There are reasons to believe that the Hispanic’s –among them the media—defense of their community and international law is mistakenly seen by some as an indulgence towards Latinos that commit crimes.

Such is the case of the Mexican executed this week in Texas, who was condemned for the horrific murder and rape of two women.  One can imagine the indignation spawned by such crimes, regardless of race or nationality of the person committing them.  The issue was not even about the death penalty itself, but rather about the violation of international law.

Texas defied the International Court of Justice, the highest ranking U.N. court, which ruled that the case be reviewed not on the basis of the murder itself, but rather because the right to legal counsel of this Mexican was violated.

This is a right of every citizen in the world when detained in a foreign country; as established by the Vienna Convention.  In other words, this has nothing to do with being a Mexican or Hispanic immigrant.

On the other hand, one need not do a lot of research to learn that in a recent case, such as that of a raid in King of Prussia in which 20 undocumented individuals –largely single mothers—were detained, their rights were violated.

These women, with security bracelets on their feet, plucked up courage last Thursday and, in front of the Norristown courthouse, reported that they had not been allowed to speak to a lawyer.

Again, the problem of undocumented immigrants is the need to adjust the migratory system to our reality; not to be accomplices to unlawfulness. But, likewise, it is also a matter of ethics, that which should be applied, for example, by the businessmen who exploit workers they know are undocumented, take advantage of cheap labor and later, when threatened by the ICE, turn them over.

Juana Villegas, a pregnant Mexican woman detained in Tennessee for driving without a license, was handcuffed to a bed before and after giving birth.  In this case, it is not even a matter of civil rights; it is simply a matter of humanity.