Fox Praises Bush's U.S. Immigration Plan (But Wants More)

AP ^ | January 8, 2004

[sarcasm]

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- President Vicente Fox on Thursday praised the immigration reform proposed by President Bush and claimed it as an achievement for his own administration.

But Fox and other Mexican officials indicated the new American proposal did not meet all their goals. ``We're going for more. We're going for more,'' he told reporters during a visit to a shelter for street children.

Fox has repeatedly urged Bush to legalize the millions of Mexicans who cross the border illegally to work in the United States. The money they send home is Mexico's second-largest source of foreign income, behind oil.

Bush's plan, unveiled Wednesday, would create a temporary worker program for illegal migrants now in the United States and those in other countries who have been offered employment in America.

Migrants would be able to obtain renewable three-year labor visas, but Bush said they would not receive special consideration for permanent residence or citizenship.

The plan would help ease a situation in which major U.S. industries depend on illegal workers while giving the workers legal protection and making it easier for them to keep up ties with Mexico.

Fox said the immigration proposal ``is a great step forward. It is an achievement of the measures we have been taking during these three years'' since taking office in 2000.

``It is going to allow millions of Mexicans who are there, undocumented and with problems, to be able to work with full legality, with full respect for their labor and human rights,'' Fox added.

During his speech at the shelter on Thursday, Fox said the Bush proposal ``is the response to the effort and work that we as a government have carried out to defend the human rights, the labor rights, the rights of citizens of our compatriots.''

``It is a demonstration of collaboration which we appreciate,'' Fox said, adding: ``We will continue working for an integral immigration treaty.''

Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said officials from both countries had already begun studying the proposal and would discuss it at a Summit of the Americas conference next week in the northern city of Monterrey.

[hershey]

Earlier, an article was posted about predictions that we'd have a smaller work force. Presumably we'd better get used to more and more outsourcing of jobs. Okay, there's a disconnect here. Why is it sensible to assume that we'd still have millions of jobs for Mexican workers? If Americans are looking for work and not finding fulltime jobs, some will decide to work two parttime jobs, or even three. That's already happening. Are we supposed to starve to death so millions of Mexicans can work here and send money home? Where does it say America has to prop up the whole world? At some point Mexico has to take steps to fix its own economy, and I don't mean sell more drugs. This present bill is a band-aid and a carrot. Other than holding a gun to Mexico's head, what do we do? Truthfully, we're bordered by a bunch of third world countries too lazy and or corrupt to solve their own problems. We're feeding a tiger here, and sooner or later the tiger will try to eat us...isn't that already happening?