Thread: Latin leaders criticize U.S. border fence plan

2 hours, 34 minutes ago

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061105/ts_ ... gration_dc

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (Reuters) - Leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal on Sunday criticized U.S. plans to build a fence on the Mexican border to keep out illegal immigrants and urged Washington to reconsider.

Ending an Ibero-American summit focusing on migration, leaders from 24 countries issued a special statement expressing "deep concern" about the fence plan.

"The building of the wall doesn't help us go in the right direction," said Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

President Bush signed legislation last month approving the construction of the 700-mile (1,100-km) fence -- a move that angered Mexico's government.

The border fence controversy has overshadowed the two-day summit's theme of looking at ways to control the number of Latin American migrants heading to the United States and Europe.

The summit leaders issued a statement urging the United States to reconsider building the fence, which they said "incites discrimination and xenophobia."

Salvadoran President Tony Saca said there are 2.5 million immigrants from his country in the United States and urged U.S. authorities to draw up a plan to help illegal immigrants already in the country to get their papers in order.

The Bush administration defends the fence as necessary to tighten control of the border to keep criminals and terrorists out.

But Mexico argues the fence will do little to ease illegal entries and likely will increase deaths along the border.

Thousands of poor Mexicans risk their lives each year sneaking across the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) border, much of it barren desert, seeking jobs.

Illegal Latin American and African immigration to Spain has also risen in recent years.

If they feel the fence won't deter illegals from crossing the border, why all the belly aching about it being built?

Bottom line: If these fearless leaders would take better care of their people, we might have less trying to enter our country. They need to stop worrying so much about our policies and more about the policies within their own borders. Heck, we take better care of their people than they do.

Ibero-American Summit Renews Call for Cooperation
By Elson Concepcion Perez, Granma special correspondent

MONTEVIDEO.- The 16th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government opened at Montevideo’s Teatro Solís, with a call for cooperation that reinforces identity and the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals as set forth by the United Nations.

The Cuban delegation to the gathering is headed by the vice-president of the Council of State Carlos Lage Davila. Saturday is being devoted to bilateral meetings between heads of delegations and to debates on the main documents, which have already been approved by senior officials and are being submitted this evening for the consideration of the foreign ministers.

The signing of the Montevideo Commitment and the Final Declaration are scheduled for Sunday morning, the summit’s last day.

The meeting’s opening session heard addresses by Ibero-American Secretary General Enrique Iglesias; UN Secretary General Kofi Annan; King Juan Carlos of Spain; and Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez, who spoke with optimism about the contributions of these summits.

A meeting of foreign ministers held Friday in the Radisson Hotel approved several documents, among them two presented by Cuba: a special communiqué in support of the fight against terrorism; and a special communiqué on the necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade that the US government maintains against Cuba, including the application of the so-called Helms-Burton Law.

The document calls on the US to respect what has been approved in successive resolutions of the UN General Assembly regarding the need to put an end to the blockade and salutes the sure passing in New York on November 8 of a new resolution rejecting the measure.

The Ibero-American countries also ask the US government to “immediately stop the application of new measures adopted over the last three years that strengthen and deepen the impact of the policy of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of Cuba.”

http://www.periodico26.cu/english/news_ ... 110406.htm

These sound like communist loving enemies of the Unoited States? Build the wall!

Presidents agree on a greater commitment with immigrants

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay.- The second day of the XVI Latin American Summit that is celebrated in Montevideo concluded today after most of the presidents expressed their will to look for better conditions for the immigrants.

In the first plenary session they participated most of the Governments and Chiefs of State that attend the summit, which was inaugurated last Friday and will conclude tomorrow with the signature of two documents, the "Declaration" and the "Commitment" of Montevideo.

The first plenary session of the Summit, whose subject is "Migration and Development", opened by host president Tabaré Vázquez welcoming all the participants.

He was followed by King Juan Carlos, who emphasized the "maturity and solidity" that these meetings of Governments and Chiefs of State have obtained after sixteen years.

The president of the Spanish Government, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, proposed the creation of a Latin American fund to facilitate the access to water by those people who do not have it and advanced that Spain is ready to commit to its financing.

The Argentine president, Néstor Kirchner, said on the subject of migration that "this old human phenomenon acquires new visibility", but now is described as "flows" by those who "often forget that we speaking about people and not about goods or capitals".

On the other hand, the president of Paraguay, Nicanor Duarte, noted that the Latin American community cannot "allow for racism to come forward again" and said that the " migration problem is not solved by constructing walls", in addition complained that in some occasions " the emergent countries are not even listened to ".

The president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, only woman between the Latin American chief executives, raised her voice in favor of "policies of gender" the loss of feminine capacity and talent.

In his turn, the president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, denounced that when there were migrations north-north, or from the north to the south, there were no walls, neither migratory deportations, nor other barriers like the present ones, when those that travel go from the south to the north, he stressed "now migration is criminalized".

The Colombian President, Alvaro Uribe, indicated that immigration is a subject to be understand "not as a formal freedom, but as a social right" and "would have to become the first imperative in the globalization".

Vicente Fox, Mexico’s president made a call to face the migratory phenomenon with intelligence in Ibero-America and assured that it can become strength.

At the closing of the first plenary session, the president of El Salvador, Elias Antonio Saca, requested that the process of integration in Latin America be accentuated and accelerated, so that the countries of the region stop promoting “their own people’s expulsions".

On the second plenary day, the Dominican Republic’s vice-president, Rafael Alburquerque, made a call to the international community to continue supporting the process of institutional consolidation and economic development of Haiti.

He indicated also, that the Dominican Republic supports the work accomplished in that Caribbean country by the United Nations Mission for the Stabilization of Haiti.

After pronouncing his speech of order within the framework of the XVI Latin American Summit, which in this version deals with migration subjects and development, Alburquerque indicated that the migratory phenomenon can have a positive effect, as long as it is understood that the same exclusively competes to the sovereignty of each country.

"That is why Summits like this are so important, they facilitate the search of collaboration mechanisms, bilateral, regional as much as global and they allow debating the phenomenon of migration in a frank and opened way".

He asserted that work is needed to conform an international - regulated labor market to avoid irregular migration, illicit traffic of migrants and other forms of transnational crimes connected to migration.

http://www.dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=19369

"The Bush administration defends the fence as necessary to tighten control of the border to keep criminals and terrorists out."

If that's the case, then it should have been done on 9/12. How many criminals and terrorists have crossed since?

Besides, note that 'illegal aliens' is missing. Bush's flip flop on border security, even if only 300 miles of fence, has nothing to do with "hardworking" illegal aliens, just criminals and terrorists. And what's to prevent ANY of them from going around?

[quote="ConcernedCitizen"]2 hours, 34 minutes ago


[quote]
The Bush administration defends the fence as necessary to tighten control of the border to keep criminals and terrorists out.
and illegal aliens
But Mexico argues the fence will do little to ease illegal entries and likely will increase deaths along the border.

Thousands of poor Mexicans risk their lives each year sneaking across the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) border, much of it barren desert, seeking jobs.

America is not forcing Mexicans to cross our borders illegal and not liable for deaths. Mexico is forcing their citizens to come to here and they are liable.