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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | December 2005 
Relations Secretary Derbez Calls House Immigration Bill 'Wrong'
 Associated Press
| | Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez speaks on his mobile phone as he makes his way to a press conference in Cancun, Mexico, December 12, 2005, ahead of a meeting of leaders of Mexico, Central American nations and the Dominican Republic. (Reuters/Victor Ruiz) |
Mexico City – A bill that would toughen U.S. immigration enforcement is "wrong," Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said on Monday, and he called for U.S. groups to lobby against the measure.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Representative James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, passed the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday. It would make undocumented migration, now a civil offense, a federal crime.
"We are trying with great force to avoid" passage of the bill, Derbez told a local radio station, according to a transcript of the interview supplied by his office.
"It appeared to us wrong, because it is a bill that tried to resolve migration issues on a judicial basis with control measures," Derbez said.
"This type of law that build walls, puts more people on border patrols, or hardens the sanctions against those who hire an undocumented person, don't lead to adequate solutions," Derbez said.
Derbez said that during meetings last week with business groups in Chicago, Illinois, he suggested that business, community or church groups oppose the measure.
"Speaking with them (businessmen), speaking with the Catholic church on the social aspect of the issue, the social impact on the communities where they live, we are trying for them to make themselves heard and lobby in the Senate, and the U.S. Congress," Derbez said.
The bill may go to a vote in the full House next week before Congress adjourns for the year.
The 169-page bill goes beyond increasing border patrol agents and equipment to enlist military support in border surveillance and reimburse local law enforcement in border areas for assistance in combatting alien smuggling and illegal entry.
It requires the Homeland Security Department to detain until removal all who try to enter the country illegally and sets new mandatory minimum sentences on smugglers and people convicted of re-entry after removal.
Three drunken driving convictions would become a deportable offense for legal immigrants.
All employers in the country would be required to participate in a verification system under which the government would confirm that a worker or a job applicant has legal status.
Mexico has long opposed treating undocumented migrants as criminals, and espouses a broad approach to migration that would provide legal avenues for migrants to seek work in the United States, and some form of regularization for those already living there. |
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