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 Editorials | Issues | August 2007 
In Canada, Immigration Still Colors U.S.-Mexico Relations
 Neil H. Simon - HispanicBusiness.com
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 |  | Calderon's not putting all his eggs in one basket as (Vicente) Fox did.
- Shannon O'Neil |  | |
The leaders were in Quebec. A storm was headed toward the Yucatan. And as the media gathered for a question-and-answer session with North America's top elected officials Tuesday, it was clear the issue of immigration reform was a goner.
The debate that had confounded the U.S. Congress to the point of being tabled for good the month before is apparently no longer even worthy of being a top agenda item for the Mexican government, though the question still largely colors the U.S.-Mexico relationship.
"I would even like to work faster, review more issues, but we have to be very patient," said Mexico's President Felipe Calderon before departing the summit early to oversee his country's emergency response to Hurricane Dean.
Whereas his predecessor, Vicente Fox, was fully committed to the cause of U.S. immigration reform, Mr. Calderon appears more comfortable to let the issue slide, leading his country in a collective biting of the tongue on the immigration question until 2009.
"Calderon's not putting all his eggs in one basket as Fox did," said Shannon O'Neil, a Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who specializes in Mexico and Latin American affairs.
She says Mexican legislators sees the U.S. policies of border fence-building and employer verifications of citizenship as an affront to Mexicans, and they can't understand why Americans do not simply view immigration through an economic prism – the need for cheap labor.
Mr. Calderon, on the other hand, understands domestic politics are driving the U.S. immigration debate and has decided to focus on areas of potential cooperation instead, namely drug interdiction.
"Of course, Felipe Calderon and I talked about border issues and migration," President Bush said Tuesday. "These are complicated issues, but they're issues that we can work out in good spirit as friends."
It is only the second time Mr. Calderon and Mr. Bush have officially met face to face, and Ms. O'Neil says immigration will "continue to be the thorn in the side of the Mexico-U.S. relationship."
Mr. Calderon said the leaders must tell their citizens "why it's important not to have so many barriers between ourselves, why is it important to resolve issues such as immigration (and) investments, because that could actually improve the quality of life for our people."
But, for the most part, the leaders skirted the issue in Canada. In the 8,000 words spoken in the summit-ending news conference, the word "immigration" was heard just twice.
They spoke of Arctic waterways, war in Iraq and an international highway, but precious little about the 11 million-plus illegal immigrants in the U.S.
LOCAL BUSINESSES AFFECTED
The city of El Paso, Texas, exists for one historical reason. It was the passage through which Spanish traders and warriors navigated 300 years ago from Mexico to its one-time territorial capital, Santa Fe, N.M., 328 miles north.
The border here is the Rio Grande River, a muddy stream often low enough to wade across in many spots as it dribbles its way to the Gulf of Mexico. The road north is the royal road – the Camino Real – which for those 300 years has created a link for everything from livestock to lifestyles as the border region blends American and Mexican cultures.
In this city of 609,000 people, businesses rely on border traffic, which is now often at a standstill at the toll-free international bridge as cars wait one to three hours to cross into the U.S. Here, the international relationship is also a personal one. |
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