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 News from Around the Americas | May 2006 
Fox: US and Mexico Must Manage Immigration Together
 Shannon Dininny - Associated Press
| | Seattle motorcycle officer Ken Lee waits near his bike and reads a newspaper as he waits for the departure of the motorcade of Mexican President Vicente Fox in downtown Seattle, Thursday, May 25, 2006. The meeting is part of Fox's three-state swing through the West. He also visited Utah and heads to California later Thursday to meet with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger - amid an extended election-year debate about illegal immigration. (AP/Elaine Thompson) |
Yakima, WA – Mexican President Vicente Fox touched down in the heart of Washington farm country Wednesday, greeting Gov. Chris Gregoire with a kiss on the cheek before heading off to visit a Latino-owned fruit orchard in the nation's leading apple-producing state.
Fox's visit to the agriculture-rich Yakima Valley marked what is believed to be the first visit by a Mexican president to Washington state. It is part of a three-state swing through the Western United States amid an extended national debate over immigration reform.
“The people came to this land with sacrifice, many times risking their lives,” Fox told several hundred farmworkers in Spanish. “It's clear the purpose is to reach an agreement that can give security, that can give legality, that can give flow to the migrant people. I think we are closer to the end of this route. This is a shared responsibility, the immigration reform.”
On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate voted to limit debate on election-year immigration legislation, clearing the way for final passage later this week of a bill that calls for tougher border security as well as an eventual chance at citizenship for millions of men and women in this country illegally.
Fox's two-day visit to Yakima and Seattle is to include trade talks and meetings with Hispanic and business groups. It comes as the U.S. Senate considers legislation to strengthen border security, authorize new guest-worker programs and give an eventual chance at citizenship to most of the estimated 12 million people already living illegally in the United States.
Gregoire specifically pressed Fox to stop in Eastern Washington, where thousands of Hispanic workers – many of them illegal immigrants – labor in the agriculture industry, planting and harvesting crops and packing and processing food.
Agriculture is the state's top industry. As a result, Hispanics account for up to 90 percent of the population in some farm communities.
Fox moved on to Seattle on Wednesday afternoon for a town hall meeting with Mexican-Americans and a dinner hosted by Gregoire.
He was greeted at Boeing Field by about 30 well-wishers, at one point grabbing a microphone from a mariachi band and thanking the crowd for being there. He ended the impromptu speech with “Gracias, felicidades, viva Mexico!” to cheers from the crowd.
Protesters made sure Fox had a less welcome arrival in downtown Seattle. Before his dinner with Gregoire, about 50 camped out on street corners, loudly denouncing Fox's ties with President Bush and liberalized trade policies while offering support to Zapatista rebels.
In a speech after their dinner, Gregoire said U.S. immigration reform should allow earned citizenship and a robust guest worker program along with secure borders.
“This great state and this great nation was built by those immigrants and continues to be built by immigrants today,” Gregoire said.
Reiterating points made earlier in a speech to the Utah Legislature, Fox told attendees at Wednesday night's event that Mexico does not support undocumented migration and that his country must expand economic growth so it is not necessary for people to seek work and benefits outside his country.
“Mexico believes that it will take more than just enforcement, building walls, to really solve the challenge posed by the migration phenomenon, and that comprehensive reform is in the interest of both nations,” Fox said.
In Yakima, Fox toured a 700-acre cherry, apple and pear orchard and an apple-packing warehouse owned by Rene and Carmen Garcia. Their operation, G&G Orchards, is believed to be the only Hispanic-owned apple warehouse in Washington state.
Fox chatted with two orchard workers who were pruning trees, and Gregoire pointed out that an estimated 20,000 farm workers would be needed in time for the cherry harvest in mid-June. The pair also walked down an apple-packing line inside a warehouse, shaking hands with each of the workers.
Toward the end of the tour, Fox leaned in to one man and said, “We're with you guys.”
“Thanks for your support,” the worker replied.
Gregoire and the Garcias also pressed Fox for duty-free apple exports in Mexico, where some U.S. shippers pay a 46 percent tariff. Fox said the issue is complex, and that Mexican growers fear that eliminating the duty would cost them jobs. Mexico is the nation's top export market for apples.
Given the timing of the visit, though, immigration was the topic of interest at each stop. In Yakima, farmers are worried about a shortage of workers this year amid a border crackdown.
Rene Garcia said he doesn't have any illegal workers, but estimated that 90 percent of farm laborers in the Yakima Valley are in the country illegally.
“Right now, so far, we're looking for a bigger crop this year, and I'm getting nervous,” Garcia said. “We're not seeing the people circulating around looking for jobs.”
Six busloads of farm workers, farm owners and others selected to welcome Fox listened to his speech, which largely focused on the importance of education and health care. A mariachi band played Mexican songs, and one woman waved flags from both countries.
Enrique Diaz, 67, a farmworker originally from Colima, Mexico, has lived in the central Washington city of Pasco for about 30 years. He said he came here to make a better living and has been a citizen since 1976.
Diaz said he hopes the main message Fox walks away with is immigrants' need for amnesty.
“There's a lot of pressure. They're both suffering – people who aren't residents and people who are,” Diaz said.
About 80 people gathered to protest the visit in a field near the route Fox took to the orchard. Among them was Ruth Drollinger, a single mother of four children wearing a red, white and blue flag sweater, of the group Protect Washington Now.
The group is sponsoring a ballot initiative that would require the state to require proof of citizenship from anyone who applies for government assistance, she said.
Drollinger said she joined the group after she tried to apply for dental assistance and found herself in a government office competing with 40 Mexican nationals.
“Housing, food stamps, it doesn't matter,” she said. “It's costing our state $500 million a year, and it's not too much to ask.”
On Thursday, Fox is to attend a breakfast with Washington business leaders in Seattle, visit a community health center, and have lunch with other business groups. He then heads to California to address lawmakers and meet with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Associated Press Writer Curt Woodward in Seattle contributed to this report. |
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