Thread: Mexico opinion makers see hypocrisy in defeat of immigration

Mexico opinion makers see hypocrisy in defeat of immigration bill

By LISA J. ADAMS Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press

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MEXICO CITY — Opinion makers and migrant advocates in Mexico said Friday that the collapse of U.S. immigration reform plans hurts Mexican workers, U.S. employers and anti-terrorism efforts.

President Bush's plan to legalize as many as 12 million unlawful immigrants from around the world while fortifying the border collapsed in the U.S. Senate on Thursday.

"This is very bad news for Mexican migrants in the U.S.," said Jorge Bustamante, special rapporteur to the U.N. human rights commission for migrants. "It means the continuation and probably a worsening of the migrants' vulnerable conditions."

The Rev. Luis Kendziersky, director of a shelter for migrants in the border city of Tijuana, said it appeared senators "are focused more on the political game than on the real needs of the people."

"According to polls, the majority of the people (in the U.S.) want legality with concessions for undocumented migrants, but the radicals make a lot of noise," he said.

An editorial in the national daily newspaper El Universal said, "It's obvious that the politicians of that country want laborers, but they are not willing to legalize the labor that they need."

Migrants "will continue to be subjected to extraordinary means of discrimination," El Universal said. A "subculture of illegality" in border crossings also does nothing to aid the U.S. fight against terrorism, it said.

An editorial in the left-leaning newspaper La Jornada called the decision a "triple shipwreck" — a failure for the Bush administration, the United States and Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

"The most powerful country on the planet will have to continue living, for many more months, with the scandalous contradiction between its laws and the real needs of its economy, thirsty for cheap labor to guarantee the international competitiveness of its exports, especially in agriculture."

Calderon has been less vocal in demanding immigration reform than was his predecessor Vicente Fox, whose campaign for changes in U.S. policy failed.

The president instead has focused strengthening Mexico's economy to stem the flow of workers north, while criticizing the 700-mile (1,130-kilometer) barrier Congress approved to increase security on the border with Mexico.

On Thursday, Calderon called the Senate's decision a "grave error" and a failure to find a "sensible, rational, legal solution to the migration problem."

Authorities on both sides of the border estimate that more than 11 million Mexicans live in the United States, as many of 6 million of them illegally.

Not everyone in Mexico was disappointed by the death of the bill, which would have created a system to weed out illegal workers from U.S. jobs.

Al Rojas, spokesman for the advocacy group Front of Mexicans Abroad, said the law "would have imposed prejudices, treating migrants like criminals and judging them."

"Faced with a bad law, we preferred that they approved nothing," he said in a telephone interview.

Roberto Heatley, a 61-year-old engineering consultant from Mexico City said it was "a shame that they don't pay due attention to this problem in the United States."

"Delaying it until 2009 does not solve the problem."

Associated Press writers Istra Pacheco and Paul Kiernan contributed to this report.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/4932689.html

Authorities on both sides of the border estimate that more than 11 million Mexicans live in the United States, as many of 6 million of them illegally.

6 million????????????????????

Someone is obviously way behind the times. Furthermore, how dare these Mexican politicians speak about what is good for America! They need to mind their own business and stay out of ours! If they're so damn smart, why are millions of Mexican nationals risking their lives to come here?

Mexican politicians need to worry about fixing their own house, not worrying about ours. Furthermore, they are definitely not a people that should be giving us advice (people in glasses houses shouldn't throw stones).

"When Tony Blair was asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America, he said: "A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in... And how many want out." Take that you meddling idiots!

"This is very bad news for Mexican migrants in the U.S.," said Jorge Bustamante, special rapporteur to the U.N. human rights commission for migrants. "It means the continuation and probably a worsening of the migrants' vulnerable conditions."

The conditions for aliens living and working here illegally are still far better then those for Mexicans in Mexico and they know it. Do Mexicans living there have clean running water and electricity? Do they get free healthcare, welfare, food stamps, a quality education for their kids in Mexico? Not even close,

If conditions here are so terrible for them, why do millions of Mexicans want to come and live here illegally? They know that living here illegally is far better than living in Mexico legally.

It is a shame that illegals are being treated so bad here in the states. If they go home then they will not be treated so bad (joke). It is time for the mexican government to stop interfering in american politics. It is time for our President and his administration to enforce American law, it is time for Congress to do their job of overseeing that laws are enforced. If the a President does not enforce the laws then he should be impeached immediately. Of course since Bush is a lame duck, we just need to keep pressure on the senators for them to do their job of representing us and putting oversight pressure on the President.