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Hutchison: Secure U.S. border first

By SCOTT SHAFFER, LAREDO MORNING TIMES


10/21/2006
Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendlyRepublican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison acknowledged during a brief meeting Friday at City Hall that probably 95 percent of the undocumented population from Mexico comes to work and intends no harm to Americans.And the Texas senator did not argue with the Pew Hispanic Center’s estimate that between 300,000 and 500,000 Mexican nationals have been coming to the U.S. each year during the past decade to build houses, pick crops, process meat, keep house and clean motel rooms.

But her opening remarks and the position paper provided by her staff focused on securing the border.

“Our plan first secures the borders of the United States and then activates a safe, temporary worker program that does not provide amnesty to those residing illegally in the U.S.,” reads the “Secure Borders, Good Neighbors and SAFE Immigration” proposal co-authored with Republican Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana.

Hutchison said the proposal addresses the need for Mexican workers by leaving it to “the market” to determine the actual number of “Good Neighbor SAFE Visas” for non-immigrant temporary workers that would be issued each year.

But the senator didn’t mention that her proposal also calls for the Department of Labor to set an annual limit after the program has operated for three years.

The proposal also provides that “after the third year and the institution of the annual limits, not more than one-half of the Good Neighbor SAFE Visas subject to the annual limits will be available within the first six months of each year.”

City Manager Larry Dovalina met with Hutchison before her media appearance and discussed with her a city proposal to create a “Town Lake”-style landmark on the Rio Grande.

The concept described by Dovalina would be built on both sides of the river and replace the recently authorized but not yet funded border fence.

Border patrol and security functions would continue to take place within the proposed project but be much less intrusive and a better use of public funds, Dovalina said.

“We don’t need a wall, but if you give me lemons, I’m going to make lemonade,” he said.

(Scott Shaffer may be reached at (956) 728-2547 or by e-mail at sshaffer@lmtonline.com)