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Q&A with Juan Hernandez: The Complete Interview

By Tim Woods Tribune-Herald staff writer

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Juan Hernandez, author, scholar, poet, former adviser to Mexican President Vicente Fox and native Texan, sat down with the Tribune-Herald during his visit to Baylor University Wednesday to discuss immigration, the subject of his new book, "The New American Pioneers: Why are we afraid of Mexican immigrants?"

Born to an American mother and a Mexican father in Fort Worth, Hernandez has taught at a number of universities. He helped forge the bond between Fox and President George W. Bush and was instrumental in the international summit the two leaders mounted at Baylor a year ago with Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Named one of the most brilliant men in the world by Fortune magazine in 2001, Hernandez was also named Humanitarian Man of the Year by Latin Trade magazine. He is famous for his pro-immigration stance and defense of immigrants' rights and appears regularly on Univision, CNN and Fox News.

During his visit to Baylor, Hernandez, who headed President Fox's Office for Mexicans Abroad, spoke in Dr. Victor Hinojosa's Government and Politics of Mexico class. During the lecture, Hernandez examined U.S.-Mexico relations and the opposing viewpoints of closing the borders versus more relaxed immigration laws.

"The U.S. is trying to define itself," he said.

Below is the Tribune-Herald's lunchtime interview with Hernandez.


Q: How do people in Mexico view emigrants (who come to the U.S.)?


A: It has totally changed in the last six years. I would say six years ago, and especially 10-12 years ago, many Mexicans would say, "You've already left this country, what do you mean you want to vote? You left this country, we stayed behind and had to make things work in this country, make ends meet, and you split to another nation. Don't come over here bragging to me about what you have done." It was sort of a love-hate relationship because when the (emigrant) would come home – this is a stereotype, I know – in his Ford truck wearing his Texan hat with his Dallas Cowboys T-shirt, there was a little bit of a hero's reception. He, sometimes she, would have been sending sometimes $350 or $400 a month to the family. And that really counts. But still there was somewhat of a negative feeling toward the emigrants. But today it's totally opposite. Very few people in Mexico say that the emigrants should not have voting rights or that they should not have certain privileges because they have left Mexico. On the contrary, they're not treated as heroes but they know that these individuals are still contributing to the economy of Mexico. (It's) second most important (in the economy) – more than tourism, more than U.S. investment. It's amazing how much they're putting into the nation ($20 billion annually). Who knows where Mexico would be without that money?


Q: How is American talk about building a wall separating Mexico and the U.S. being received in Mexico?


A: It's very disappointing for a nation known for bringing down walls, promoting democracy. To be suddenly for creating a wall between its second most important partner, friend and family to 42 million people up here, is very disappointing. There are 42 million of us who have family members south of the border, Mexico or Central America or South America. It wouldn't stop immigration. People, if they are hungry, if they are needy, they're going to find a way to get to the United States. Tunnels can be built, walls can be climbed. You're not going to put an army right next to the wall, every two or three feet. It wouldn't work.


Q How was Vicente Fox able to defeat the PRI party that had been in power in Mexico for so long?


A Well, the whole time, we kept waiting, wondering – "Are they going to kill him?" But I don't think they thought he could win. I mean, right there the last week (of the election) they kept saying they (the long-triumphant PRI party) were ahead in the polls. We kept going, "Well, here we've watched it for the last 1,000 days and we've watched him climb in name recognition and then in vote intent. Here we go, another point, another two points, another point." We watched and we felt fairly secure that the polls were right because, as I said, we'd watched the numbers grow. I guess they just thought they still were going to win. Now, (then-president, Ernesto) Zedillo was a great help. I'm sure he helped his party, but he didn't bribe the (Federal Election Institution) or come up with some crazy problem like the computers breaking down, like (former president Carlos) Salinas. And the day of the elections, the other candidate would not come out and accept defeat, so (Zedillo) came out and said we had won, which breaks all protocol. But many were afraid that if someone didn't come out, there would be some violence. So Zedillo called – my cell phone, by the way – and came out and said we had won.


Q You talked about cambio, or change, being the buzzword for Fox's campaign. Do you think that people look at it and think that he promised what he couldn't deliver in terms of change?


A There is a percentage of Mexico that says he didn't deliver. But the immense majority – 70-something percent – would say he delivered on bringing democracy to Mexico. He delivered on bringing honesty to the federal government and Mexico is a different nation today. People truly believe that their vote will be counted this next second of July (when a new election is held). And people know that they will be deciding who is the next president. That's unheard of.


Q After almost six years of President Bush and President Fox, why have we not been able to build any consensus on immigration reform?


A The big enemy has been Sept. 11. I believe that Bush and Fox truly want immigration reform. (Secretary of State) Condoleezza Rice and (former Secretary of State Colin) Powell are very much in favor (of immigration reform). And then most of the United States really didn't care. It wasn't a major issue. After Sept. 11, you have a certain percentage who don't even want to talk about immigration, because all they're interested in is security. Then you have those who are hoping to get votes, especially congressmen this year, by using the scare campaign. You have a lot of people who were just afraid after Sept. 11, shooting at shadows and seeing the terrorist in every other person. You know, (people thinking), "There must be an enemy."


Q If you had the opportunity to introduce a bill to reform immigration, what would it involve?


A Research shows that most Americans want five things to occur to legalize the undocumented and to create a new program. Most Americans want to make sure the undocumented do not have a criminal record, and I think that's fair. Number two, that they are not taking jobs from Americans, and the majority of them don't take jobs away. Number three, that these individuals pay Social Security and pay taxes. And many of them, millions of them, pay Social Security and will never receive any benefits because it's a false (Social Security) number. Millions pay taxes because you can go into the tax office and get a tax ID and the IRS won't report you to Homeland Security. They're happy to get your money. Plus, they're paying sales taxes at restaurants and when they pay rent, of course, that goes to pay for schools. Number four, there's a percentage of Americans that would like for the undocumented to work on their English. That's fine, we can learn. And number five, and I don't like this one, but some Americans would like that those who came in without papers pay a fine. If those five points are met, 72 to 76 percent of Americans favor legalizing the undocumented. Plus, a very major point is creating a new program that allows business people in the United States to hire people from Mexico and other countries – as long as they're not taking jobs and they're paying Social Security and all that other stuff – that allows Mexicans and others to apply (for visas) because, according to (former Federal Reserve chairman) Alan Greenspan and others, we need 1 million to 1.5 million new people per year just to keep up our economy and keep up the population growth that we need. So, if we were in a period in which we had a lot of problems with unemployment, I could understand us closing the doors, but if we don't have that problem, then we need to allow the creation of those visas. We need to create a program. That was the problem with Reagan. It was wonderful that he created amnesty but why didn't he create a new program so we wouldn't be in the mess we're in today with 11 million undocumented (immigrants)?


Q What do you think about the idea that the problem with immigration here is really the result of economic shortcomings in Mexico?


A That's the other side of the coin, and it's true. Mexico has not created the jobs that Mexico needs. Even Vicente Fox has recognized recently that while he's done great with regard to the macro-economics of the country, he's done great with regard to health, great with regard to housing, in creating those jobs he just doesn't feel like he's been successful, and people come up here for the jobs. So there is a push from about 90 micro-regions in Mexico, but there's also the pull of the United States. There's the pull from a country that has a booming economy. People want to say that the economy's not doing well here. Come on. We're doing great in this country. And we need the labor, so there's the pull. And then there's the push from Mexico that's been doing great in the macro(economics), but there's still the 40 million people in poverty and we haven't been able to pull them out and NAFTA did not create a trickle-down effect to help them. Then there's a third push-pull force, and that's the family. There's one thing we believe in Mexico and that's family unity. So if the father's up here, pretty soon the son's going to want to be with his dad, and the mom and the daughter.


Q Is it the sheer volume of immigrants in the U.S. – 11 million undocumented Mexican immigrants – that has brought the immigration issue to the forefront of discussion?


A I think so. I think the numbers, anywhere now, not just Los Angeles – even Alaska, there are now more Hispanics in Alaska than there are Eskimos. We all see the Mexican immigrants – we see them at the hotels, we see them at the day labor centers, you see Univision TV exploding. More people watched the Selena special, a program about a lady singer who already died, than the Super Bowl. So companies are saying, “Whoa, here's a group of young people who have money, they have cars, even the undocumented – I better start catering to them!”