Thread: Former Mexican president says Americans wrong on immigration

He's still here!
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Former Mexican president says Americans wrong on immigration
By WILLIAM KATES

Associated Press Writer

9:51 PM EDT, October 29, 2007

SYRACUSE, N.Y.

Americans have the wrong idea about immigration, former Mexican President Vicente Fox said Monday before a speech to a mostly Syracuse University audience.

"There is a lot of misinterpretation, a lot of misinformation," Fox said in an interview. "Immigration is an asset to any nation, not just the United States, but to Mexico or any country. It is an asset everywhere. Economies need that kind of working force, productive, loyal, quality."

Fox was in Syracuse to speak about globalization, the role of the United Nations in the international community, relations between the United States and Latin America, and to promote his new book.

About 1,000 people listened to Fox's hour-long speech and a short question-and-answer session, which was interrupted twice by hecklers. One asked Fox about the recently formed Mexican congressional commission investigating whether there was any illegal enrichment on his part with government funds.

Fox told the questioner his personal finances for the past 15 years were posted on his website. "This is being done by the opposition party. It's OK. They won't find anything that I haven't declared," said Fox, who was Mexico's president from 2000 to 2006.

Earlier, Fox said he was disappointed that Congress had yet to push through immigration reform but said he understood the delay.

The 65-year-old Fox said he believed he and President Bush were close to resolving immigration issues in 2001 _ only to see it sidetracked by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"That sad day changed priorities. From there on, immigration issues between the nations ... was not a priority anymore. The priority became security and fighting terrorism," he said.

Much of the "spirit and the basics" of their progress was contained in the Kennedy-McCain immigration bill, which would establish a method to legalize an estimated 12 million unlawful immigrants, tighten border security and institute new enforcement measures to prevent employers from hiring illegal workers, he said.

"Unfortunately, it is there sitting in Congress," Fox said.

Fox said he hoped Americans would read his autobiography, "Revolution of Hope: The Life, Faith and Dreams of a Mexican President," which he said talks about immigration issues and reform in detail. The book was released in the United States last month.

"Immigration is a win-win situation," he said, noting that America's heritage is tied to immigrants looking for a better life.

"Certainly, the wall is not the answer. Walls only divide. The Chinese wall didn't work against its enemies. The Berlin wall didn't work against freedom. The West Bank wall is not working. We should be building bridges instead of walls," Fox said.

Fox said it was important for the federal government to provide the answers.

"The empty space abandoned by federal authorities" is being filled by state and local governments passing restrictive and oppressive laws, many of which violate human rights, he said.

Fox's appearance was sponsored by the Syracuse University Student Association, University Union and the New York Public Interest Research Group.

University educated, Fox began working as a truck driver for the Coca-Cola Co. in 1964, rising through the company ranks to eventually become president of Coca-Cola for Mexico and Latin America.

A member of the National Action Party, he was elected governor of Guanajuato in 1995. He was elected president of Mexico in 2000, ending more than 70 years of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party. Fox made economic reform a top priority while in office.

Unlike past Mexican presidents who typically faded from public view or disappeared into exile, Fox has continued a high profile since leaving office, speaking throughout the United States and Canada. He also has said he planned to campaign for PAN candidates in future Mexican elections.

Since leaving office, Fox also has focused much of his time on construction of the Fox Center, Mexico's first presidential library. He is currently co-president of the Centrist Democratic International, an international organization of Christian Democratic political parties.

www.newsday.com

Quote, ""There is a lot of misinterpretation, a lot of misinformation," Fox said in an interview. "Immigration is an asset to any nation, not just the United States, but to Mexico or any country. It is an asset everywhere. Economies need that kind of working force, productive, loyal, quality." unquote.

Why does the Mexican Government have an instruction manuel for immigrants, give them survival kits and train some of the illegals in first aid before their trek if they are such as asset to Mexico? The survival kits were sponsored by the Mexican government--funding sought from the California Endowment, a health foundation based in Woodland Hills (Los Angeles County) that has set aside $50 million for programs to improve the health of California farmworkers

Male and female survival kits are provided--the males contain 25 condoms and the female's 25 birth control pills. How thoughtful of the Mexican government to cater to all of the immigrants needs!


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 200449.DTL

Mexico to give survival kits to border jumpers
Sam Quinones, Chronicle Foreign Service

Thursday, May 17, 2001
(05-17) 04:00 PDT Mexico City -- If they can't stop illegal immigration to the United States, officials of the new Mexican government say their citizens at least shouldn't die in the process of trying.

So starting next month, the administration of President Vicente Fox will distribute up to 200,000 survival kits to those planning to immigrate illegally to the United States this summer.

Each packet will contain food, water, medicine and information to prepare people for the problems they are likely to face on the trip north -- which can include a dangerous trek through deserts and mountains of California or Arizona.

Juan Hernandez, the director of the Office for Mexicans Abroad, conceded that the survival kits are controversial in that they appear to encourage illegal immigration. But, he said, "We are not going to close our eyes. We have individuals who are dying at the border. This office was created specifically to watch out for their needs."

As U.S. Border Patrol surveillance has increased, poor Mexicans have resorted to crossing the border in isolated areas. Last year, 490 died crossing the 1,952-mile border, according to the Mexican government. So far this year, they have perished at a rate of about one a day, though government officials say the death toll typically increases during the hot summer months.

A committee of doctors and health workers formed by the special office came up with the idea of the survival kits, the bluntest sign yet of the government's new attitude.

"It reflects a reality that has rarely been reflected officially," said Jorge Santibanez, president of the Colegio de la Frontera Norte, a state university in Tijuana. "Mexico avoided actions that could appear to be helping migrants leave. There was a kind of self-censorship: What will the U.S. say if we look like we are helping them leave? This self-censorship has disappeared. This is very positive."

The program -- called Vete Sano, Regresa Sano, or "Leave Healthy, Return Healthy" -- is scheduled to begin June 15 and cost $2 million.


U.S. FUNDING SOUGHT
It is sponsored by the Mexican government, which also is seeking funding from the California Endowment, a health foundation based in Woodland Hills (Los Angeles County) that has set aside $50 million for programs to improve the health of California farmworkers.

"The concept is consistent with the kind of commitment this (money) would support," said Dr. Robert Ross, the foundation's president and former health director of San Diego County.

Even if they can't strike a deal with the foundation, Mexican officials say the program will proceed in a reduced form.

For years, officials ignored the emigrants' plight and treated them like traitors for earning a living outside Mexico. Police extorted money from those returning home for periodic visits.

All that changed in December when Fox became the first opposition candidate in 71 years to oust the Institutional Revolutionary Party from power.


FOX'S NEW REGIME
Last Christmas, Fox went to the border to welcome Mexicans home for vacation. He then set up the Office for Mexicans Abroad to handle their affairs, which promised to prosecute those preying on returning emigrants.

Since then, the office has lobbied U.S. governors to find cheaper and safer ways for Mexicans to send money home and for banks to allow immigrants to open accounts without Social Security numbers. In September, the office will present to Congress legislation that would allow Mexicans abroad to vote absentee in general elections.

The survival kits are part of this major shift in Mexican government policy.

In addition to distributing medicine and equipping some emigrants to administer first aid, the government also is distributing a list of California health clinics that do not require a Social Security number to receive treatment. Tuberculosis sufferers will be given a card that documents their last doctor visits so they can continue treatment in California.

Finally, the program will hold seminars in which recipients of the kits are taught about good nutrition, how to use the included medicines and condoms, and techniques to combat depression and anxieties that come with leaving family and friends behind and arriving illegally in an English-speaking nation.

"Those who have gone to the U.S. have told us of their experiences," said Dr. Angel Flores, chief of community action for the Mexican Institute of Social Security, a network of 3,000 rural health workers responsible for health education and delivery of the kits. "This is what they have told us they need."


NUTRITION A CONCERN
The kits will be distributed and workshops held in 369 of the poorest municipalities in 17 states, Flores said. At the workshops, health workers will lecture on nutrition, junk food, diabetes and psychological problems.

Flores said many Mexicans contract diabetes in the United States. Their diet in Mexico is meager and simple but relatively healthy, including tortillas made of cornmeal, beans and chile peppers. But ignorant of what is available and unable to speak English, they often resort to eating mainly junk food in the United States, leading to such diseases as diabetes.

"We want them to know that in the U.S., they can eat well, and they can find what they eat here in Mexico," he said.

Psychological seminars are intended to help emigrants deal with bouts of depression and loneliness. These include concentration and relaxation exercises, as well as Asian breathing and meditation techniques.

In the end, the biggest obstacle to the proper use of the survival kits could be the very people that they are intended to help.

"If you ask emigrants, 70 percent don't see any risks," Santibanez said. "So if the kit isn't accompanied with education on how to use it and why it is necessary, it won't be used."


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Staying healthy
The survival kits being given to Mexicans planning to cross the border will include anti-diarrhea medicine, bandages, aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol), medicine for snake and scorpion bites, powder to prevent dehydration, water, salt, dry meat, tuna and granola.

In addition, women's kits will have 25 birth control pills, while men will get 25 condoms.

As part of the same program, the government will train hundreds of volunteers among the population who immigrate illegally each year in first aid and emergency health care. They will be given surgical soap, sutures for sewing wounds, thermometers, gauze, cotton and other implements to treat common medical problems suffered on the road.

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle


Carry the battle to them. Don't let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive and don't ever apologize for anything.â€

Such hypocrisy! If immigration is such an asset, why does Mexico treat those who enter their country "looking for a better life," so poorly?

His presence in our country is an affront to all legal citizens. Who gives a kitty what he thinks! Go back to Mexico to peddle your book. Your opinion means nothing here.

Originally Posted by Mexican ex-Pres. Vicente Fox

The West Bank wall is not working.

Tell it to the Israelis. I have yet to hear of any Jew in Israel - even the most liberal - who wants the fence taken down.

Please load Fox's words into my new truck.