K.C. ALFRED / Union-Tribune
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger met yesterday with Baja California Gov. Eugenio Elorduy in Mexicali.
Posted on 09/24/2005 9:10:49 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
MEXICALI – The whole menu of hot-button California immigration issues intruded yesterday on a long-awaited meeting between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his Baja California counterpart.
Schwarzenegger and Baja California Gov. Eugenio Elorduy discussed cross-border cooperation on transportation, trade, education, environmental issues and immigration during a two-hour private meeting in the state government headquarters here.
The two issued a joint statement with immigration couched in delicate diplomatic language:
"Undocumented immigration is perhaps one of the most challenging and controversial issues that we face, but that does not mean that workable solutions cannot be found. Our dialogue with respect to this issue must be constructive and based on mutual respect."
Minutes after the statement was read at a joint news conference in the Baja California capital, Schwarzenegger was peppered with questions from reporters about controversial statements that many in Mexico have taken offense at, particularly on the Minutemen border watchers and driver licenses for illegal immigrants.
The Republican governor defended his support of the efforts of the Minuteman as a self-appointed citizen adjunct to an understaffed Border Patrol, but does not want them to be armed or harass border crossers.
"Obviously, we do not have enough Border Patrol, so that is the problem why the Minutemen came about in the first place," Schwarzenegger said. "I also made it clear that I never believed in armed Minutemen. No one ought to be armed. No one ought to harass anybody.
"And everyone ought to remember always the human rights issues. It's very important that even though you see someone crossing illegally, they ought to be treated with human rights and with dignity."
Schwarzenegger also reiterated that he will not sign SB 60, which would allow the issuance of a driving certificate – not an official California driver license that can be used for identification – to people who are not in the country legally. He said he favors a universal license, but wants to wait for the federal government to develop uniform criteria for all 50 states.
"I think that we're all trying to achieve kind of the same goal here and we just have to be patient and move the agenda forward slowly," Schwarzenegger said.
Though immigration dominated the news conference, the two governors spent an hour talking about another sensitive border topic – a U.S. plan to conserve water by lining a 23-mile stretch of the All-American Canal, which carries Colorado River water to the Imperial Valley.
The project has long been the subject of protests in Mexico, as Mexicali farmers have for decades watered their fields from wells fed by the canal's seepage. Up to now, only the federal governments have conducted negotiations on the canal's lining, but the two governors agreed that their staffs would work with a Mexicali economic development group to seek a solution.
"We've got to find a way where we can help Mexico and at the same time accomplish our goals," Schwarzenegger said.
Schwarzenegger came into office after the canal lining deal was put together, but his administration remains firmly behind the project. His 2005-06 budget sets aside $59 million to assist in the concrete lining of the All-American and Coachella canals.
The lining project is part of a broader deal to reduce demand on the Colorado River.
It was only Schwarzenegger's second visit to Mexico since he became governor after the October 2003 recall election. He paid a brief visit to a Border Governors Conference in Torreon, Coahuila, in July.
Mexico is California's largest trading partner and California is home to more Mexican-born residents than any other state.
Schwarzenegger's outspoken stance on illegal immigration has generated widespread criticism in Mexico, where initial reaction to his victory was greeted with dismay. Mexican media were quick to point to his support of Proposition 187, the initiative supported by former Gov. Pete Wilson to deny government services to illegal immigrants in California.
But yesterday, Schwarzenegger and Elorduy spoke of their friendship and willingness to work together to strengthen cross-border ties. Smiling broadly, Schwarzenegger recalled his first visit to Mexico, for the Mr. International bodybuilding championship in Tijuana in 1968. He pointed to the success of the four movies he filmed in Mexico. "I always said that Mexico brought me good luck," he said.
Together with Elorduy, he spent almost half an hour with students and graduates from joint degree programs in international business and public administration involving universities on both sides of the border.
The meeting came almost two years after Schwarzenegger took office. Elorduy, a member of Mexico's National Action Party who speaks fluent English and was born in Calexico, has struggled since taking office in 2001 to get the attention of his northern counterparts, first Gray Davis and then Schwarzenegger.
Analysts say such encounters require a balancing act by officials from both sides of the border who may have strong feelings about emotional social issues but also want to make progress on common economic goals.
"There are two levels in dialogue," said Jeffrey Davidow, president of the Institute of the Americas at the University of California, San Diego. "One is public dialogue where sometimes on both sides of the border very emotional issues are staked out, polemical things are said. Then there are the day-to-day let's-work-together-and-get-things-done kind of contact."
Schwarzenegger also alluded to the protests Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, a Los Angeles Democrat, encountered in Mexico City last month over his advocacy of declaring a state of emergency at the border.
"I don't know what the point of it is at this point, because we are getting movement from Washington to bring more Border Patrol to our borders," Schwarzenegger said.
Schwarzenegger sought to put a compassionate face on his views on immigration by saying that the vast majority of illegal immigrants in California are working and contributing to the economy.
Notwithstanding his one-time support for Proposition 187, he emphasized that all people in California are entitled to essential government services regardless of their immigration status.
"We have equal rights for everybody, as you know," he said. "Everyone has the right to use our emergency rooms and to get medical care. Everyone has the right to have education."
Schwarzenegger noted that he signed AB 22, which imposes stiff civil and criminal penalties on persons convicted of smuggling people across the border.
"I just signed a bill the other day to make it a felony of human trafficking," he said. "So if you get busted with that, you go to jail for a long time."
And he pointed out that he signed legislation long sought by the United Farm Workers to guarantee farm laborers protection from the heat.
Schwarzenegger said he regards recent indication that the Bush administration intends to push aggressively for congressional approval of a guest-worker program as a hopeful sign.
"I think I'm very much encouraged about that because we must resolve the issue," he said. "I think it's wrong for the federal government to live in denial and to pretend that it's not existing."
Schwarzenegger was joined in Mexico by three of his Cabinet secretaries – Business, Transportation and Housing Secretary Sunne Wright McPeak, Director of Homeland Security Matthew Bettenhausen and Education Secretary Alan Bersin – who met with their counterparts in the Baja California government.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger met yesterday with Baja California Gov. Eugenio Elorduy in Mexicali.
Another thing for which conservatives should cheer Arnold.
Everybody is smiling in that picture.
smile smile smile
Are you saying he is not getting his due for all his successes? Veto that thought. I'm shocked!
Thanks! I don't know how I missed it.
That's what all you men say! :^)
Cheer away!
Go Arnold! /s
Someone once said: "never mind what they say, watch what they do".
I guess I finally figured out that all you care about, is what someone says, not what they do.
McClintock always says, what you want to hear, but he never did a single solitary thing for conservatives.
Arnold has to be diplomatic, and you were quoting him out of context, but if you look at what he did, 80-90% of his actions ARE conservatives, but none of that means anything, because you prefer the rhetoric to real action.
Arnold is supporting Prop. 73, parental notification, he also said he will veto the homosexual marriage bill, he refused to raise taxes, despite pressure from Dems, he had the legislature reverse the drivers license to illegal bill they passed earlier, he turned CA around from the brink of financial disaster without raising taxes, he initiated propositions 74 (education spending cuts), 75 (paycheck protection), 76 (limit spending), 77 (redistricting). SO FAR...
Also, from this article:
====
Schwarzenegger also reiterated that he will not sign SB 60, which would allow the issuance of a driving certificate – not an official California driver license that can be used for identification – to people who are not in the country legally.
Schwarzenegger noted that he signed AB 22, which imposes stiff civil and criminal penalties on persons convicted of smuggling people across the border.
>>80-90% of his actions ARE conservative...
You HAVE to be joking!
Back on the payroll, huh? Welcome back.
What can you say? lol
Give me a break with this joker! He's NOT improving much of anything!! He's not impressing anyone but a few of you diehards in the whole state and it's getting very depressing to watch!!!
I mean... Just take a simple lined pad... Draw a line down the middle... list the things on the right connected to Arnold that have produced real positive things for CA and it's well being, then list the stuff on the left connected to Arnold that have either not really helped or set things on a wrong path. Either weight or prioritize the items based on value or timely advantage and see if we are either moving to the right, or the left!!!
Do it! Do it even including your bias or prejudice for or against Mr. Wonderful and let's look at it when your done. OK??? Really... do it!!!
Absolutely despicable. Like Bush, every time this RINO opens his yap about immigration thousands more illegal aliens are encouraged to come where they are not wanted.
Arnold is a RINO, and anything BUT a conservative. He has done very little to carry out his Recall promises. With every announcement of impending bold action there comes the next day an "explanatory press release" backing off of that announcement.
Arnold is a big disappointment. True conservatives want nothing more to do with him.
Please provide the context. I quoted in context from the article. If you have more information, please provide it. If not, please rescind your comment that I misquoted him.
Yep. Welcoming illegal aliens with open arms, and more than happy to spend YOUR taxpayer dollars on more welfare. Continuing on this path will be the demise of the state.
Schwarzenegger was peppered with questions from reporters about controversial statements that many in Mexico have taken offense at, particularly on the Minutemen border watchers and driver licenses for illegal immigrants.
Schwarzenegger's outspoken stance on illegal immigration has generated widespread criticism in Mexico, where initial reaction to his victory was greeted with dismay. Mexican media were quick to point to his support of Proposition 187, the initiative supported by former Gov. Pete Wilson to deny government services to illegal immigrants in California.
Notwithstanding his one-time support for Proposition 187, he emphasized that all people in California are entitled to essential government services regardless of their immigration status.
"We have equal rights for everybody, as you know," he said. "Everyone has the right to use our emergency rooms and to get medical care. Everyone has the right to have education."
Schwarzenegger noted that he signed AB 22, which imposes stiff civil and criminal penalties on persons convicted of smuggling people across the border.
"I just signed a bill the other day to make it a felony of human trafficking," he said. "So if you get busted with that, you go to jail for a long time."
That changes nothing. I did not quote him out of context, based on what you just posted here.
His supposed prior support of Prop 187 a decade ago is irrelevant and has been far overshadowed by his complete lack of support for the Save187 campaign and his total unwillingness to have pursued an appeal of 187.
His dancing with Cedillo saying that drivers licenses are a "security issue" is also ridiculous. Lawbreakers should not be rewarded--period!
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