Biden urges new dialogue on Mexico
Senator says investment needed to secure border

By SUMMER HARLOW, The News Journal

Posted Saturday, December 2, 2006

While Iraq initially will usurp a lot of attention, Democratic Sen. Joe Biden, as incoming chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also plans to focus on improving the United States' relationship with Mexico.

"We have to work together on a host of issues -- economic growth, drug trafficking and immigration -- if we want to improve the lives of people on both sides of the border," Biden, Delaware's senior U.S. senator, said in a statement.

This week, during a political stop in South Carolina, Biden, courting support for a presidential bid, told Rotary Club members that Mexico is an "erstwhile democracy" with a "corrupt system" and is to blame for illegal immigration and drug problems.

Wally Schock, president of the Delaware Immigrants Council, said Biden's comments showed no real understanding of the immigration system. And "tough talk" with Mexico won't solve anything, he said.

"Americans buy drugs, which is why drugs are moved up from Mexico," he said. "Americans buy cheap chickens, and consequently we have Mexican labor. Biden didn't address the issue that we're willing to bend ethical and moral concepts to benefit from it."

Generally, Biden is a centrist when it comes to immigration, said Mark Miller, a University of Delaware political science professor who specializes in immigration.

Biden's statements are positions he has long embraced, and are nothing new, Miller said.

"What has changed is that he's going to be the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee," he added.

The centrist approach could benefit Biden as he tests the waters for a run at the White House in 2008.

His comments can make sense in terms of their broad appeal.

"A Democratic [presidential] candidate has to have bipartisan appeal," Miller said. "We know that the immigration issue loomed large in the congressional elections we just held, and the national consensus is that something's got to give in terms of immigration. So making a statement like this makes a lot of sense as far as timing."

Common ground

Biden's call for economic development in Mexico echoes that of Mexico's new president, Felipe Calderón.

On Friday, amid protests and accusations that he stole the July election, Calderón was sworn in, replacing Vicente Fox, who had pushed for amnesty for the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

Calderón has said creating well-paying jobs in Mexico is the only solution to curbing illegal immigration. He said he intends to promote exports and investments, calling on the United States for help with economic development.

Although Biden is pushing for changes, he is not yet promoting legislation related to Mexico, said Margaret Aitken, a Biden spokeswoman.

John Deiner, associate professor of political science and international relations at the University of Delaware, said it's not surprising that Biden is bringing up Mexico, as he will head the foreign relations committee.

"Of course one of the issues he should face is our relationship with Mexico," Deiner said. "Before 9/11 it looked like it would improve, but since 9/11 ... we lost sight of Mexico."

In general, the U.S. policy toward Latin America is left over from the Cold War era. Deiner said it's time for the United States to reconsider its Western Hemisphere strategy.

"I think we need to work more closely with Mexico, and take a more pro-active look at all of Latin America," he said.

Debate on the border

Earlier this year Biden voted to support an immigration reform bill that would have toughened border security and established a temporary guest worker program. That bill, as well as a House version, stalled prior to the November elections.

Biden also co-sponsored a bill that would have provided $250 million over five years for social investment and increased development in the Americas. That bill likely will be reintroduced in the next Congress, Aitken said.

"As long as people can't find good-paying jobs in their home countries, they will find a way to come here," Biden said in the statement.

Rather than placing the blame on particular countries, Biden and others in the government should focus on handling the problem at home, said Maria Matos, executive director for the Latin American Community Center in Wilmington.

"What we need to do is concentrate on fixing the immigration system here," she said.

That means securing this country's borders, and passing comprehensive immigration reform laws that deal with the undocumented immigrants already here, said Matos, who said she would support Biden for president.

Miller said the United States has focused too heavily on immigration policy, and not enough on foreign assistance.

"They come here because they can improve their lives," said Miller. "The United States should take steps to help the Mexican government create more employment opportunities for Mexican citizens."

Biden said he voted in favor of building a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, not because it will stop illegal immigration, but because it will help crack down on drug trafficking.

"Up to 90 percent of the cocaine entering the U.S. from Latin America passes through Mexico or its waters and so do much of the marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine," he said in the statement. "But as I have long said, drug trafficking is not just a supply problem -- it's a demand problem that we have to solve here in the U.S."

No matter how many fences are erected, though, the borders cannot be secured, Schock said.

"We need to look at economic incentives or disincentives to move people or keep people from moving," he said. "And that takes more than just finger pointing."

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