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Mexican president Felipe Calderón's U.S. visit could highlight illegal-immigration debate

President's effort to reach out to Mexicans abroad risks U.S. political impact


12:00 AM CST on Saturday, February 9, 2008
By ALFREDO CORCHADO / The Dallas Morning News
acorchado@dallasnews.com

WASHINGTON – Mexican President Felipe Calderón will arrive Sunday for his first U.S. visit since he was elected in 2006. Longtime observers question his timing, saying his presence during the U.S. presidential campaign may turn up the heat in the debate over illegal immigration.

Officially, the five-day trip is billed as an "encounter" with Mr. Calderón's compatriots abroad, according to a statement from the president's office to the Mexican Congress. But the visit could backfire, experts say, by putting the focus back on the hot-potato issue of Mexican migration.

"What Calderón wants to do is legitimate, no question about that, reach out to the Mexican community, which has long been under siege," said Eric Olson, formerly of the Organization of American States and a longtime political observer of Mexico.

"But politically, if they're not careful it could become part of the debate in this election here.

"Someone like John McCain, who's normally very supportive, might be forced to be careful to distance himself from Mexico, if the anti-immigrant, ultraconservatives view this visit as negative," he added. "So this is very delicate time and they need to be careful about how they manage it."

A spokesman at the Mexican Embassy declined to comment on the timing of the trip.

Nonetheless, other officials stressed that the president's visit will serve two objectives. The trip allows him to "reach out to Mexican communities in the United States, which he hasn't been able to do in his first year in office, and support them, and tell them they're not alone," said one official speaking on the condition of anonymity. And it will help him to "strengthen the relationship with the U.S. private sector" as he tries to bring more investment to Mexico, the official added.

Mr. Calderón, other officials say, is also trying to reshape the immigration debate in the United States by showcasing the "hard work" and "economic benefits" that his compatriots represent to the U.S. economy and economic integration of the two countries.

"Timing is everything, and the timing of President Calderón's trip speaks volumes – following Super Tuesday and on the eve of the remaining primaries," said Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, president of Peschard & Associates, an independent consulting firm. "He clearly will capitalize on the timing, plus some of his politically oriented meetings, to make sure he puts Mexico on the next president's desk and even try to shape the bilateral agenda."


Not speaking out

Some congressional leaders declined to comment publicly on Mr. Calderón's trip.

But at least one member of Congress, speaking on condition of anonymity, had this to say: "This isn't exactly the best of times," pointing to such issues as illegal immigration, the border fence and the ongoing debate in Congress on whether to approve a $1.4 billion anti-drug aid package to help Mexico confront its widening violence in Mexico.

Andrew Selee, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute, added, "I don't think he will focus on the Merida Initiative. I think he wants to put Mexico on the map more generally in the United States."

Traditionally, Mexican presidents visit the U.S. in their first year in office.

But since taking office in Dec. 1, 2006, Mr. Calderón has instead visited other countries in Central and South America and Europe. Although he's met with President Bush on a number of occasions, Mr. Calderón has yet to set foot on U.S. soil.

Aside from his five-day U.S. visit, Mr. Calderón is scheduled to return to the United States April 20-21 and meet with Mr. Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in New Orleans for the annual North American Leaders Summit.


Invitation extended

Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert is awaiting a response to his invitation to Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa to hold the biannual meeting of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad April 23-25 in Dallas.

If the foreign ministry accepts the invitation, there's a "good possibility" that Mr. Calderón might also visit Dallas immediately after New Orleans, though such a visit is subject to approval by the Mexican Congress, a senior Mexican official said.

Mr. Calderón's coast-to-coast trip begins Sunday with a tour of the northeast corridor – New York City and Boston – followed by stops in Chicago, Sacramento, Calif., and Los Angeles.

On Monday night, Mr. Calderón will deliver an address at his alma mater, Harvard University. Mr. Calderón, a Mason fellow, completed a Master's of Public Administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2000.

In New York City, he meets with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. He postponed a trip to the U.N. last September because of massive floods in the Mexican state of Tabasco.

Mr. Calderón is also scheduled to meet with key political allies, such as New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He will also meet with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a prominent Hispanic leader who endorsed New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Traveling with the Mexican president will be his wife, Margarita Zavala; the governors of Zacatecas, Colima and Guanajuato; as well as Rafael Fernandez de Castro, an expert on international relations.