What I find interesting is that the US gubmint welcomes and even encourages
illegal immigrants to our country to work, supposedly in jobs that no
American wants. But when all the violence in Haiti started, the same gubmint
issued a warning to those wanting to flee the turmoil that the US didn't
have room for them and they would be intercepted at sea and sent home.
Haitians must not be good brick layers.
Mexico lobbies for alien amnesty
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The Mexican government is lobbying U.S. lawmakers and civic leaders for
amnesty or guest-worker status for millions of illegal aliens now in the
United States, working through a coalition of U.S.-based immigration rights
associations, Mexican-American organizations and grass-roots Hispanic
groups.
This growing political alliance, which also seeks expanded education and
health care benefits for Mexican nationals in this country, along with
additional programs for labor, community development and access to services,
is led by the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, also known as the Instituto de
los Mexicanos en el Exterior.
Known by the Spanish acronym IME, the institute was created by
presidential decree and reports to a counsel of Mexican government officials
headed by President Vicente Fox as a branch of Mexico's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. It has called U.S. immigration reform a major priority,
recommending policy changes that respect "the needs and rights" of Mexican
nationals living and working in this country.
Mr. Fox will meet tomorrow and Saturday with President Bush in Crawford,
Texas, where immigration issues will be among several topics on the agenda.
In January, Mr. Bush proposed a guest-worker program that could give legal
status to millions of illegal aliens, mostly Mexican nationals, who now hold
jobs in the United States.
According to its own records, IME's stated purpose is to attend to the
millions of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans who live in the United States as
citizens, residents, temporary workers and illegal aliens. It is not a
legislative body, nor is it responsible for the implementation of public
policies, but it advises the Mexican government on efforts to improve and
expand services and benefits to Mexicans living in other countries.
Recommendations come from an advisory board of 130 members, mostly
Mexican-Americans who live in the United States.
Working with the IME, a coalition of local and statewide immigration
rights associations, Mexican-American organizations and local Hispanic
groups count among its members a number of illegal aliens and
first-generation Mexican migrants, who have formed into groups known as
"federations" from Los Angeles to Miami.
IME President Candido Morales has described efforts to reach out to the
Mexican-born population as important to ensuring that millions of Mexican
nationals now in the United States feel they have a "connection" with the
government of their adopted country.
Mr. Morales, a citizen of both the United States and Mexico, is based at
the Foreign Ministry Office in Mexico City and was unavailable for comment.
Jacob Prado, counselor for Latino affairs at the Mexican Embassy in
Washington D.C., said Mr. Fox created the IME in 2002 to promote a "more
comprehensive approach" in protecting the rights of Mexicans living abroad.
He said a council of 11 Mexican government secretaries, along with Mr. Fox,
oversee its operation.
Mr. Prado said the advisory board consists of members from a number of
organizations, including "hometown clubs and national groups" - like the
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the League of United Latin American
Citizens (LULAC).
He acknowledged that immigration reform is a key issue and that the
board has sought to make recommendations to ensure that the rights of
Mexican nationals in this country, including what he called "undocumented
workers," are protected.
Mr. Morales, during a September speech in Washington D.C. to the
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEAO),
said it was "Latino officials like yourselves that thousands of immigrants
from Mexico find a political voice."
"We know you are among the first to pledge and to promote a humane
treatment of all immigrants, regardless of their nationality or migratory
status," he said. "Mexico will be better able to achieve its full potential
by calling on all members of the Mexican Nation, including those who live
abroad, to contribute with their talents, skills and resources."
To publicize their concerns, IME and coalition leaders have scheduled
meetings this year with state and local government officials in this country
to discuss, among other things, immigration issues. Others have begun to
organize "get-out-the-vote" drives for the 2004 U.S. presidential election.
A delegation of Mexican governors met last month with IME and coalition
officials in Los Angeles, and plan to follow up with similar meetings in
Chicago, Dallas and San Antonio.
Thirty state legislators and mayors of Mexican descent from the United
States took part in an institute meeting in October in Mexico City. During
the two-day visit, the U.S. politicians met with officials from the Mexican
Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior, as well as with Mexican deputies
and senators, scholars and representatives from agencies that provide
services to the migrant population.
The institute plans to bring more than 400 U.S. lawmakers and community
leaders of Mexican descent to Mexico City by the end of this year.
At the October meeting, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez
acknowledged the work of locally elected U.S. Hispanic officials benefiting
Mexicans and expressed thanks for the support by Hispanic representatives to
the consular or "matricula" identification cards issued to Mexican nationals
in this country.
The IME, relying on help from Mexican government officials, including
Mr. Fox, led a successful fight last year for recognition by the U.S.
Treasury Department of the matricula card, sending hundreds of e-mails to
Mexican-American leaders in the United States to voice their support.
Responding to a resulting flood of e-mails, Treasury approved their use
in September despite warnings by the Justice Department and the FBI that the
cards were useful only for illegal aliens, since legal immigrants have U.S.
government-issued documents.
Some 1.5 million digitally coded cards have been issued by Mexican
consulates in the United States and are accepted by hundreds of localities,
local agencies and banks across the nation. Mexican nationals in the United
States send $14.5 billion home each year.
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