Posted on 11/09/2004 2:41:55 PM PST by The Loan Arranger
MEXICO CITY -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday that President Bush will place a high priority in his second term on granting legal status to millions of migrants who live illegally in the United States.
Powell spoke at the inaugural session of the U.S.-Mexican Bi-National Commission, which annually brings together top officials from both sides to discuss a range of cross-border issues. Powell was joined here by five other members of Bush's Cabinet.
"The president is committed to comprehensive immigration reform as a high priority in his second term, and he will work closely with our Congress to achieve this goal," Powell said, with delegations from both sides in attendance at a Foreign Ministry auditorium.
In separate remarks, Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez made no specific reference to the migration issue but praised the "high level of confidence and understanding between the two countries."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Stalled Immigration Reform 'High Priority' for Bush
Tuesday, November 09, 2004 5:02 p.m. ET
By Alistair Bell
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Revamping U.S. immigration laws to let more Mexicans work legally in the United States is a high priority, Secretary of State Colin Powell said, although a skeptical Congress could still block the plan.
Immigration reform has been a source of Mexican frustration with the United States as it languished low on a U.S. government agenda dominated by Iraq, homeland security and this year's national elections.
"The president remains committed to comprehensive immigration reform as a high priority in his second term and he will work closely with our Congress to achieve this goal," Powell said on Tuesday at a ceremony before talks with Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez.
President Bush proposed in January that millions of illegal aliens, mostly Mexicans, be allowed to gain legal status for an initial three-year period if they can prove they have jobs in the United States.
While many businesses applauded the idea, it met stiff opposition in Congress in advance of last week's U.S. elections and remained on the shelf.
Some lawmakers fear the proposal would make it more difficult to keep the southern U.S. border secure, a major concern since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
NEW CONGRESS
Powell warned that the newly elected Congress, where Republicans expanded their majority in the Nov. 2 polls, might be just as lukewarm toward immigration reform as the old legislature after it gets down to work in January.
"At the same time we don't want to overpromise. What I told Secretary Derbez is that ... we will make an assessment with the new Congress of the pace with which we can proceed with the temporary workers' program," he told a news conference after the talks.
Republican lawmakers have traditionally been more wary of loosening U.S. immigration laws, although some encourage Mexican immigration as a source of cheap labor, particularly in states where agriculture dominates.
Mexican President Vicente Fox is Bush's closest ally in Latin America despite disagreements over the Iraq war, and he has long sought to improve the rights and legal protection of Mexican migrants who flock north in search of work.
Mexican political analysts say Mexico might be willing to cooperate more closely with the United States on security in exchange for a deal on immigration.
"There could be something on security at Mexican airports, like having U.S. agents at the pre-check-in stage, or increased intelligence cooperation," said political scientist Jorge Chabat.
Despite concerns that the 2,000-mile border with Mexico is a weak spot in U.S. security, there have been no verified cases of terrorists entering the United States there.
However, several thousand Mexicans and other Latin Americans do cross the border illegally every day in search of a better life in the United States.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, accompanying Powell in Mexico, said the Bush immigration plan could help deter terror.
"A temporary worker program could contribute to enhanced security in the United States. We would have identified individuals and afforded them a status in the United States which assures us they are there to work and not to engage in terrorist activities," he told a news conference.
But the visas have to be temporary, unless that person goes through the normal citizenship application.
Any illegal here now who doesn't conform to the new rules is permanently deported with no chance to ever return even temporarily.
I knew Savage would slam him for this, rightly so. I will tape Savage when its on tonight.
45 arrested, face deportation in North County gang sweep (San Diego)
Powell is in Mexico giving the big speech that he/they/them plans on giving 10 million illegals the path to legal residency. They sure didn't waste any time, did they?. We have to hammer some congressmen big time. Nah....this isn't amnesty...not much.
Latest www.cnn.com/lou Lou Dobbs poll
Do you agree with Secretary of State Colin Powell that millions of illegal aliens in the United States should be given legal status?
Yes 10% 335 votes
No 90% 2868 votes
Total: 3203 votes
Powell is in Mexico giving the big speech that he/they/them plans on giving 10 million illegals the path to legal residency. They sure didn't waste any time, did they? We have to hammer some congressmen big time. Nah....this isn't amnesty...not much.
Latest www.cnn.com/lou Lou Dobbs poll
Do you agree with Secretary of State Colin Powell that millions of illegal aliens in the United States should be given legal status?
Yes 10% 335 votes
No 90% 2868 votes
Total: 3203 votes
Also keep in mind that this is pretty much a done deal as far as Vincente Fox is concerned. Tom Tancredo has voiced this many times as he has made trips to Mexico and been told this by Fox's people. It is assumed that the borders will be erased soon.
Some of us tried to mention it. And a few practically lost their sanity when we did. Like the totalization agreement recently signed with Mexico to give illegals full SS benefits, with 6 work credits, when US Citizens need 40.
They sure didn't waste any time, did they? We have to hammer some congressmen big time. Nah....this isn't amnesty...not much.
Latest www.cnn.com/lou Lou Dobbs poll
Do you agree with Secretary of State Colin Powell that millions of illegal aliens in the United States should be given legal status?
Yes 10% 335 votes
No 90% 2868 votes
Total: 3203 votes
According to the Bush Administration, if enough people break a single law often enough, the law will be changed.
Anyone for abolishing TAXES?
IMO what we need to do is repeal that part of the 14th amendment that automatically makes anyone born on US soil a citizen, even if their parents are not.
I do wonder how much influence Powell has on this issue...how much is his policy. It was the State Dept and the SSA that signed the totalization agreement to give illegals Social Security benefits. I realize it's with the President's blessing, but who is giving his this advice. I'd like to spend an hour with that person.
Latest www.cnn.com/lou Lou Dobbs poll
Do you agree with Secretary of State Colin Powell that millions of illegal aliens in the United States should be given legal status?
Yes 10% 335 votes
No 90% 2868 votes
Total: 3203 votes
"..wave of immigration..
Vincente Fox says he will be at the head of the line now that the election is over and after G.W. received more hispanic votes!
http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=19148
BILATERAL RELATIONS: U.S., Mexico Return to Agenda
November 9, 2004
Pablo Bachelet
Mexico is expected to renew its offensive to secure an immigration agreement with the United States in a bilateral meeting today with Secretary of State Colin Powell and other top U.S. officials.
The 21st Binational Commission meeting also will deal with border security and a long-running dispute over water sharing, analysts and diplomatic sources say.
The encounter, in Mexico City, comes just a week after President Bush won a second term, thanks in part to better-than-expected support from Hispanic voters.
Bush received about 44 percent of the Latino vote, up from 35 percent in 2000, and Mexican President Vicente Fox is expected to seize the moment to get immigration talks back on track.
"To some extent it puts the Fox administration at the head of the line in terms of trying to put certain issues on the Bush administration's radar screen," said Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, the Mexico project director at the Center for Strategic International Studies, a Washington-based policy institute. "The Mexicans have already started beating the drums on immigration."
The analyst said Fox may also scout the terrain for a more ambitious second wave of integration by bringing up issues such as movement of labor from one country to another and harmonizing government regulations in sectors such as telecommunications, a step that would make the North American Free Trade Agreement more akin to the European Union.
SECURITY DIMENSION
Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge is also attending the talks, along with a handful of other U.S. Cabinet officials. Mexico is the United States' second largest trading partner, with more than $630 million worth of goods crossing the 2,000-mile border every day.
Before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Bush and Fox seemed close to an immigration deal that would have allowed Mexicans who live and work illegally in the United States to open a path toward residency.
MEXICAN PRESENCE
About half of between eight million and 11 million illegal immigrants are Mexicans. The Mexican community in the United States is a crucial economic pillar for Mexico, thanks to the $14 billion in remittances it sends back home.
But Bush put the immigration talks on hold after the Sept. 11 attacks , and mostly-Republican opponents of immigration reforms have stalled initiatives in Congress that would extend more benefits to immigrants, from more generous guest-worker programs to awarding in-state university tuition rates for the children of illegal immigrants.
Besides immigration, water is also a contentious issue, especially in Bush's home state, Texas. The United States says Mexico owes it about 700,000 acre-feet of water under a 1944 treaty.
WATER 'A PRIORITY'
The State Department said the matter was a "priority" for the Bush administration.
Bush proposed an immigration reform in January that would have awarded temporary visas to illegal immigrants but did not follow up with a legislative initiative. That calculation may now change, given Bush's strong performance among Latino voters.
"You'd think [the Republicans] would be mindful of their new friends," said Angela Kelley, with the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigration group.
Fox has also collaborated with Washington on border security and combating drugs. This, Peschard-Sverdrup said, could increase the Mexican president's leverage for an immigration agreement, as Fox could argue that he needs concessions from Bush to placate opponents who say the Mexican leader has failed to deliver on immigration.
Actually, that's a result of liberals' bastardization of the 14th to suit their own purpose. The 14th clearly refers to those subject to U.S. authority as being citizens..
Why if it isn't good old "personal insult Poohbah". Well, at least some things are consistent.
Nah....this isn't amnesty...not much.
Latest www.cnn.com/lou Lou Dobbs poll
Do you agree with Secretary of State Colin Powell that millions of illegal aliens in the United States should be given legal status?
Yes 10% 335 votes
No 90% 2868 votes
Total: 3203 votes
Exactly. They got here on their own without much trouble. Start cutting off the benefits and they'll leave the same way.
"It is assumed that the borders will be erased soon."
Over my dead body.
When someone goes to great extents to keep welfare in position for the group he happens to belong to, I am instantly suspicious of his motives.
Well start digging you're grave because I am not joking. Read up on the FTAA AuntB:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1271987/posts
Yes. And how about making English our official language? In fact in order to earn a visa, immigrants should have to pass an english language exam. Jim
"I do wonder how much influence Powell has on this issue...how much is his policy."
Powell does NOT make policy. He advises the President on issues, but President Bush makes policy, not Powell.
Powell's probably going to resign (get the axe), but this is GWB's policy. If you want to know why, follow the money.
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