

The vessels and citizens of the United States shall, in all time, have a free and uninterrupted passage by the Gulf of California, and by the river Colorado below its confluence with the Gila, to and from their possessions situated north of the boundary line defined in the preceding article; it being understood that this passage is to be by navigating the Gulf of California and the river Colorado, and not by land, without the express consent of the Mexican Government.

If, by the examinations which may be made, it should be ascertained to be practicable and advantageous to construct a road, canal, or railway, which should in whole or in part run upon the river Gila, or upon its right or its left bank, within the space of one marine league from either margin of the river, the Governments of both republics will form an agreement regarding its construction, in order that it may serve equally for the use and advantage of both countries.

ARTICLE VII

The river Gila, and the part of the Rio Bravo del Norte lying below the southern boundary of New Mexico, being, agreeably to the fifth article, divided in the middle between the two republics, the navigation of the Gila and of the Bravo below said boundary shall be free and common to the vessels and citizens of both countries; and neither shall, without the consent of the other, construct any work that may impede or interrupt, in whole or in part, the exercise of this right; not even for the purpose of favoring new methods of navigation. Nor shall any tax or contribution, under any denomination or title, be levied upon vessels or persons navigating the same or upon merchandise or effects transported thereon, except in the case of landing upon one of their shores. If, for the purpose of making the said rivers navigable, or for maintaining them in such state, it should be necessary or advantageous to establish any tax or contribution, this shall not be done without the consent of both Governments.

The stipulations contained in the present article shall not impair the territorial rights of either republic within its established limits.

ARTICLE VIII

Mexicans now established in territories previously belonging to Mexico, and which remain for the future within the limits of the United States, as defined by the present treaty, shall be free to continue where they now reside, or to remove at any time to the Mexican Republic, retaining the property which they possess in the said territories, or disposing thereof, and removing the proceeds wherever they please, without their being subjected, on this account, to any contribution, tax, or charge whatever.

Those who shall prefer to remain in the said territories may either retain the title and rights of Mexican citizens, or acquire those of citizens of the United States. But they shall be under the obligation to make their election within one year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty; and those who shall remain in the said territories after the expiration of that year, without having declared their intention to retain the character of Mexicans, shall be considered to have elected to become citizens of the United States.

In the said territories, property of every kind, now belonging to Mexicans not established there, shall be inviolably respected. The present owners, the heirs of these, and all Mexicans who may hereafter acquire said property by contract, shall enjoy with respect to it guarantees equally ample as if the same belonged to citizens of the United States.

ARTICLE IX

The Mexicans who, in the territories aforesaid, shall not preserve the character of citizens of the Mexican Republic, conformably with what is stipulated in the preceding article, shall be incorporated into the Union of the United States. and be admitted at the proper time (to be judged of by the Congress of the United States) to the enjoyment of all the rights of citizens of the United States, according to the principles of the Constitution; and in the mean time, shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty and property, and secured in the free exercise of their religion without; restriction.

ARTICLE X

[Stricken out by the United States Amendments]

Article XI

Considering that a great part of the territories, which, by the present treaty, are to be comprehended for the future within the limits of the United States, is now occupied by savage tribes, who will hereafter be under the exclusive control of the Government of the United States, and whose incursions within the territory of Mexico would be prejudicial in the extreme, it is solemnly agreed that all such incursions shall be forcibly restrained by the Government of the United States whensoever this may be necessary; and that when they cannot be prevented, they shall be punished by the said Government, and satisfaction for the same shall be exactedQall in the same way, and with equal diligence and energy, as if the same incursions were meditated or committed within its own territory, against its own citizens.

It shall not be lawful, under any pretext whatever, for any inhabitant of the United States to purchase or acquire any Mexican, or any foreigner residing in Mexico, who may have been captured by Indians inhabiting the territory of either of the two republics; nor to purchase or acquire horses, mules, cattle, or property of any kind, stolen within Mexican territory by such Indians.

And in the event of any person or persons, captured within Mexican territory by Indians, being carried into the territory of the united States, the Government of the latter engages and binds itself, in the most solemn manner, so soon as it shall know of such captives being within its territory, and shall be able so to do, through the faithful exercise of its influence and power, to rescue them and return them to their country. or deliver them to the agent or representative of the Mexican Government. The Mexican authorities will, as far as practicable, give to the Government of the United States notice of such captures; and its agents shall pay the expenses incurred in the maintenance and transmission of the rescued captives; who, in the mean time, shall be treated with the utmost hospitality by the American authorities at the place where they may be. But if the Government of the United States, before receiving such notice from Mexico, should obtain intelligence, through any other channel, of the existence of Mexican captives within its territory, it will proceed forthwith to effect their release and delivery to the Mexican agent, as above stipulated.

For the purpose of giving to these stipulations the fullest possible efficacy, thereby affording the security and redress demanded by their true spirit and intent, the Government of the United States will now and hereafter pass, without unnecessary delay, and always vigilantly enforce, such laws as the nature of the subject may require. And, finally, the sacredness of this obligation shall never be lost sight of by the said Government, when providing for the removal of the Indians from any portion of the said territories, or for its being settled by citizens of the United States; but, on the contrary, special care shall then be taken not to place its Indian occupants under the necessity of seeking new homes, by committing those invasions which the United States have solemnly obliged themselves to restrain.

ARTICLE XII

In consideration of the extension acquired by the boundaries of the United States, as defined in the fifth article of the present treaty, the Government of the United States engages to pay to that of the Mexican Republic the sum of fifteen millions of dollars.

Immediately after the treaty shall have been duly ratified by the Government of the Mexican Republic, the sum of three millions of dollars shall be paid to the said Government by that of the United States, at the city of Mexico, in the gold or silver coin of Mexico The remaining twelve millions of dollars shall be paid at the same place, and in the same coin, in annual installments of three millions of dollars each, together with interest on the same at the rate of six per centum per annum. This interest shall begin to run upon the whole sum of twelve millions from the day of the ratification of the present treaty by--the Mexican Government, and the first of the installments shall be paid-at the expiration of one year from the same day. Together with each annual installment, as it falls due, the whole interest accruing on such installment from the beginning shall also be paid.

ARTICLE XIII

The United States engage, moreover, to assume and pay to the claimants all the amounts now due them, and those hereafter to become due, by reason of the claims already liquidated and decided against the Mexican Republic, under the conventions between the two republics severally concluded on the eleventh day of April, eighteen hundred and thirty-nine, and on the thirtieth day of January, eighteen hundred and forty-three; so that the Mexican Republic shall be absolutely exempt, for the future, from all expense whatever on account of the said claims.

ARTICLE XIV

The United States do furthermore discharge the Mexican Republic from all claims of citizens of the United States, not heretofore decided against the Mexican Government, which may have arisen previously to the date of the signature of this treaty; which discharge shall be final and perpetual, whether the said claims be rejected or be allowed by the board of commissioners provided for in the following article, and whatever shall be the total amount of those allowed.

ARTICLE XV

The United States, exonerating Mexico from all demands on account of the claims of their citizens mentioned in the preceding article, and considering them entirely and forever canceled, whatever their amount may be, undertake to make satisfaction for the same, to an amount not exceeding three and one-quarter millions of dollars. To ascertain the validity and amount of those claims, a . board of commissioners shall be established by the Government of the United States, whose awards shall be final and conclusive; provided that, in deciding upon the validity of each claim, the boa shall be guided and governed by the principles and rules of decision prescribed by the first and fifth articles of the unratified convention, concluded at the city of Mexico on the twentieth day of November, one thousand eight hundred and forty-three; and in no case shall an award be made in favour of any claim not embraced by these principles and rules.

If, in the opinion of the said board of commissioners or of the claimants, any books, records, or documents, in the possession or power of the Government of the Mexican Republic, shall be deemed necessary to the just decision of any claim, the commissioners, or the claimants through them, shall, within such period as Congress may designate, make an application in writing for the same, addressed to the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs, to be transmitted by the Secretary of State of the United States; and the Mexican Government engages, at the earliest possible moment after the receipt of such demand, to cause any of the books, records, or documents so specified, which shall be in their possession or power (or authenticated copies or extracts of the same), to be transmitted to the said Secretary of State, who shall immediately deliver them over to the said board of commissioners; provided that no such application shall be made by or at the instance of any claimant, until the facts which it is expected to prove by such books, records, or documents, shall have been stated under oath or affirmation.

ARTICLE XVI

Each of the contracting parties reserves to itself the entire right to fortify whatever point within its territory it may judge proper so to fortify for its security.

ARTICLE XVII

The treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation, concluded at the city of Mexico, on the fifth day of April, A. D. 1831, between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, except the additional article, and except so far as the stipulations of the said treaty may be incompatible with any stipulation contained in the present treaty, is hereby revived for the period of eight years from the day of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty, with the same force and virtue as if incorporated therein; it being understood that each of the contracting parties reserves to itself the right, at any time after the said period of eight years shall have expired, to terminate the same by giving one year's notice of such intention to the other party.

ARTICLE XVIII

All supplies whatever for troops of the United States in Mexico, arriving at ports in the occupation of such troops previous to the final evacuation thereof, although subsequently to the restoration o~ the custom-houses at such ports, shall be entirely exempt from duties and charges of any kind; the Government of the United States hereby engaging and pledging its faith to establish and vigilantly to enforce, all possible guards for securing the revenue of Mexico, by preventing the importation, under cover of this stipulation, of any articles other than such, both in kind and in quantity, as shall really be wanted for the use and consumption of the forces of the United States during the time they may remain in Mexico. To this end it shall be the duty of all officers and agents of the United States to denounce to the Mexican authorities at the respective ports any attempts at a fraudulent abuse of this stipulation, which they may know of, or may have reason to suspect, and to give to such authorities all the aid in their power with regard thereto; and every such attempt, when duly proved and established by sentence of a competent tribunal, They shall be punished by the confiscation of the property so attempted to be fraudulently introduced.

ARTICLE XIX

With respect to all merchandise, effects, and property whatsoever, imported into ports of Mexico, whilst in the occupation of the forces of the United States, whether by citizens of either republic, or by citizens or subjects of any neutral nation, the following rules shall be observed:

(1) All such merchandise, effects, and property, if imported previously to the restoration of the custom-houses to the Mexican authorities, as stipulated for in the third article of this treaty, shall be exempt from confiscation, although the importation of the same be prohibited by the Mexican tariff.

(2) The same perfect exemption shall be enjoyed by all such merchandise, effects, and property, imported subsequently to the restoration of the custom-houses, and previously to the sixty days fixed in the following article for the coming into force of the Mexican tariff at such ports respectively; the said merchandise, effects, and property being, however, at the time of their importation, subject to the payment of duties, as provided for in the said following article.

(3) All merchandise, effects, and property described in the two rules foregoing shall, during their continuance at the place of importation, and upon their leaving such place for the interior, be exempt from all duty, tax, or imposts of every kind, under whatsoever title or denomination. Nor shall they be there subject to any charge whatsoever upon the sale thereof. (4) All merchandise, effects, and property, described in the first and second rules, which shall have been removed to any place in the interior, whilst such place was in the occupation of the forces of the United States, shall, during their continuance therein, be exempt from all tax upon the sale or consumption thereof, and from every kind of impost or contribution, under whatsoever title or denomination.

(5) But if any merchandise, effects, or property, described in the first and second rules, shall be removed to any place not occupied at the time by the forces of the United States, they shall, upon their introduction into such place, or upon their sale or consumption there, be subject to the same duties which, under the Mexican laws, they would be required to pay in such cases if they had been imported in time of peace, through the maritime custom-houses, and had there paid the duties conformably with the Mexican tariff.

(6) The owners of all merchandise, effects, or property, described in the first and second rules, and existing in any port of Mexico, shall have the right to reship the same, exempt from all tax, impost, or contribution whatever.

With respect to the metals, or other property, exported from any Mexican port whilst in the occupation of the forces of the United States, and previously to the restoration of the custom-house at such port, no person shall be required by the Mexican authorities, whether general or state, to pay any tax, duty, or contribution upon any such exportation, or in any manner to account for the same to the said authorities.

ARTICLE XX

Through consideration for the interests of commerce generally, it is agreed, that if less than sixty days should elapse between the date of the signature of this treaty and the restoration of the custom houses, conformably with the stipulation in the third article, in such case all merchandise, effects and property whatsoever, arriving at the Mexican ports after the restoration of the said custom-houses, and previously to the expiration of sixty days after the day of signature of this treaty, shall be admitted to entry; and no other duties shall be levied thereon than the duties established by the tariff found in force at such custom-houses at the time of the restoration of the same. And to all such merchandise, effects, and property, the rules established by the preceding article shall apply.

ARTICLE XXI

If unhappily any disagreement should hereafter arise between the Governments of the two republics, whether with respect to the interpretation of any stipulation in this treaty, or with respect to any other particular concerning the political or commercial relations of the two nations, the said Governments, in the name of those nations, do promise to each other that they will endeavour, in the most sincere and earnest manner, to settle the differences so arising, and to preserve the state of peace and friendship in which the two countries are now placing themselves, using, for this end, mutual representations and pacific negotiations. And if, by these means, they should not be enabled to come to an agreement, a resort shall not, on this account, be had to reprisals, aggression, or hostility of any kind, by the one republic against the other, until the Government of that which deems itself aggrieved shall have maturely considered, in the spirit of peace and good neighbourship, whether it would not be better that such difference should be settled by the arbitration of commissioners appointed on each side, or by that of a friendly nation. And should such course be proposed by either party, it shall be acceded to by the other, unless deemed by it altogether incompatible with the nature of the difference, or the circumstances of the case.

ARTICLE XXII

If (which is not to be expected, and which God forbid) war should unhappily break out between the two republics, they do now, with a view to such calamity, solemnly pledge themselves to each other and to the world to observe the following rules; absolutely where the nature of the subject permits, and as closely as possible in all cases where such absolute observance shall be impossible:

(1) The merchants of either republic then residing in the other shall be allowed to remain twelve months (for those dwelling in the interior), and six months (for those dwelling at the seaports) to collect their debts and settle their affairs; during which periods they shall enjoy the same protection, and be on the same footing, in all respects, as the citizens or subjects of the most friendly nations; and, at the expiration thereof, or at any time before, they shall have full liberty to depart, carrying off all their effects without molestation or hindrance, conforming therein to the same laws which the citizens or subjects of the most friendly nations are required to conform to. Upon the entrance of the armies of either nation into the territories of the other, women and children, ecclesiastics, scholars of every faculty, cultivators of the earth, merchants, artisans, manufacturers, and fishermen, unarmed and inhabiting unfortified towns, villages, or places, and in general all persons whose occupations are for the common subsistence and benefit of mankind, shall be allowed to continue their respective employments, unmolested in their persons. Nor shall their houses or goods be burnt or otherwise destroyed, nor their cattle taken, nor their fields wasted, by the armed force into whose power, by the events of war, they may happen to fall; but if the necessity arise to take anything from them for the use of such armed force, the same shall be paid for at an equitable price. All churches, hospitals, schools, colleges, libraries, and other establishments for charitable and beneficent purposes, shall be respected, and all persons connected with the same protected in the discharge of their duties, and the pursuit of their vocations.

(2) . -In order that the fate of prisoners of war may be alleviated all such practices as those of sending them into distant, inclement or unwholesome districts, or crowding them into close and noxious places, shall be studiously avoided. They shall not be confined in dungeons, prison ships, or prisons; nor be put in irons, or bound or otherwise restrained in the use of their limbs. The officers shall enjoy liberty on their paroles, within convenient districts, and have comfortable quarters; and the common soldiers shall be dispose( in cantonments, open and extensive enough for air and exercise and lodged in barracks as roomy and good as are provided by the party in whose power they are for its own troops. But if any office shall break his parole by leaving the district so assigned him, o any other prisoner shall escape from the limits of his cantonment after they shall have been designated to him, such individual, officer, or other prisoner, shall forfeit so much of the benefit of this article as provides for his liberty on parole or in cantonment. And if any officer so breaking his parole or any common soldier so escaping from the limits assigned him, shall afterwards be found in arms previously to his being regularly exchanged, the person so offending shall be dealt with according to the established laws of war. The officers shall be daily furnished, by the party in whose power they are, with as many rations, and of the same articles, as are allowed either in kind or by commutation, to officers of equal rank in its own army; and all others shall be daily furnished with such ration as is allowed to a common soldier in its own service; the value of all which supplies shall, at the close of the war, or at periods to be agreed upon between the respective commanders, be paid by the other party, on a mutual adjustment of accounts for the subsistence of prisoners; and such accounts shall not be mingled with or set off against any others, nor the balance due on them withheld, as a compensation or reprisal for any cause whatever, real or pretended Each party shall be allowed to keep a commissary of prisoners, appointed by itself, with every cantonment of prisoners, in possession of the other; which commissary shall see the prisoners as often a he pleases; shall be allowed to receive, exempt from all duties a taxes, and to distribute, whatever comforts may be sent to them by their friends; and shall be free to transmit his reports in open letters to the party by whom he is employed.

And it is declared that neither the pretense that war dissolves all treaties, nor any other whatever, shall be considered as annulling or suspending the solemn covenant contained in this article. On the contrary, the state of war is precisely that for which it is provided; and, during which, its stipulations are to be as sacredly observed as the most acknowledged obligations under the law of nature or nations.

ARTICLE XXIII

This treaty shall be ratified by the President of the United States of America, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof; and by the President of the Mexican Republic, with the previous approbation of its general Congress; and the ratifications shall be exchanged in the City of Washington, or at the seat of Government of Mexico, in four months from the date of the signature hereof, or sooner if practicable.

In faith whereof we, the respective Plenipotentiaries, have signed this treaty of peace, friendship, limits, and settlement, and have hereunto affixed our seals respectively. Done in quintuplicate, at the city of Guadalupe Hidalgo, on the second day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.

N. P. TRIST

LUIS P. CUEVAS

BERNARDO COUTO

MIGL. ATRISTAIN

Article IX was modified and Article X were stricken by the US Congress. Here are the original articles.

In addition, there is an explanation or agreement of why the articles where stricken which is known as the protocol of Querétaro

ARTICLE IX

The Mexicans who, in the territories aforesaid, shall not preserve the character of citizens of the Mexican Republic, conformably with what is stipulated in the preceding Article, shall be incorporated into the Union of the United States, and admitted as soon as possible, according to the principles of the Federal Constitution, to the enjoyment of all the rights of citizens of the United States. In the mean time, they shall be maintained and protected in the enjoyment of their liberty, their property, and the civil rights now vested in them according to the Mexican laws. With respect to political rights, their condition shall be on an equality with that of the inhabitants of the other territories of the United States; and at least equally good as that of the inhabitants of Louisiana and the Floridas, when these provinces, by transfer from the French Republic and the Crown of Spain, became territories of the United States.

The same most ample guaranty shall be enjoyed by all ecclesiastics and religious corporations or communities, as well in the discharge of the offices of their ministry, as in the enjoyment of their property of every kind, whether individual or corporate. This guaranty shall embrace all temples, houses and edifices dedicated to the Roman Catholic worship; as well as all property destined to it's [sic] support, or to that of schools, hospitals and other foundations for charitable or beneficent purposes. No property of this nature shall be considered as having become the property of the American Government, or as subject to be, by it, disposed of or diverted to other uses.

Finally, the relations and communication between the Catholics living in the territories aforesaid, and their respective ecclesiastical authorities, shall be open, free and exempt from all hindrance whatever, even although such authorities should reside within the limits of the Mexican Republic, as defined by this treaty; and this freedom shall continue, so long as a new demarcation of ecclesiastical districts shall not have been made, conformably with the laws of the Roman Catholic Church.

ARTICLE X

All grants of land made by the Mexican government or by the competent authorities, in territories previously appertaining to Mexico, and remaining for the future within the limits of the United States, shall be respected as valid, to the same extent that the same grants would be valid, to the said territories had remained within the limits of Mexico. But the grantees of lands in Texas, put in possession thereof, who, by reason of the circumstances of the country since the beginning of the troubles between Texas and the Mexican Government, may have been prevented from fulfilling all the conditions of their grants, shall be under the obligation to fulfill the said conditions within the periods limited in the same respectively; such periods to be now counted from the date of the exchange of ratifications of this Treaty: in default of which the said grants shall not be obligatory upon the State of Texas, in virtue of the stipulations contained in this Article.

The foregoing stipulation in regard to grantees of land in Texas, is extended to all grantees of land in the territories aforesaid, elsewhere than in Texas, put in possession under such grants; and, in default of the fulfillment of the conditions of any such grant, within the new period, which, as is above stipulated, begins with the day of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty, the same shall be null and void.

THE PROTOCOL OF QUERÉTARO

In the city of Queretaro on the twenty sixth of the month of May eighteen hundred and forty-eight at a conference between Their Excellencies Nathan Clifford and Ambrose H. Sevier Commissioners of the United States of America, with fuil powers from their Government to make to the Mexican Republic suitable explanations in regard to the amendments which the Senate and Government of the said United States have made in the treaty of peace, friendship, limits and definitive settlement between the two Republics, signed in Guadalupe Hidalgo, on the second day of February of the present year, and His Excellency Don Luis de la Rosa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Mexico, it was agreed, after adequate conversation respecting the changes alluded to, to record in the present protocol the following explanations which Their aforesaid Excellencies the Commissioners gave in the name of their Government and in fulfillment of the Commission conferred upon them near the Mexican Republic.

First.

The american Government by suppressing the IXth article of the Treaty of Guadalupe and substituting the III article of the Treaty of Louisiana did not intend to diminish in any way what was agreed upon by the aforesaid article IXth in favor of the inhabitants of the territories ceded by Mexico. Its understanding that all of that agreement is contained in the IIId article of tile Treaty of Louisiana. In consequence, all the privileges and guarantees, civil, political and religious, which would have been possessed by the inhabitants of the ceded territories, if the IXth article of the Treaty had been retained, will be enjoyed by them without any difference under the article which has been substituted.

Second.

The American Government, by suppressing the Xth article of the Treaty of Guadalupe did not in any way intend to annul the grants of lands made by Mexico in the ceded territories. These grants, notwithstandjng the suppression of the article of the Treaty, preserve the legal value which they may possess; and the grantees may cause their legitimate tities to be acknowledged before the american tribunals.

Conformably to the law of the United States, legitimate titles to every description of property personal and real, existing in the ceded territories, are those which were legitimate titles under the Mexican law in California and New Mexico up to the I3th of May 1846, and in Texas up to the 2d March 1836.

Third.

The Government of the United States by suppressing the concluding paragraph of article XIIth of the Treaty, did not intend to deprive the Mexican Republic of the free and unrestrained faculty of ceding, conveying or transferring at any time (as it may judge best> the sum of the twelve [sic] millions of dollars which the same Government of the United States is to deliver in the places designated by the amended article.

And these explanations having been accepted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Mexican Republic, he declared in name of his Government that with the understanding conveyed by them, the same Government would proceed to ratify the Treaty of Guadalupe as modified by the Senate and Government of the United States. In testimony of which their Excellencies the aforesaid Commissioners and the Minister have signed and sealed in quintuplicate the present protocol.

[Seal] A. H. Sevier

[Seal] Nathan Clifford

[Seal] Luis de la Rosa

THE PLOT!

Last year, two men showed up in Benson, Ariz., a small desert town 60 miles from the Mexico border, offering a deal.

Glenn Nichols, the Benson city manager, remembers the pitch.

"The gentleman that's the main thrust of this thing has a huge turquoise ring on his finger," Nichols said. "He's a great big huge guy and I equated him to a car salesman."

What he was selling was a prison for women and children who were illegal immigrants.

"They talk [about] how positive this was going to be for the community," Nichols said, "the amount of money that we would realize from each prisoner on a daily rate."

But Nichols wasn't buying. He asked them how would they possibly keep a prison full for years — decades even — with illegal immigrants?

"They talked like they didn't have any doubt they could fill it," Nichols said.

That's because prison companies like this one had a plan — a new business model to lock up illegal immigrants. And the plan became Arizona's immigration law.

Behind-The-Scenes Effort To Draft, Pass The Law

The law is being challenged in the courts. But if it's upheld, it requires police to lock up anyone they stop who cannot show proof they entered the country legally.

Read Part 2 Of This Report

Shaping State Laws With Little Scrutiny

Among hundreds of bills drafted by an alliance of business, lawmakers: Arizona's immigration law.

When it was passed in April, it ignited a fire storm. Protesters chanted about racial profiling. Businesses threatened to boycott the state.

Supporters were equally passionate, calling it a bold positive step to curb illegal immigration.

But while the debate raged, few people were aware of how the law came about.

NPR spent the past several months analyzing hundreds of pages of campaign finance reports, lobbying documents and corporate records. What they show is a quiet, behind-the-scenes effort to help draft and pass Arizona Senate Bill 1070 by an industry that stands to benefit from it: the private prison industry.

The law could send hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to prison in a way never done before. And it could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in profits to private prison companies responsible for housing them.

Enlarge Joshua Lott/Getty Images

Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce, pictured here at Tea Party rally on Oct. 22, was instrumental in drafting the state's immigration law. He also sits on a American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) task force, a group that helped shape the law.

Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce says the bill was his idea. He says it's not about prisons. It's about what's best for the country.

"Enough is enough," Pearce said in his office, sitting under a banner reading "Let Freedom Reign." "People need to focus on the cost of not enforcing our laws and securing our border. It is the Trojan horse destroying our country and a republic cannot survive as a lawless nation."

But instead of taking his idea to the Arizona statehouse floor, Pearce first took it to a hotel conference room.

It was last December at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. Inside, there was a meeting of a secretive group called the American Legislative Exchange Council. Insiders call it ALEC.

It's a membership organization of state legislators and powerful corporations and associations, such as the tobacco company Reynolds American Inc., ExxonMobil and the National Rifle Association. Another member is the billion-dollar Corrections Corporation of America — the largest private prison company in the country.

It was there that Pearce's idea took shape.

"I did a presentation," Pearce said. "I went through the facts. I went through the impacts and they said, 'Yeah.'"

Drafting The Bill

The 50 or so people in the room included officials of the Corrections Corporation of America, according to two sources who were there.

Pearce and the Corrections Corporation of America have been coming to these meetings for years. Both have seats on one of several of ALEC's boards.

And this bill was an important one for the company. According to Corrections Corporation of America reports reviewed by NPR, executives believe immigrant detention is their next big market. Last year, they wrote that they expect to bring in "a significant portion of our revenues" from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that detains illegal immigrants.

In the conference room, the group decided they would turn the immigration idea into a model bill. They discussed and debated language. Then, they voted on it.

Key Players That Helped Draft Arizona's Immigration Law

Source: NPR News Investigations

Credit: Stephanie D'Otreppe/NPR

"There were no 'no' votes," Pearce said. "I never had one person speak up in objection to this model legislation."

Four months later, that model legislation became, almost word for word, Arizona's immigration law.

They even named it. They called it the "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act."

"ALEC is the conservative, free-market orientated, limited-government group," said Michael Hough, who was staff director of the meeting.

Hough works for ALEC, but he's also running for state delegate in Maryland, and if elected says he plans to support a similar bill to Arizona's law.

Asked if the private companies usually get to write model bills for the legislators, Hough said, "Yeah, that's the way it's set up. It's a public-private partnership. We believe both sides, businesses and lawmakers should be at the same table, together."

Nothing about this is illegal. Pearce's immigration plan became a prospective bill and Pearce took it home to Arizona.

Campaign Donations

Pearce said he is not concerned that it could appear private prison companies have an opportunity to lobby for legislation at the ALEC meetings.

"I don't go there to meet with them," he said. "I go there to meet with other legislators."

Pearce may go there to meet with other legislators, but 200 private companies pay tens of thousands of dollars to meet with legislators like him.

As soon as Pearce's bill hit the Arizona statehouse floor in January, there were signs of ALEC's influence. Thirty-six co-sponsors jumped on, a number almost unheard of in the capitol. According to records obtained by NPR, two-thirds of them either went to that December meeting or are ALEC members.

That same week, the Corrections Corporation of America hired a powerful new lobbyist to work the capitol.

The prison company declined requests for an interview. In a statement, a spokesman said the Corrections Corporation of America, "unequivocally has not at any time lobbied — nor have we had any outside consultants lobby – on immigration law."

At the state Capitol, campaign donations started to appear.

Thirty of the 36 co-sponsors received donations over the next six months, from prison lobbyists or prison companies — Corrections Corporation of America, Management and Training Corporation and The Geo Group.

By April, the bill was on Gov. Jan Brewer's desk.

Brewer has her own connections to private prison companies. State lobbying records show two of her top advisers — her spokesman Paul Senseman and her campaign manager Chuck Coughlin — are former lobbyists for private prison companies. Brewer signed the bill — with the name of the legislation Pearce, the Corrections Corporation of America and the others in the Hyatt conference room came up with — in four days.

Brewer and her spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

In May, The Geo Group had a conference call with investors. When asked about the bill, company executives made light of it, asking, "Did they have some legislation on immigration?"

After company officials laughed, the company's president, Wayne Calabrese, cut in.

"This is Wayne," he said. "I can only believe the opportunities at the federal level are going to continue apace as a result of what's happening. Those people coming across the border and getting caught are going to have to be detained and that for me, at least I think, there's going to be enhanced opportunities for what we do."

Opportunities that prison companies helped create

Immigrant Rights Petition: STOP THE BIG MONEY MAKERS MAINTAINERS OF DETENTION FACILITIES DESIGNED FOR IMMIGRANTS | Change.org

Immigrant Rights Petition: STOP THE BIG MONEY MAKERS MAINTAINERS OF DETENTION FACILITIES DESIGNED FOR IMMIGRANTS | Change.org

Inside world's most evil and unseen problem

WE THE MEXICANS
by victor salas

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to: the people of the US.

----------------
change their attitude

All over the Country people are making all these comments about the subject (Immigration) and Mexicans, putting the entire blame on Illegal immigrants from Mexico, WELL I THINK they ARE WRONG, MANY EUROPEAN ANGLO AND CAUCASIAN AND OTHERS INCLUDING CRIMINALS ARE HERE ILLEGALLY? Asians, Hindues, African, Chinese, Central and South Americans just to mention a few! well there are millions!!! and they just keep coming. This US Immigration laws are not a Mexican issue only. It applies to all the illegals in The US not just Mexicans who take the blame for it. Americans feel that they dont need to do basic labor work, because Mexicans will do it for them, is it because they can’t do it for their own self’s. or because they have a superiority complex or it just runs in their Anglo or Caucasian blood. I mean We excuse the BLACKS because they claim that they already did all the work they had coming for them and, because the bad whites abused them for too long. But What is their excuse, I mean what is so wrong with picking oranges or lettuce, mapping floors, etc. if they are too special to not do these jobs, they should stop complaining why there is too many people here wanting to take these jobs. Lets Go ahead and promote start hiring whites or blacks to do these Jobs, lets start making a change! Additionally the (ORIENTALS) are the main immigration problem here in the states and America. including Mexico but we dont care we still have plenty of room. There are about 1.7 billion of Chinese alone not including the other Orientals of the Pacific Rim. And if you didn’t know, that is the fastest growing population in the US and America. They just keep coming, it is invasion time and We are just opening the visa programs to them. so, obviously they are taking these jobs,and yours as well., but Its okay they work for it but some are unaware being busy blaming the poor illiterate people of Mexico that come to fill the gaps. Come on lets wake up and smell the coffee. I agree and support to change the Immigration lawlessness. Starting with ICE OR DHS which was called the INS before. To Reform the current laws or to better them! Anyway when I am in Mexico we, the Mexicans don’t give a crap about how they see the world because we have our own way of seeing It., and not only us but the rest of the countries of the world. in other words it is a very big planet and it just doesn’t belong to them. the world does not go around the US, it is not the center of the Universe hello? And they call this place America? In part they´re are right and that is because they´re are also immigrants. It should be called the U.S. some Mexicans have been here since the beginning, And most Americans have been here for 200 years some are just a few generations old immigrants from the rest of the world and Mexico but they deserve to be respected even Illegals. Share the Land people. Americans as well as a lot of Mexicans are newcomers, second, 3rd, 4th generation but are full righted Americans just like the first ones that were here. Now there are lots of anti immigrant organizations that feel that this country belongs only to them. The Tea party, minuteman for example organizations of ex- Hitler followers, Kukuxklan remnants of the Nazi Germany who fled to Italy, Argentina and the US. An evil and oppressed almost extinct race that are coming back using the beautiful US banner as if it was theirs only, and using all these poor illiterate white, black, Hispanic, Chinese and even Mexican people to believe in their stupidity, promoting hate. But we the real Americans are not going to allow that! they are going down and back to that same hole where they were, because that’s where they belong: in hiding! but recently they saw the Immigration problem as an opportunity and unfourtunately they are gaining a lot of momentum and support by the American people who are supplying them with millions and millions of dollars for their cause (hate, mixed with ignorance).

Now We admit the Mexicans have issues that need to be corrected and addressed. Just to mention a few: We the- non- white need to stop talking (crap racist nonsense) like blaming the white people for everything like the Blacks do, who are like the Minuteman or anti-immigrant racist groups (always blaming the illegal immigrants for everything). And another is assimilation of the language and usage, stop promoting immigration to the US and work for a solution at the Courts, ballots, community, schools and even at work! peacefully. Because the majority of good white American people out there have nothing to do with the racists. And are against it. Just as there are a lot of us who do not like what some Mexicans do.or just because we have a lot of bad trashy Mexicans (I include myself in this category in the proccess of making progress hello?) doesn`t mean that all Mexicans are the same, or that all Americans are the same.! We all need to make changes here in the United States and in Mexico. We have to because we are neighbors. I suggest that we can start, by, providing all these Mexicans here who can’t speak Spanish some classes so they can enrich themselves and likewise with the immigrants who can not speak English or don’t want to. We also have to give them some basic immigration law classes because most of them are ignorant about our US-MEXICO Immigration laws. Just because this country gave them a crossing card, visa, green card or naturalization doesn’t mean that they are Americans. They are still Mexicans according to our Constitution. They will truly be Americans when they begin to participate in the change of attitude towards their own co-nationals and fellow Americans, and by participating in ways to change our governments here and in Mexico. Working hard in making this next immigration reform a success and not a failure for example. That’s one way we can start loving each other and have some togetherness and progress. Because, there is a lot of separation and hate between ourselves, but is mostly ignorance. not only here in the U.S. but at home too. In a country politically divided 50/50 just like the U.S. is. Mexicans speak badly not only about Americans but to their own paisanos (countryman) as well. Let`s End our differences All of us Mexicans,Whites, Blacks, Chicanos, and every race in America. beginning with us the Chilangos, fronterizos, nortenos, surenos, Indian, Spaniard, mestizos rich, poor, priistas, panistas, perredistast it is absolutely wrong to fight between ourselves and that has to stop! Or We can get charged with treason to the Republic in Mexico and here in the US We as Mexicans talking bad about our own race and putting All or some mexicans down means putting ourselves down. And that can be used against us by the Racists! who keep gaining laws passed to their own advantage, is a great time to come together like we always do in semana santa (easter, christmas, dia del grito, Independence day., thanksgiving.LETS END THIS CONFUSING SEPARATION WE ARE SPANISH AND INDIAN LETS ACCEPT THE MIXTURE IS A GREAT MIX, WE HAVE IT ALL TO SET AN EXAMPLE TO THE US & THE WORLD, TO BE FOLLOWED. We need a reform not only in our government but within ourselves. We need to love one another and unite to reform the US government which is Corrupted as Mexico is corrupted. To change these corrupt Governments and ourselves to fight for our rights in the US and wherever we are, write letters to your government leaders, start rallies, vote, & participate to change both Governments now is the time! Raza!-people! Nobody complains of The Rich from all other countries who have also invaded the U.S. because It’s safe heaven for them, for the protection that this country provides to rich people, who get all these rights and big welcomes in our society because of their money. But Their attitude against the indigenous peoples & to poor blacks,whites and mexicans. needs to change! now I love the real American people the ones that made this country great that worked very hard and were righteous and deserved what they worked for. Including us of course. We are part of this too whether we like it or not, Let’s keep working to solve our neighborly problems it is still a long way ahead of us.

Victor salas

victorlater@yahoo.com

Página 1

A: Todo el pueblo mexicano

Asunto:

UNIRSE A LA REFORMA DE LAS LEYES DE INMIGRACIÓN

Acabo de firmar la siguiente petición dirigida a: Todos los Mexicanos, Chicanos y Americanos

----------------

NOSOTROS LOS MEXICANOS

Por Víctor Salas

Saludos,

Petición dirigida a: El pueblo de MEXICO y EE.UU.

----------------

(Cambio de actitud)

En todo el país la gente está haciendo todos estos comentarios sobre el tema

(Inmigración) y los mexicanos, poniendo toda la culpa a los inmigrantes ilegales de

México, bueno, yo creo que están equivocados, muchos anglo EUROPEOS,

Caucásicos y otros, entre ellos criminales están aquí ilegalmente?

Los asiáticos, hindúes, africanos, Centro Americanos, sudamericanos, sólo por mencionar

Algunos! son millones! y siguen viniendo. Esta Inmigración hacia EE.UU. y sus leyes

No son un problema sólo de México. Aplica a todos los ilegales en los EE.UU. no sólo

Los mexicanos que cargan con la culpa por ello. Los estadounidenses se sienten que ellos no necesitan hacer tareas pendientes fundamentales del trabajo, porque los mexicanos lo hacen por ellos, es porque no pueden hacerlo por su propio ser o porque tienen un complejo de superioridad que sólo se ejecuta en su mayoría el anglo o de sangre de raza blanca. Quiero decir que excusamos a los de color, ya que afirman que ya se hizo todo el trabajo que había que venir para ellos (mano de obra barato y trabajo duro), debido a que los

Blancos malos abusaron de ellos durante mucho tiempo. Pero ¿Cuál es su excusa, me refiero a los que no están de acuerdo con la recolección de basura, naranjas o recoger lechugas, plantas u otras tareas, etc., si son demasiado especiales para

No realizar estos trabajos, entonces deberían dejar de quejarse por eso ya que hay mucha gente aquí que desean tomar estos puestos de trabajo. Vayamos por delante para permitirle o empezar a contratar para promover a los blancos o a los de color para hacer estos trabajos, vamos a empezar hacer un cambio! Además, (los Asiáticos) son el principales problema de la inmigración aquí en Estados Unidos y América. Incluyendo a México

Pero no importa todavía tenemos aquí mucho espacio. Hay alrededor de 1,7 millones de

China por sí sola no incluyendo los otros orientales de la cuenca del Pacífico. Y si no

Sabían, es la población de más rápido crecimiento en los EE.UU. y América. Siguen

Viniendo, es la invasión! además estamos a la apertura de los programas de visas para ellos. Por lo tanto, Obviamente que están tomando estos puestos de trabajo, sus trabajos también., pero está bien ya que trabajan y eso no es ilegal! pero algunos no están conscientes de esto y se ocupan en estar culpando a los pobres analfabetos de México, que

Vienen a llenar los empleos vacíos. Vamos a despertar y oler el café. Estoy de acuerdo y

Apoyo a cambio del sistema legal de Inmigración. Comenzando con el ICE o el DHS, que

Fue llamado el INS antes. De Reformar la legislación vigente o para mejorarla! De todos modos

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Página 2

Cuando estoy en México, nosotros, los mexicanos no nos importa sobre cómo ellos ven el

Mundo porque tenemos nuestra propia manera de verlo., y no sólo nosotros sino el resto de

Los países del mundo. En otras palabras, es un planeta muy grande y que simplemente no

Les pertenece a ellos. El mundo no gira alrededor de los EE.UU., no es el centro del universo hello? llaman a este lugar América? En parte tienen razón ya que

Es porque ellos también son inmigrantes. Deberían llamarle los EE.UU. algunos

Mexicanos han estado aquí desde el principio, y la mayoría de los estadounidenses han estado aquí solo durante 200 años, algunos inmigrantes de tan solo algunas generaciones de edad del resto del mundo y México, pero que merecen ser respetados, incluso los ilegales. Todos Tienen derechos al pisar suelo Estadunidense: Inmigrantes del planeta, así como una gran cantidad de mexicanos recién llegados a EE.UU, segunda, tercera, o

4 ª generación, o como los primeros que estuvieron aquí. Ahora hay un montón de lucha contra las organizaciones de anti- inmigrantes que sienten o creen que este país

Pertenece sólo a ellos. La fiesta del té, minuteman por mencionar algunos de los cientos o miles de organizaciones racistas ex- Hitler seguidores, los restos del Kukuxklán y grupos de la Alemania nazi que huyeron a Italia, Argentina y los EE.UU.. Una raza maligna de oprimidos casi extinta que viene desde atrás ahora con la hermosa bandera de EE.UU. como si les perteneciera solo a ellos usando a todos estos pobres

Analfabetas blancos, negros, hispanos, chinos y/o mexicanos incluso a creer en

Su estupidez, a la promoción del odio. Pero nosotros, los verdaderos Americanos no vamos a permitirlo! van hacia abajo y atrás hacia el mismo agujero donde estaban, porque es donde deben estar: en la clandestinidad! pero recientemente se vio el problema de la inmigración como una oportunidad para salir ellos a flote y desafortunadamente están ganando mucho impulso y apoyo del pueblo norteamericano que se les suministra con millones y millones de dólares para su causa: (el odio, mezclado con la ignorancia).

Ahora admitimos que los mexicanos tenemos problemas que necesitan ser corregidos y/o

Cambiados. Sólo por mencionar algunos: (Nosotros, los no-blancos-necesitamos de dejar de hablar mal, sin sentido como los racistas) al culpar a los blancos por todos los males de EE.UU como los negros que son como los Minuteman o grupos anti-inmigrantes racistas (siempre culpando a los inmigrantes ilegales por todo). Y otra es la asimilación de la lengua y el uso, dejemos de promover la inmigración hacia los EE.UU. y trabajemos para el cambio en busca de una solución en los tribunales, votando, en la comunidad, escuelas y hasta en el trabajo! Pacíficamente, en harmonía un mexicano a la vez. Ya que la mayoría del pueblo de Estados Unidos no tiene nada que ver con los racistas. Y están en contra de ellos. Así como hay muchos de nosotros que no nos gusta lo que algunos mexicanos hacen me refiero a Mexicanos de México, y/o Mexican-americans (chicanos) por nuestras diferencias o porque tenemos un montón de basura mexicana (me incluyo en este categoría en el proceso de avanzar al progreso hello?) no significa que todos los Los mexicanos en México o los EE: UU en general son igual, o que todos los estadounidenses son todos iguales! Ahora si generalizando Todos tenemos que hacer cambios en los Estados Unidos y en México. Tenemos que hacerlo porque somos vecinos. Yo sugiero que podríamos empezar, proporcionando a todos estos mexicanos aquí en EE.UU que no pueden hablar Español: clases para que puedan hablar algo de español para que puedan enriquecerse a sí mismos y del mismo modo con los inmigrantes que no hablan Inglés o no quieren hablar o aprender. También tenemos que ofrecerles algunas clases básicas de leyes de inmigración, porque la mayoría de ellos ignoran nuestras leyes de inmigración MÉXICO-ESTADOS UNIDOS. El hecho de que este país les dio una tarjeta de cruce, visa, tarjeta de residencia o la naturalización no significa que sean estadounidenses. Todavía son mexicanos de acuerdo con nuestra Constitución, hasta la tercera Generación! Que realmente serian Americanos, cuando empiecen a participar en el cambio de actitud hacia sus propios connacionales y conciudadanos, participando de todas las maneras para cambiar nuestros gobiernos, aquí y en México. Trabajando duro Al hacer esta reforma de la inmigración todo un éxito y no un fracaso, yo lo sugiero como un ejemplo o una manera en que podemos empezar a amarnos/ayudarnos los unos a otros y entretejer un buen compañerismo hacia el progreso. Porque, hay una gran separación y odio entre nosotros mismos, pero es

Sobre todo la ignorancia. No sólo aquí en los EE.UU. pero también en casa. En un país políticamente 50/50 dividido al igual que los EE.UU. es. Los mexicanos hablan mal, no sólo acerca de los estadounidenses sino de sus propios paisanos (compatriotas) también. Vamos a terminar nuestras diferencias todos nosotros:

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Página 3

Los mexicanos, blancos, negros, chicanos, y todas las razas en América. Comenzando con nosotros los mexicanos, los chilangos, fronterizos, norteños, sureños, indios, españoles, mestizos, ricos, pobres, priistas, panistas, perredistas, etc., ya que es absolutamente erróneo pelear entre nosotros mismos y eso tiene que parar! O Podríamos ser acusados en México de (Traición a la Patria). Y aquí en los EE.UU. Nosotros los mexicanos el

Hablar mal de nuestra propia raza y poner a todos o algunos mexicanos es

Ponernos abajo nosotros mismos. Y eso es utilizado en contra de nosotros por los racistas! Que se mantienen ganando reformas a las leyes de EE.UU para su propio beneficio, Ahora es un buen momento para unirse como siempre lo hacemos en Semana Santa (Pascua, Navidad, Día del Grito, día de la Independencia., thanksgiving.etc., Vamos a terminar con Esta separación confusa, SOMOS ESPAÑOLES E INDIGENAS: MESTIZOS ACEPTEMOS LA MEZCLA es grandiosa, lo tenemos todo

Para establecer un ejemplo para la gente de EE.UU. y el mundo a seguir. Nosotros

Necesitamos de una reforma, no sólo en nuestros gobiernos, sino dentro de nosotros mismos. Necesitamos amarnos entre sí unirnos para reformar el gobierno de los EE.UU. que es corrupto al igual que en México lo es. Para cambiar estos gobiernos corruptos y nosotros mismos y luchar por nuestros derechos en los EE.UU. y donde quiera que estemos, empecemos a escribir cartas a los líderes de su gobierno, empezar reuniones, votar, participar y cambiar tanto los gobiernos como a nosotros mismos. Ahora es el momento!

Raza! gente! Nadie se queja de los ricos de todos los demás países que han

También invadieron los EE.UU. porque es un refugio seguro para ellos, por la protección que esta nación ofrece a los ricos, que reciben todos los derechos dando la bienvenida en nuestra gran sociedad a causa de su dinero. Pero estos también su actitud en contra de los indígenas, negros pobres, blancos y mexicanos indigentes tiene que cambiar! ahora comento algo que hizo de este país el más grande de todos el Pueblo de Estados Unidos que trabajó muy duro y ahora se merecen todo lo bueno que se obtiene del trabajo justo y honesto, Incluidos nosotros, por supuesto Somos parte de esto también, nos guste o no, Vamos a seguir trabajando para resolver nuestra vecindad resolviendo nuestros problemas, es todavía un largo camino por delante.

Víctor Salas

victorlater@yahoo.com

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Atentamente,

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If we let all of this mmigration issues remain as they are and not do anything about the new ones coming ! The racists and the ignorant with the help of the ones that take side with them most of our children will be killed, incarcerated , ignored and forgotten for a long time, this is serious, we have to tell the people that this is a WAR that we can win with education to the people working together dropping, eradicating, ending, the reverse racism against ourselves unifying every mexican, hispanic, and all who want to follow to end this aggravated position that this Government has taken thanks to the ignorance and the confussion that We have created in part here in the States and Mexico by agreeing with their immigration policies! they create chaos, separate families, promote racism, favored the rich and the educated, create dissentment among ourselves in many ways, they need to be reformed!