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Mexico holds out for U.S. immigration bill

Foreign minister: Fox's successor will continue to press for reform


12:00 AM CDT on Friday, July 28, 2006

By ALFREDO CORCHADO / The Dallas Morning News

MEXICO CITY – Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez said Thursday that Mexico remains hopeful that the U.S. will pass an immigration-reform measure this year and that, if not, the next Mexican administration will continue to press the case.

Mr. Derbez said at a news conference that the government is encouraged by the actions of U.S. senators and representatives who have the "will to reach an immigration pact that would provide concrete solutions before the end of the year."

Mr. Derbez stressed that efforts to bring about change in U.S. immigration policy would not cease when President Vicente Fox steps down Dec. 1.

"The next administration will have all the information, all the contacts at their fingertips, all the experience so that it will help ... with continuity," he said.

Foreign Ministry officials also discussed a reported 45 percent decline in arrests along the U.S.-Mexico border.

They attributed the drop not just to the presence of National Guard troops but also to the Mexican government's information campaign to discourage illegal immigration and to immigrants using border crossings with less surveillance.

Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar reported the decline in the number of people arrested from May 16 to July 23.

Email acorchado@dallasnews.com