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Mexico weighs in on migration
Nation buys full-page ads, says it wants to work with U.S. on issue



07:40 PM CST on Monday, March 20, 2006
By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT / The Dallas Morning News


WASHINGTON – Worried by the sometimes harsh tone of the immigration debate unfolding in the U.S., the Mexican government on Monday took its message directly to the American public: As your neighbor, we want to work with you to fashion a solution.

In full-page ads in The New York Times, Washington Post and other newspapers, the Mexican government acknowledged a shared responsibility to address illegal immigration and to stem its citizens' northward exodus by creating more jobs at home.

While continuing to press for a guest worker program that would confer legal work status on millions of Mexicans living illegally in the U.S. – a long-held goal for Mexican President Vicente Fox – Mexico is now outlining its responsibilities. Among them: enforcing its own migration laws; combating human smuggling and criminal networks; securing its southern border; and promoting the return of Mexican émigrés.

For its part, the ad says, the U.S. should allow Mexico to participate in the "design, management, supervision and evaluation" of a guest worker program that should cover "the largest possible number of workers and their families" currently in the U.S. illegally.

The ad campaign, designed by Dallas-based Allyn & Co., reflects a migration resolution approved in February by the Mexican Congress.

"We thought it was about time to have the American people looking firsthand at what's our position on these issues that are so sensitive and important for both countries," Mexican Ambassador Carlos de Icaza said Monday.

"Our message to the American people is that we are your neighbors, we are your friends, this is a common challenge, and we are part of the solution, not only part of the problem," Mr. de Icaza said.

The public relations effort comes as Congress is grappling with the question of how to treat the 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. – more than half of them Mexican.

While some lawmakers favor giving illegal immigrants work permits and placing them on a path to eventual citizenship, others are pressing for heightened immigration enforcement that would pressure many unauthorized workers to leave the country.

The Senate Judiciary Committee appears poised next week to approve a guest worker program – setting senators on a collision course with the House, which in December approved a tough enforcement-only approach that was silent on President Bush's call for a temporary worker program. With a wide philosophical chasm between the chambers and within the Republican Party, the chances of an immigration accord this year are slim, many experts say.

The Senate immigration subcommittee chairman, Texas Republican John Cornyn, pressed Monday for a comprehensive immigration accord including increased enforcement and a guest worker program.

Failure to do so would increase the dangers posed by drug- and human-smuggling networks and leave the country vulnerable to terrorism, Mr. Cornyn said in a speech to the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth.

"I am not against immigration, I am against illegal immigration," Mr. Cornyn said.

The Mexican ambassador voiced concern with the tone of the immigration debate, which has proved to be a hot topic on talk radio, cable TV news shows and in public forums.

"It's a very emotional debate. And sometimes the debate is encouraging, but on other times, it's discouraging," Mr. de Icaza said. "So we thought it was about time to directly make known which is our position in black and white, written on paper."

In a speech Monday in Cleveland, Mr. Bush renewed his case for a guest worker program matched with tougher border enforcement and sanctions on employers who hire illegal workers.

Asked about immigration during a question-and-answer session, Mr. Bush said the debate "can get harsh."

"My call for people is to be rational about the debate and thoughtful about what words can mean during this debate," he said.

Mr. Bush, Mr. Fox and Canada's new prime minister, Stephen Harper, meet at the end of the month in Cancún, Mexico, to discuss security and economic issues.

Al Día staff writer Liliana Vargas contributed to this report.

E-mail mmittelstadt@dallasnews.com