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fordmexico

Nov 21, 2014, 9:22 PM

Post #1 of 26 (15738 views)

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Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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That's the title of a Washington Post blog article by Adam Taylor who gets his inspiration from a 2010 Global Post article by Meghan Collins who sites some very generalized sources for support.

Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/11/21/mexico-has-its-own-immigration-problem-american-retirees/

Global Post
http://www.globalpost.com/...-illegal-immigration

(This post was edited by RickS on Nov 21, 2014, 9:28 PM)

DavidHF

Nov 22, 2014, 6:18 AM

Post #2 of 26 (15696 views)

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Re: [fordmexico] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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This is a worthless piece that is not factually correct. Rentista Visa? Sheesh.

Maxmilliano

Nov 22, 2014, 8:49 AM

Post #3 of 26 (15651 views)

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Re: [fordmexico] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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I don’t have any sources either but from my experience if there are any illegal Americans in Mexico it is a very, very insignificant number in relation to the number that are here legally. I have never come across or heard of an American in Mexico illegally in my 10 years here. Why would they want to be here illegally when it is easy enough to be here legally.

stevebrtx

Nov 22, 2014, 10:02 AM

Post #4 of 26 (15642 views)

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Re: [Maxmilliano] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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Well, you have the occasional criminal hiding out here, in my 7 years I think they found 2 in the Lake area but otherwise I never knew of anyone "illegal" - but as I used to tell people, I'd rather leave my compound without my pants than to forget my visa. Being a gringo in MX and doing anything illegal is almost guaranteed to have a bad ending.

buffalodon

Nov 22, 2014, 10:27 AM

Post #5 of 26 (15632 views)

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Re: [stevebrtx] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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I know of one US citizen and one Canadian citizen that are here illegally and both have been here for over 10 years.
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If you didn't know how old you were, how old would you think you were?

La Isla

Nov 22, 2014, 10:31 AM

Post #6 of 26 (15630 views)

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Re: [fordmexico] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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I read this article and found it factually very weak. In the over 7 years I've lived here, I've never run into an American (or Canadian) who was living here illegally. Of course, I know this is just anecdotal information, but it is still is a lot more authoritative than writing something like this, and I quote: "While figures are hard to come by, some argue that U.S. citizens may make up the vast majority of illegal immigrants in Mexico."

rvgringo

Nov 22, 2014, 10:40 AM

Post #7 of 26 (15627 views)

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Re: [La Isla] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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I really doubt that any illegal alien, anywhere, would volunteer that information to anyone. I do know that it is easy to be illegal in Mexico by coming down on a tourist permit, having a good debit card and keeping a low profile. If one did not try to have a car or purchase a home, etc., life would be quite simple if one did not travel much. There used to be some that I wondered about, usually spending a lot of time doing nothing more than holding down a bench in various plazas.

La Isla

Nov 22, 2014, 10:50 AM

Post #8 of 26 (15625 views)

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Re: [rvgringo] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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These are good points, RV, but then where do the stats exist to prove the article's thesis?

fordmexico

Nov 22, 2014, 11:00 AM

Post #9 of 26 (15623 views)

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Re: [La Isla] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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That's the point, the blog doesn't cite any current or useful information to substantiate the author's assertations. The comments to the article are even more hilarious. A few do mention that some may be working here without proper authorization but they are not "retirees".

It was disheartening to see the Washington Post publish the blog.

Rolly

Nov 22, 2014, 11:06 AM

Post #10 of 26 (15620 views)

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Re: [fordmexico] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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"It was disheartening to see the Washington Post publish the blog."
I agree. It was fluff at best, but really more like plain trash.

Rolly Pirate

stevebrtx

Nov 22, 2014, 11:42 AM

Post #11 of 26 (15607 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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"Disheartening" and 'WashPost" in the same line - seems to me like a common association. People in Washington couldn't write a first hand story about someone in Il, or IN, NE, they have no idea what the real world is like and are not interested in finding out as long as their fat paychecks keep rolling in.

Sunnyvmx

Nov 23, 2014, 3:18 AM

Post #12 of 26 (15526 views)

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Re: [fordmexico] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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In 2005 I spent 2 weeks at a campground in Acapulco. Got to know the son in law of the owners and their daughter. We thought he had done well until we learned that he was later arrested after being spotted on the TV show, America's Most Wanted.

Met a nice fellow in a hotel pool that had been a resident in the area for a long time in a town in Baja. I was told not to ask any questions about his past. He wouldn't answer anyways.

Then there was a sweet old gentleman living in the complex that I got to know quite well in the five years I lived in the small town of Catemaco in Veracruz. He never would allow his photo taken and then became very upset when his picture was taken at a group dinner and was posted in someone's blog on the internet. We had spent many an afternoon discussing hydroponic gardening in a large house setting. He was very knowledgeable on the subject.

I also spend lots of time at home, have a small circle of friends and hate having my picture taken.

chinagringo

Nov 23, 2014, 6:54 AM

Post #13 of 26 (15500 views)

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Re: [Sunnyvmx] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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So are you telling us that your avatar photo isn't you?

To be in denial that there aren't any number of illegal foreigners in a fair number of communities in Mexico may be a head in the sand approach? There are plenty of "clues" on various forums written by folks who give themselves away. With the new financial qualifiers, I believe that there may be even more ducking the system?
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

cookj5

Nov 23, 2014, 9:52 PM

Post #14 of 26 (15404 views)

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Re: [fordmexico] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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Unless one is on the run from law enforcement in one's home country, what in the world would be the incentive to be in Mexico illegally? Six-month tourist visas are easy and very inexpensive to get. Heck, they come automatically as part of your airfare when you travel here by air.

Going to the border to renew every six months is a bit of a bother, but really no big deal. At least at this time, the number of renewals you can do is infinite. So why would anyone--other than a criminal--come here illegally? Why would they rather hide out and worry about getting caught with out a cheap and easy-to-get tourist visa?

As to criminals hiding out, I am sure there are a few. In fact, I knew a guy who was later picked up and deported. I just don't believe there are more than a very few people like him, and he was young and not a retiree. Logically, the claims made in the Post article just don't make sense.

richmx2

Nov 23, 2014, 11:49 PM

Post #15 of 26 (15400 views)

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Re: [rvgringo] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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I was an illegal alien (I wish I could claim I did the backstroke across the Rio Bravo del Norte, but ... no.... like most, I just overstayed a tourist visa and went to work). Most of the people I worked with were, too. If you include those rentistas who fudge their income (something more than a few people on this site are willing to assist others in doing) and/or are earning money (or, for that matter, any sort of remuneration... including house-sitting), there are an awful lot of "illegal aliens" here, and truth be told, we all know more than a few of "illegals".

That said, the WaPo article was nonsense, but then, when has the WaPo ever been a reliable source for anything about Latin America?

http://mexfiles.net
http://mexicobookpublishers.com

slainte39

Nov 24, 2014, 8:05 AM

Post #16 of 26 (15361 views)

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Re: [richmx2] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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Your analysis is spot on. Most of the young kids (foreigners) you see working in restaurants and bars in the tourist hot spots, probably do not have work permits. Even in the Lake Chapala area there are older people working or offering their "professional services", that are not legal to do so, and probably not paying taxes either. Then you have the "retirees" who don't travel and just let their permits to be here, expire. When work permits were hard to obtain, the real estate industry was loaded with illegals.
I'm just referring to NOB or European types, then you have the Central and South Americans who are more difficult to notice.

Gri-lango

Nov 25, 2014, 10:57 AM

Post #17 of 26 (15239 views)

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Re: [slainte39] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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I am not siding with article...but...when I lived in San Diego I knew of many expats that overstayed and worked without papers in Baja Norte and Sur. I can imagine other states have a fair share. None advertise the fact, and most know the lay of the land well enough to keep a low enough profile, no one notices. In DF, most of my life is with my family and friends that are locals...so I do not know much about the expats here.

citlali

Nov 26, 2014, 12:25 PM

Post #18 of 26 (15151 views)

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Re: [Gri-lango] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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I think that the Chapala area would be low in undocumented but I bet you can find plenty in Mexico City, San Cristobal de las Casas, Cancun etc...They are mostly young foreigners.

La Isla

Nov 26, 2014, 3:30 PM

Post #19 of 26 (15122 views)

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Re: [citlali] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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In Reply To

I think that the Chapala area would be low in undocumented but I bet you can find plenty in Mexico City, San Cristobal de las Casas, Cancun etc...They are mostly young foreigners.

I'll bet you're right, citlali. I'll also bet that most of them are just here for relatively short stays, unlike we older folk who may be here for the duration.

chinagringo

Nov 26, 2014, 8:17 PM

Post #20 of 26 (15080 views)

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Re: [citlali] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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Please! There are way too many entitled Gringos in the Lake Chapala area and if one did some serious digging I would bet they would find a surprising number? Granted we do not live in the area but I can think of at least a dozen participants on either chapala.com or insidelakeside.com that my BS Meter indicates are illegals in one form or another. Certainly they are not running around shooting their mouths off about how they are beating the system but they are out there!
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

slainte39

Nov 26, 2014, 10:53 PM

Post #21 of 26 (15071 views)

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Re: [chinagringo] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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I can remember not that long ago, in the Lake Chapala area, when the immigration authorities were in the area checking work permits, you could shoot canon balls through most real estate offices and not hit anyone, as so many people "were home sick in bed", if you know what I mean.
I think the foreign employees are much more legit these days, but as was said, people don't go around advertising their illegality. A lot of people are doing computer work here in Mexico that could be in the gray area about whether they are employed here or not or receiving remuneration for a lucrative activity, but would be hard to detect. And then you have foreign "landlords" that would probably be subject to "immigration review" for not paying their taxes and having the proper paperwork for such businesses.

richmx2

Nov 27, 2014, 5:11 AM

Post #22 of 26 (15064 views)

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Re: [La Isla] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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If I were a betting man, Isla, I might take that wager. What's more interesting is that the WaPo story is built on the premise that "illegal" immigration is something that should be a criminal matter, or something of major political concern... just because it is sold that way to the U.S. public. For the most part, it's just a regulatory issue, and unless there's some egregious sort of attempt at fraud, usually not something that is worth pursuing.

http://mexfiles.net
http://mexicobookpublishers.com

chinagringo

Nov 27, 2014, 6:20 AM

Post #23 of 26 (15047 views)

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Re: [richmx2] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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Are you suggesting that this is like traffic laws? Simply a suggestion and complance depends on whether you are caught or not?
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

playaboy

Nov 27, 2014, 7:32 AM

Post #24 of 26 (15026 views)

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Re: [citlali] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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In Reply To

I think that the Chapala area would be low in undocumented but I bet you can find plenty in Mexico City, San Cristobal de las Casas, Cancun etc...They are mostly young foreigners.

I know quite a few younger foreigners, from all over the world, in the Cancun/Riviera Maya area that live here legally, work or own businesses, are raising their families and making their life here Mexico.

In that area the majority of foreign workers are legal. Local newspapers articles tell of INM sweeps of businesses all the time. It is a problem but not a big problem.

salto_jorge

Dec 5, 2014, 9:32 AM

Post #25 of 26 (14792 views)

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Re: [playaboy] Mexico has its own immigration problem: American retirees

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I always thought that being illegal in the Mexican interior was a direct path to JAIL !

In the past, one could be in Sonora in the "free zone" without papers and not have problems , but you should register since the exact extent of the area was questionable to some in authority.

(This post was edited by salto_jorge on Dec 5, 2014, 9:33 AM)

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