 |
|
|
 News Around the Republic of Mexico | March 2007 
Mexico Presses Bush Over Immigration
 Steve Holland - Reuters
| | U.S. President George W. Bush (L) and Mexico's President Felipe Calderon smile during their meeting at the Hacienda Temozon in the Yucatan March 13, 2007. President Bush wraps up a five-nation Latin America tour on Wednesday that has increased pressure on him to make changes in American immigration policy. (Alfredo Guerrero/Reuters) |
President George W. Bush was pressured by Mexico on Wednesday to ease U.S. immigration laws, at the end of a Latin American tour marked by street protests and sniping from Venezuela's leftist leader.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon pushed Bush to convince Congress to pass a bill that will "acknowledge the rights" of millions of illegal immigrants in the United States.
"They are people who work and who respect that country, people who pay taxes, who grow the vegetables you probably eat, people who serve in restaurants," he said after two days of talks in the southeastern city of Merida.
For Bush, it was the end a five-nation tour that he used to try to soften his image in Latin America, where the Iraq war and U.S. trade and immigration policies are deeply unpopular.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Bush's left-wing nemesis in the region, criticized the U.S. leader throughout the tour.
Bush resolutely refused on Wednesday to acknowledge the anti-American rhetoric from Chavez, but Calderon said he was willing to work with others in Latin America.
"Mexico is respectful of the opinions of other leaders," said Calderon, a conservative who has himself clashed with Chavez since taking office in December.
Bush and Calderon spoke after talks dominated by immigration, trade and how to staunch the flow of illegal drugs across the border into the United States.
Calderon was expected to be a close ally for Bush but he has pushed harder than many expected for immigration reform and for Washington to do more to cut U.S. demand for drugs.
Calderon expressed concern for the human rights of illegal immigrants in the United States and said any new law must "acknowledge the rights of the migrants and workers."
More than half of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States are Mexicans.
NO AMNESTY
Bush vowed to try to convince skeptical members of his own Republican Party on the need for a comprehensive immigration overhaul that would include a temporary guest worker program.
But he made clear the U.S. Congress would never approve of amnesty for illegal immigrants.
"There's not going to be automatic citizenship. It just won't work. People in the United States don't support that, and neither do I. Nor will kicking people out of the United States work. It's not practical. It is not a realistic solution. Some may articulate that, but it's empty talk," Bush said.
Calderon said he had relatives working in the United States and said they are emblematic of the need for new immigration laws and cross-border investment to create jobs in Mexico.
"We want them to come back, we want them to find jobs in Mexico, we miss them," Calderon said, while not answering whether his relatives were residing legally across the border.
Calderon took over in December from Vicente Fox, who failed to get an immigration deal with Bush during his term.
Bush was dogged during his Latin America trip by mocking "Gringo go home" rhetoric from Chavez, while street protests at some stops showed the depth of the region's frustration with him.
Several dozen protesters marched on Wednesday through central Merida, a pretty colonial city, shouting "Killer Bush" and "No more war."
(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Catherine Bremer) |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us