Immigration not on Mayor Tom Leppert's agenda for Calderón's Dallas visit

08:30 PM CDT on Tuesday, April 22, 2008
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News
dlevinthal@dallasnews.com
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... bf043.html

Illegal immigration continues to rank among the nation's most contentious issues, and as far as Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert is concerned, it should remain just that – a national issue.

That's why Mr. Leppert said he had no interest in discussing illegal immigration with Mexican President Felipe Calderón during a private meeting Tuesday in Dallas.

"It's not part of our discussion," Mr. Leppert said. "We're focused on the same issues, like trade, that we talked about when I went to Mexico earlier this year."

While officials in suburbs such as Farmers Branch and Irving have pursued municipal laws targeting illegal immigrants, Dallas officials have not.

Mr. Leppert, both as mayoral candidate and as mayor, has consistently contended that illegal immigration isn't Dallas City Hall's issue to address.

"It's a federal issue that should be dealt with on a federal basis," Mr. Leppert said in April 2007, two months before voters elected him mayor.

"It's certainly the wrong way to go, having municipalities determine federal policies," he said during a January visit to Mexico City.

Mr. Leppert reiterated that stance this week, saying that he's regularly urged Dallas-area congressional representatives to pass comprehensive, federal immigration reforms.

"I haven't found a person individually who disagrees with me. Unfortunately, collectively, going forward with it hasn't been the case," Mr. Leppert said.

For his part, the mayor says he'll continue to press strengthening trade ties with Mexico, particularly those that benefit Dallas' inland port project along the city's southeastern-most tip. During his January trip to Mexico, Mr. Leppert also pitched Dallas as a tourist destination for Mexicans – one filled with cultural and shopping amenities, and plenty of direct flights.

Such a strategy satisfies CiCi Rojas, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

"The mayor's been doing a terrific job. He's been walking the walk," Ms. Rojas said. "We want to see increased business opportunities for our members, and he's helping."

Mr. Leppert has supported creating a municipal office focused on assimilating legal immigrants in Dallas, regardless of their national origin.

But the City Council declined to fund such an office in its current budget, and the idea doesn't appear to be a top priority ahead of the council's deliberations on a 2008-2009 city budget, which begin in August.

"I haven't found a person individually who disagrees with me. Unfortunately, collectively, going forward with it hasn't been the case," Mr. Leppert said.
Well Mr. Mayor...it seems collectively that someone disagrees with you!