Calderon to address joint session

Mexican president Felipe Calderon will address a joint session of Congress May 19 amid drug violence in Mexico and a push by the Obama administration to enact an overhaul of immigration law. The immigration push is unlikely to get very far in Congress; despite much agitation, it is primarily a political payback to Latinos who are now a critical Democratic constituency.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a warm wlcome to "our neighbor and friend," looking forward to hearing his views on border towns and organized crime.

"Our countries may be separated by a border, but we share much in common -- our values of faith, family, and love of our respective countries," Pelosi said in a statement, noting that more than 12 percent of Americans are of Mexican ancestry. "Relations with Mexico are of utmost importance to the United States. President Calderon's address to Congress will provide us with a renewed opportunity to strengthen our bonds of friendship, discuss our shared challenges, and embrace common opportunities."

The last Mexican president to address a joint session was Vicente Fox in 2001. Former President George W. Bush made a big push to liberalize immigration laws but after the late Sen. Ted Kennedy joined with moderate Republicans to get a bill through the Senate in 2006, House Republicans refused to take it up. Instead they launched a broad political attack against illegal immigration. The Bush White House considered this a fatal strategic error that would doom Republicans to an eternal minority. Obama will do everything he can to cement that perception.

Posted By: Carolyn Lochhead (Email) | April 14 2010 at 02:06 PM

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