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 Editorials | Issues | March 2008 
Former Mexican Leader Urges US Immigration Reform
 Esmeralda Bermudez - The Oregonian
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| | Former Mexico President Vicente Fox was in Portland Wednesday for an address at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (Thomas Patterson/Statesman Journal) | | |
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox pushed North American nations to expand free trade and urged the U.S. Congress to overhaul immigration laws during a visit to Portland on Wednesday night.
In a talk laced with humor, the 65-year-old known for breaking the seven-decade rule of Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party in 2000 appeared at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall as part of the World Affairs Council of Oregon speaker series.
Fox denounced a wall being built along the U.S.-Mexico border to deter illegal crossings and urged Americans to have compassion for immigrants, not act out of fear. He called a lack of access to education the biggest threat to Mexico.
"Fear is not a good adviser," he said. "My message to the U.S. Congress and the federal government is to take the bull by the horns, to respond to the challenge with a sound, intelligent and common-sense plan, to make immigration an asset to both countries."
Many in the audience sought a closer glimpse of the former president, who left office in 2006 with a mixed legacy of lowering inflation and curbing corruption, but failing to win an immigration accord with the United States. Some focused on immigration, hoping to get Fox's candid insight on the long-simmering issue.
"I want to know, 'What are they doing?' " said Roy Ettinger, a Lake Oswego architect and contractor concerned with the economic impact of illegal immigration. "I feel sorry for them, but I'd feel better if people stayed at home and improved their environment."
Outside the concert hall, protesters took issue with Fox. With megaphones in hand, a few dozen marched outside, condemning NAFTA as stealing American jobs and driving Mexicans off their land.
Kate Sherman, 22, of Portland criticized Fox as giving Mexico false hopes.
"People believed he would offer something new," she said. "But in reality, anyone who stood against him faced opposition."
Fox said Mexico has been doing its share to create jobs and provide youth scholarships to deter illegal immigration.
Since leaving office, he has been promoting a think tank he established to further democracy in his homeland. On Tuesday, Fox, also a former Coca-Cola executive, met with Nike about partnering to develop aid programs.
He said Latin America's economic health and the United States' competitive edge hinge on expanding trade, and he noted Canada's role. He lauded progress from the North American Free Trade Agreement in Mexico, despite its fallout on poor people.
Fox called Mexico's relationship with the United States complex. From economic issues to drug trafficking, the countries face a great challenge, Fox said.
He's confident his successor, President Felipe Calderon, can do much to create more jobs and combat drug cartels.
He urged the United States to avoid isolation and be creative about solving immigration problems.
"Of course the United States has a right to sovereignty," he said. "That's not the question here. The question is whether we're going to act with compassion, with love."
Esmeralda Bermudez: ebermudez(at)news.oregonian.com
In Portland, Fox Criticizes US Policy on Mexico
Thelma Guerrero-Huston - Statesman Journal
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Portland — Much of the U.S. public and some of the country's leaders do not fully comprehend the importance of Mexican immigrants to the U.S. economy and are confusing those immigrants with terrorists, former Mexico President Vicente Fox said.
Furthermore, the Bush administration did not use common sense when it made a decision to build a fence along parts of the U.S.-Mexico border, Fox said.
"President Reagan went to Berlin and told (Mikhail) Gorbachev to tear down the (Berlin) Wall, and now the U.S. is building a wall on our border," Fox said. "It's incredible; it's a mistake; and it's a big waste of money."
Fox made the comments during a news conference Wednesday at the Heathman Hotel. The former president was in Portland as part of the World Affairs Council of Oregon's 2008 International Speakers series. He was the first of four esteemed international leaders scheduled to speak during the series.
Border security and immigration were two of several issues Fox addressed. Both have become a front line in U.S. politics and a key battleground in the 2008 race for the White House.
"I am not for open borders," Fox said. "I am for managing the issue of migration, but I am not for building a wall."
In 2006, Congress approved legislation calling for 670 miles of fencing along the border with Mexico to slow illegal immigration. The $20 million virtual fence already covers 28 miles of the border between Arizona and Mexico.
Last month, however, plans for the remaining miles of fence were halted after investigators with the Government Accountability Office said some unexpected problems had arisen that would require a redesign. Those problems involved inappropriate computer software by a contractor.
Fox also spoke about free trade, saying the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, has created millions of jobs in Mexico and drawn billions of dollars in investments to that nation, making its trade balance the seventh largest in the world and larger than all of the Latin-American nations combined.
Last year, Oregon's exports to Mexico under NAFTA totaled $3.7 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Trade and Industry Information. Much of that involved transportation equipment, computers and electronic products, wood and paper products, and crops.
Critics of the free-trade agreement, which includes the U.S., Canada and Mexico, have said that it takes away job opportunities from Americans.
Fox admits that some changes are needed, but says he would like to see it expanded to more countries.
The former president also commented briefly on a bill passed last month by the Oregon Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Ted Kulongoski, which calls for proof of legal presence to obtain an Oregon driver's license.
More than 350 immigration-related proposals were unveiled in the first two months of this year in states across the nation, including Oregon, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
"What some people don't understand is that Mexican immigrants make it possible for the U.S. to compete in the global market," Fox said. "If they can't get to work, who is going to do their work, build the roads, the houses, pick the crops? I call on all U.S. governors to use common sense when addressing these type of issues."
He blamed passage of such legislation on the failure by President Bush and Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. He also placed some of the blame on what he called fear-mongers and xenophobes, and on some cable news demagogues who he said demonize illegal immigrants, creating an environment of fear and hate toward the undocumented.
Fox also touched on the current Mexican administration of President Felipe Calderón. He praised Calderón for creating more than one million new jobs in the country and funding scholarships for one million students to attend college, saying that would be one million fewer Mexican citizens that would come to the U.S.
He also spoke about the Calderón administration's ongoing efforts to combat organized crime and drugs.
"This must be a shared responsibility between Mexico and the United States, since the U.S. is the largest drug market for Latin-American cartels," Fox said.
tguerrero-huston(at)StatesmanJournal.com |
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