http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 24082.html


Mexico official: Walls can't stop migration

08:16 PM CDT on Thursday, May 12, 2005

By LAURENCE ILIFF / The Dallas Morning News


MEXICO CITY – A top Mexican official said Thursday that "there is no wall that can stop" the flow of illegal workers from Mexico to the U.S. and that money spent on such measures would be better used to "regularize" immigration and fight terrorism.

Interior Minister Santiago Creel, a likely presidential candidate next year, said U.S. attempts to halt migration over the last 100 years have failed. And so will new measures approved by the U.S. Senate this week and signed into law by President Bush, he said.

"We see this as bad because building walls in no way contributes to the construction of a good neighborhood," Mr. Creel said during a news conference with foreign journalists.

"It seems to us an extreme measure," said Mr. Creel, whose powerful ministry is responsible for internal political order, national security and Mexico's National Migration Institute.

The measures to dissuade illegal immigration approved by the U.S. Senate were included in an $82 billion military-operations spending bill, which passed unanimously Tuesday. The provisions include a ban on issuing driver's licenses to illegal workers. The bill also provides funds to complete a San Diego-area border fence separating California and Mexico.

But Mr. Creel complained that while Mexico is addressing American concerns – such as deporting about 250,000 foreigners a year who use this country as a trampoline to the United States – it has received nothing in return.

Neither the U.S. Congress nor the Bush administration has moved forward on immigration issues that Mexico wants resolved, such as an expanded guest-worker program and some type of "regularization" plan to make illegal workers legal over time, he said.

The Mexican government does look positively on some immigration proposals, such as one being promoted by Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz., because such plans include both a guest-worker program and a path to legal permanent residence, Mr. Creel said.

E-mail liliff@dallasnews.com

IMMIGRATION BILL HIGHLIGHTS

Here are key elements of an immigration plan introduced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.:

•Provides visas for up to six years for foreigners who want to work in the U.S., covering those already in the country illegally and workers seeking to come to the U.S.

•Provides that, after the six years, temporary workers could apply for permanent residency if they clear additional security checks, can prove they've paid their taxes and meet English proficiency and civics requirements.

•Strengthens enforcement and raises penalties against employers who hire illegal immigrants.

•Requires Mexico and other governments to enter into migration agreements with the U.S. to help control the flow of their citizens northward and encourage the reintegration of those returning home.

–Michelle Mittelstadt