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Guatemala's president calls for U.S. immigration reforms during local visit

Berger JULIO CORTEZ julio.cortez@scripps.com

Diego Dominguez, center, takes a photo with the president of Guatemala, Oscar Berger, during the leader's visit to Indiantown on Saturday.Story Tools
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Video: Guatemalan President Oscar Berger visits the Treasure Coast


By KIT BRADSHAW and CHARLIE REED
staff writers
February 18, 2007
INDIANTOWN — Guatemalan President Oscar Berger told a crowd who gathered in this rural community in western Martin County for his visit Saturday that U.S. immigration policy must be reformed.
America "needs all of you," Berger said after a welcoming ceremony that featured the Guatemalan and American flags and national anthems and traditional Guatemalan music and dancing.


Berger said he will relay the message to President Bush when they meet next month during Bush's tour of Guatemala, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia and Mexico.
A White House memo outlining Bush's five-day tour of Latin America does not specifically mention immigration, but Berger said he hopes to discuss the controversial topic with his American counterpart.

"It is contradictory in this country to not recognize the human rights of the immigrants," Berger said as he broke away from the crowd of about 500 gathered outside the Holy Cross Catholic Church in Indiantown.

Before leaving, Berger signed autographs and took pictures with the group, most of whom were from Guatemala or the children of Guatemalan immigrants.

"His visit will lift the morale of the people here in Indiantown," said 22-year-old Luis Carlos Ramirez, who moved here from Guatemala City two years ago to work construction.

Ramirez, a psychology student in Guatemala, will return home later this year to finish his degree and continue working for HIJOS, a human rights group based in Guatemala and Argentina.

"I'm here in the United States as an observer, not an activist," said Ramirez, whose student visa expired shortly after he arrived here. "Those without documents are scared. I am one of those people.

"The people of Indiantown are motivated to fight for immigration reform but as a whole, they do not have the knowledge," said Ramirez, who is working on a documentary about life as an immigrant.

Earlier in the day, Berger met privately with Palm Beach County officials before addressing a crowd Guatemalan expatriates at the El Sol Jupiter Neighborhood Resource Center.

"Immigration isn't just a policy issue, it is a human issue," he said, "and it needs a comprehensive approach."

Along with pledging to lobby Bush for new U.S. immigration laws, Berger promised to establish a Guatemalan consulate in Palm Beach County. The office would help expedite work visas and other immigration paperwork for local Guatemalans who now must travel to the Miami office.

"I was surprised as a long-term observer of politics that President Berger came here with something in hand, and he quickly responded to the request. That often doesn't happen," said Tim Steigenga, a Florida Atlantic University political science professor and member of Corn Maya, an immigrant advocacy group that helps run El Sol.

Berger, the former mayor of Guatemala City, also thanked his countrymen for helping support their families back home in Guatemala.

"Your efforts are helping to make Guatemala better," he said. "You are not just talking about improvements, you are taking action toward a more just Guatemala."



I guess this guy is buddies with the president of mexico, they sound exactly the same.