http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/miami/16969.html

Delegation to lobby U.S. on migration
AP/EL UNIVERSAL
El Universal
Lunes 13 de febrero de 2006
Miami Herald, página 1

The government is sending a congressional delegation to Washington this week to push for a migration accord and lobby against a U.S. bill to build a border wall, officials announced Sunday.


The delegation of three lawmakers from the lower house of Congress and three senators will meet with U.S. legislators Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a news release from the Congress.


"In the United States, particularly harsh voices have emerged in respect to controlling the border and undocumented immigration," the news release said. "At the same time, there have been proposals that recognize the reality of the labor market of both countries."


Senator Silvia Hernández had announced the delegation´s formation two weeks ago. At the time, she said the delegation will schedule meetings with the presidents of the migration committees in both houses of the U.S. Congress.


"We will talk with members of both committees to explain the position of the Mexican Senate," she said.


"We also will promote a migration reform that is clear and concise, emphasizing the need to protect the rights of migrants already in the United States as well as seek a reasonable number of temporary work visas to encourage legal migration."


Hernández said immigration reform legislation that lacked these elements would be bad for both countries.


The two countries have had strong differences in recent weeks over how to control the flow of illegal migrants over the U.S.-Mexico border.


The government slammed the U.S. House of Representatives for approving an immigration bill Dec. 16 that would tighten border controls, make it harder for undocumented immigrants to get jobs and authorize the building of a fence along parts of the 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) border.


The U.S. Senate is scheduled to consider a version of the bill at the end of March.


President Vicente Fox, who called the bill shameful, has tried since he took office in 2000 to secure a migration agreement with Washington that would grant some form of legal status to Mexicans who cross the U.S. border illegally in search of work.


GUEST WORKER PROGRAM


U.S. President George W. Bush has proposed a new guest worker program with three-year work visas, but the U.S. Congress refused to include the initiative in the immigration bill.


Authorities estimate there are about 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States, about half of them Mexican.