I have been silent for quite a long time. This is because I’ve been in Monterrey, Mexico studying Spanish. Of course, my views on immigration have been affected by this experience. I’ll share two observations here.
First, from this excellent article: “In all the video footage I have seen of people crossing illegally from Mexico, of people arrested, the faces look more Indian than Spanish. Most of the illegal immigrants from Mexico may be mestizo, racially, but Indian features predominate. And isn’t that curious? The Indians are illegally coming into the United States. Indians will always wander in the Americas and they should. One lasting effect of illegal immigration, I believe, is that we will come to see America within the Americas…. Brown illegal immigrants with Indian faces may usher the Georgian and the Virginian to a recognition that they now live within the New World—an illegal idea—and not in some distant colony of England.” I have now lived in the three major border metropolises, San Diego, El Paso, and the lower Rio Grande Valley. But not until living in Monterrey did I realize that during all that time when I was on the border, only the Morenos are present. They are living among the Anglos (or the Anglos are living among them), of course, but you will not find the Rubios or the Gueros among immigrants. Monterrey, only a two hour drive from the border, is half blonde; half the city defies racial classification. If I forget which country I’m in, I’d say they are Caucasian.
Second, if the restrictions of the border go away, most of the problems of the border will go away. Our nation would be much better if the border became more like Mexico. I love the border and will likely live my life on it, but the interior of Mexico is much closer to what most people want the U.S. to be (educated, professional, clean, wealthy) than is the border. And I’m talking about the U.S. side of the border.
Of course, if neither of these things were true, people still have the right to seek life, liberty, and property, and for many that requires coming to the U.S.
Nonviolent Migration 
March 16, 2008 at 3:40 am
My city 🙂
you are quite right by the way.
April 16, 2008 at 12:01 am
iz nice the city
April 27, 2008 at 3:00 pm
I like your post, the world would be a better place if everyone thinks the same as you do.
May 3, 2008 at 12:44 pm
estoy de acuerdo con tigo tienes que ser meztizo (euro-americano)… o vivir entre ellos ya sea como guero o moreno para enternderlo… buen articulo..
May 6, 2008 at 10:41 pm
I was born in Monterrey… I love my city with everything I got.
I no longer live there (unfortunately) and you are quite right about that.. Mexico is not just indians ans illegals. I live in Canada and ppl ask me all the time where am I from..?? When I say “can you guess?” they ALWAYS say “french” and sometimes greek.
Perhaps they are expecting me to be dark skin and brown eyes… I hate stereotypes, but badly.. they do rule the world.
I hope you had an awesome time in my beloved city 🙂
God bless.
May 23, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Monterrey Rules
June 16, 2008 at 5:25 pm
“…but the interior of Mexico is much closer to what most people want the U.S. to be (educated, professional, clean, wealthy)…”
I live in Monterrey, in I supouse you must be kidding.
wealthy? please, give my a break ! just look at the millon people living in poverty around the city.
You have a very romantic and unrealistic vision of my country.
June 16, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Pancho, the way you quoted me is quite dishonest. What I said was, “the interior of Mexico is much closer to what most people want the U.S. to be (educated, professional, clean, wealthy) than is the border. And I’m talking about the U.S. side of the border.” I was speaking about the relative worth of Monterrey and the northern side of La Frontera. While living in Monterrey, and indeed ever since, I have often said that Monterrey is my favorite city I’ve lived it, but that my judgment might not be fair because I never had to find a job or work there. However, your comment compelled me to look up the numbers, and here they are.
Cameron County, Texas (where I live): per capita income = $10,960 USD. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_County,_Texas
Hidalgo County, Texas (the next county West): per capita income = $9,899 USD. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidalgo_County%2C_Texas
Starr County, Texas (one more county West): per capita income = $7,069 USD.
Nuevo Leon, Mexico: per capita income = $11,149 USD. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/6/55/35603029.pdf
Maybe I have a “very romantic and unrealistic vision” of your country, but perhaps you have an even more romantica and unrealistic vision of mine.
July 5, 2008 at 8:53 am
nice thoughts!
although they may be negative facts too, it’s nice that you look some positive aspects.
greetings from Monterrey.
July 23, 2008 at 11:54 pm
finally somebody understands!
and that Pancho guy ? please!
ive lived both in the united states and Monterrey and i can tell people in Monterrey live better and happier somehow.. i also HATE stereotypes dude were not all poor and in need
of some other government people should start to realize that.
August 29, 2008 at 9:02 am
i am from monterrey and its a beautiful place to live trust me just because mexico is a thirdworld country it doesnt mean that all the places in mexico are poor some places in mexico are beautiful like monterrey, guadalajara, mexico city and yucatan and i get pissed when peaople say mexico sucks
August 29, 2008 at 9:04 am
iam not saying that you say that but i think the half or more of the americans say that
September 17, 2008 at 12:30 am
I just hate when the stereotypes turns the “reality”. Northamerican people are racist, but, do mexicans arent?
Its sad, but here in Mexico, the northerns hate southerns, and southerns hate northerns… but the sadly case is against Mexico city people. Southerns, northerns… everybody hate Mexico city people; chilangos they call to us.
Stupid? Really stupid. I hope the day ALL MEXICANS change. In my city, of course the half is very, very ignorant people. We are the product of all the country. In Mexico City you will find indians (in the Downtown, Chapultepec or that turistic zones), you will fin euro-mexicans in Polanco, Lomas, Coyoacán, Condesa, etc. and mestizos (in all the city). The color of the skin is only that: a fucking color.
STOP RACISM!!
September 25, 2008 at 10:50 pm
People in need exist among all the countries; so let’s just for a minute think of all the services and quality of live that most of the people living in big cities have (I’m from Guadalajara) and you’ll probably get to the conclusion that there are some parts of our country with no access to these services, the same that happens in India, China and even in the U.S. although in a much less number. That need of comfort and quality of life is what moves part of our people to look for the “American Dream”, they’re not uneducated and rough just because the want to, but because they have no other choice. However, at the end of the day if more and more people change their mind about our México, we will be able to see the root of the problems and work to solve them. Thanks for your words John.
October 6, 2008 at 6:02 am
monterrey is a great place to live! it has some bad places and some other great places just like any other city in the world
November 7, 2008 at 3:05 am
People, People, c’mon..first of all, you all need to get your facts straight, now Mr. Moore, first of all, wikipedia is not a resourceful place to start doing your research in. I was born in San Juan, Texas, and as a matter of fact, the valley might not be on top of its economic progress, but it is growing financially. Moreover, my family lives in monterrey, so I’ve seen both of best worlds. Question is, have you seen homeless people in the valley, wandering the streets asking for money..??? No you haven’t, and in monterrey you pretty much see them everywhere. I now reside in Austin, Texas, which you can say it is a great place, and way better than monterrey, in my perspective and quoting people that come from Monterrey and say they prefer Austin. However, you see a lot of homeless people in Austin. So what one has to take into consideration is that Monterrey is huge, and pretty much you only see a part of it. You see the nice places, why, because it has become a city for tourist, while the “untouchables” hide behind the its walls of richness. So in this part, I have to go with Pancho, which I believe has live more time than you have Mr. Moore, coming where from the idea that Pancho was born and still living there. Now, applied to the border, I know for a fact, valley people are the more educated than people in Monterrey if you apply it in ratio. Reason is because I attend St. Edward’s University, a private university, and numerous of people from the valley attend the school. They are all over Austin. Going to the University of Texas at Austin, and other colleges in the surrounding area. Cleanwise, again, The valley is cleaner. You need to get deeper into Monterrey and see the real sides to it, not just the tourist places. Im telling you this because I party at El barrio antiguo, my family lives in San Pedro, around El Tec, by Country Sol, and im telling you from experience. Yes, I do agree that compared to the United States as a whole, border towns are not a major thing, but c’mon Monterrey? Yes, Monterrey is way more fun, of course, but when it comes down to academics, cleanliness, and about it’s income, we make way more money than in Monterrey, but that into perspective….10 pesos=1 dollar. Educate yourself. Jobs are growing in the valley, but like I stated previously , do not focus only on one bright side of it.
September 23, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Well first of all the right name is Contry Sol not Country Sol and fyi it is not located in San Pedro, so you are totally lying right there..Second of all you are probably a chicano who hates Mexico and like every chicano takes the opportunity to talk bad about us. I am from Monterrey but unfortunately I am living outside Mx right now, but I agree with Mr. Moore comments Monterrey is full of rich, educated and I would like to add BEAUTIFUL people. That’s all ..go back to your chicano life…
November 20, 2008 at 5:20 am
heh:)
well, I personally love Monterrey.If I could, I would live there.I think it;s way underrated, which is good for me.I like it when people dont know about something and I do.Monterrey is so much fun and the people are great(somewhat snobby, but still fun)I understand that there are poor people and slums, but that does not mean that it is bad. I was born in a small village in Bulgaria, which right now is in the Euro Union….what a joke! Mexico is much more developed than my country. People are better educated for the most part and more open to the rest of the world. I live in Chicago and I love it!But if u wanna see homeless ppl and poverty in an affluent city u are more than welcome to come here. u will see homeless people in front of Saks Fifth and almost everywhere in downtown, the trains smell like urine, the streets are in super bad shape,University of Chicago is in the middle of a slum…I mean the bad things exist everywhere, but I have been to a lot of different places and Monterrey is one of the better ones.I have seen more crime in europe than in mexico.I personnally would not clasify it as a third world country
btw, for those who r going to say that I have been to the nice places like Garza Garcia, Galerias Valle Oriente,Calzada San Pedro …yes, I have been there,
but I have also been to parts of Santa Catarina(la Huasteca) where people live in cartboard houses and dont have electicity. el centro looks horrible-dirty,buidings in ruins,water running everywhere on the streets, but that does not make Texas better place. I have been to a lot of places in Monterrey, and let me tell you that if you come to Chicago and go to South side you’ll see much worse or as a matter of fact if u go to Europe u’ll see the same in the big cities. so….people choose how they wanna live.
another point…going to college does not suffice for education. I know a lot of people who have college degrees and dont know crap about anything. Only know what they need to know to do their miserable jobs. In monterrey the taxi drivers are better rounded than the avarege office worker in America. That’s why america is the land of opportunities-the idiots manage to rise (i.e. soon-to-be ex president).
on the other hand, I would recommend USA if one wants to get liberal education. The universities in monterrey lack divesity when it comes to different areas of study.
and my last point….whoever posted the first comment with “Thoughts from Monterrey” or whatever….dude, I did not undestand a single word. hahah did u think that the immigrants from mexico are the actual representation of that country??!!! wow, hahah probably u were in for a shocker when u went to monterrey…”Oh my god, there are actually white people here…and they are blond with blue eyes..” let me enlighten u, there such people in D.F., Veracruz, Puebla, Saltillo, Zacatecas,Guadalajara, etc.
December 8, 2008 at 12:26 am
my city is great i love it..!!
April 28, 2009 at 12:13 am
Wow ,, people , please be happy ,, Monterrey its a great place to live ,,, even better than some places in the world , and if u didnt know is one of the most expensive cities to live. It has good and bad things like any place , but poverty in monterrey its relative to the poverty in the rest of Mexico . And the education in here it´s really good and diverse … I mean here we have a school owned by meritas and the ITESM is one of the best economy schools in the world such as in other topics… I dont know why all of you fight for stupid thing … just because we are in mexico doesnt mean we all are going to be with a hat and tequila …
July 19, 2009 at 5:20 am
I lived on Houston TX to follow to my mom but always wanted go back to Monterrey bcz that a great city with very nice people but more important lovley people i really missed Monterrey when i was on Houston but now I live on Monterry and i feel so..so happy to be here and i didnt miss U.S.for nothing…i like youre article..
August 11, 2009 at 5:00 am
hello people, i was born in monterrey too and i live there,
I am very grateful that we dont see everyone as a stereotype, but let’s face it the people from mexico;
Most people who emigrate from Mexico to the U.S. comes from the south
of states such as San Luis, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Yucatan Indians dominated the traits
, indeed, there are many people in these places that are moving to monterrey for a better life.
Pd. I have nothing against them is simply a comment
buscar
September 10, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Monterry Mexico…… is a great place….
October 23, 2009 at 7:13 am
el estado de monterrey es maravilloso se los rrecomiendo
January 3, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Just came across your blog this via the Richard Rodriguez article on Cato Unbound.
Regarding your statement:
“…but you will not find the Rubios or the Gueros among the immigrants.” – It may be the case near the border area you know but this is simply untrue in any definitive or absolute way. Maybe it has more to do with a demographic shift in the immigrating Mexican peoples. I know some of the recent wave of immigrants hail from states like Puebla where mestizos do take more of an obvious Indian appearance but look up some old Bracero photos & I’m sure you’re bound to find some gueros among them. Here in California, there is a history of immigration from rural Jalisco & Zacatecas, plenty of gueros among them. The thing with gueros is they blend in more so you might not even notice them. Or maybe the videographers might find the browner faces more potent subjects.
I hope this gets to Richard Rodriguez as well – isn’t he supposed to be a preeminent voice? How can he come to any conclusion from only “all the video footage I’ve seen”. What of immigration is captured on video? A speck? The history of Mexicans coming & going from this land is too long and getting the history right is important. It’s too easy to disseminate half-truths, no matter if well intentioned, and I sometimes fear that some (gringos & mexicans) might inadvertantly be creating a divide between light skinned & dark skinned Mexicans of the same socio-economic status where there shouldn’t be one.
It’s too easy to think you know more than you really do.
Where you don’t (or didn’t) see the gueros was among the beggars. At least that was the case in Tijuana from the 70’s – 90’s but I haven’t been there lately.
November 26, 2013 at 3:02 am
Hi!!! my name is Juan Diego im 30 years old and im from monterrey.I was living in corpus Christi as an illegal alien ,during my life there I meet this beautyfull American woman that became my wife now I got deported and our lifes are apart .I just need some help to just let her know that monterrey its safe to live or visit ,she is afraid to comeover just to visit,and I really will love to see her one day here so she can see whit her own eyes how gorgeous monterrey is…..violence here its gone…and we are good people…people and media always make it sounds horrible …..and bad things happen here and in the usa and all the world …so don’t talk shit about our city because bad things only happen to people that chill whit bad people…I really miss her..and will love for her to quit being scared and try!!!!I will like to share this link whit her ,so she can see coments from us citycens that already have experienced how its living in this gorgeous city