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 Americas & Beyond | April 2008 
Calderón to Hear Immigrant Leaders' Concerns at Dallas Conference
 Dianne Solís & Alfredo Corchado - Dallas Morning News
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| | Mexico's President Felipe Calderón | | |
Mexico's President Felipe Calderón comes to Dallas on Tuesday with bridge-building credentials. He has a Harvard master's degree, English fluency – and relatives who work illegally in the U.S.
All three attributes should serve him well when he meets separately with Mexican immigrant leaders and Texas business executives.
A crackdown against illegal immigrants is roiling Texas and much of the U.S., and its scope and fury haven't been seen in this country in at least 50 years, historians have said.
Dallas is the setting this week for a three-day conference of an advisory board to the Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME), an organization founded in 2003 by the Mexican government. The board's mission is to promote economic development in Mexico and the U.S. while defending migrants working outside Mexico.
With about 125 members, the advisory board's influence is growing, analysts and Mexican government officials say. And that is why Mexico's president chose to visit the group's semiannual conference, which is being held outside Mexico for only the second time.
"The access of these Mexican migrants to the decision-making process in Mexico is rare, if not unprecedented, and it's growing," said Carlos González Gutiérrez, IME's director. "Sometimes we're not in total agreement with IME advisers, but the consultation between us is real, and this meeting in Dallas is a reflection of that. These are people who want to influence both sides of the border, so our relationship is far from being one-sided."
Indeed, the advisory board is often at odds with the Mexican government. Board members have said that Mexico remains a place of great social inequities because, for generations, its politicians have mismanaged the economy.
Univision radio host Claudia Torrescano, 41, of Dallas, is a member of the IME advisory board. Now a U.S. citizen, she sadly recalls trips to her native state of San Luis Potosí, where she sees far too many people with crushed dreams, especially older women discriminated against because of their age and sometimes because of the darker hue of their skin.
"The older the woman gets, the less her value becomes," she said. "There is still widespread discrimination in Mexico against the indigenous and other women. There is discrimination against those who don't have the right last name, or against families who don't descend from wealthy backgrounds."
Mexico City native Mario Cesar Ramírez, who runs the La Paloma taquería chain in the Dallas area, is critical of the lack of opportunity in Mexico.
"Amid the clapping and cheers when we see the president, there will also be a sense of resentment because the majority of Mexicans I know were people who had no choice but to leave Mexico," said Mr. Ramírez, 39, a U.S. citizen and advisory board member. "If Bill Gates had started Microsoft in Mexico, he'd still be in the garage 30 years later."
With its burgeoning immigrant population, Dallas is a logical place for Mr. Calderón's visit, Mexican officials said. The Dallas area now has more Mexican-born people than Houston, placing the region just behind Chicago and Los Angeles in terms of political and economic importance for Mexico.
Rene Martínez, 61, a son of Mexican immigrants and an IME member who works for the Dallas Independent School District, says he was struck by the tens of thousands of people who turned out in the streets of Dallas in 2006 to march for legalization of immigrants.
"Dallas is the epicenter, of the marches and of immigrant numbers," he said.
But in North Texas, immigration-fueled growth has ignited loud protests against illegal immigrants, and even their U.S.-born children, whom critics say strain schools and public hospitals.
"I hope that Calderón acknowledges the fact that he understands that the U.S. is a sovereign country, just like Mexico is," said Jean Towell, president of Citizens for Immigration Reform in North Texas, which has no plans to protest the IME meeting. "I hope he understands that we have rules and a rule of law, and that he knows better than to tell us how we should apply our own immigration laws."
But if Mexico doesn't defend its citizens in the U.S., it risks alienating a group that sent $24 billion last year to relatives in Mexico.
Therefore, striking the right tone, choosing words with precision, watching for symbols that don't offend anyone on either side will all be part of the theater of the visit, choreographed by the Calderón team.
"It is his responsibility to visit the Mexican communities abroad," said Dr. Tony Payan, a political scientist at the University of Texas at El Paso. "It is still a Mexican community under siege."
When IME working sessions begin Wednesday, a key issue will be the defense of Mexican immigrants against discrimination, organizers said.
"Polls have consistently shown that it is only a small minority of Americans who believe that it is feasible to deport 12 million undocumented people," said Mr. González Gutiérrez. "We want to stay close and work with those organizations because we share their concerns."
Advisory board member Graciela Reyes Salinas, 46, a Dallas nurse and naturalized U.S. citizen, sees her role in practical terms. While she understands why some might be suspicious of her participation in IME, she said she is enthusiastic about the opportunity.
IME's mission, Ms. Salinas said, is aimed at providing "know-how" that "hopefully, we can stop the flow of illegal immigration to this country." |
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