Posted on 03/30/2006 11:38:15 AM PST by Icelander
By Steve Holland and Randall Palmer
CHICHEN ITZA, Mexico, March 30 (Reuters) - Mexican President Vicente Fox played tour guide to U.S. President George W. Bush at ancient Mayan ruins on Thursday before holding talks to urge him to push through long-sought U.S. immigration reform.
Hosting a North American summit, Fox planned to offer tighter border controls and incentives to lure some illegal immigrants home, a pledge meant to help Bush convince a skeptical Congress to let more Mexicans work legally in the United States.
Bush and Fox, joined by new Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at Mexico's rowdy beach resort of Cancun, kicked off with a visit to the nearby 1,500-year-old pyramid complex at Chichen Itza, where some archeologists believe human sacrifices took place.
It was a rare sightseeing detour for Bush, who usually keeps to a tight diplomatic schedule, and raised speculation he was trying to revive a back-slapping relationship with Fox that saw them dubbed "the two amigos" at the start of their administrations.
Chichen Itza, a symbol of Mexico's status as the center of ancient Indian empires before the Spanish conquest, was placed under security lockdown for the visit by the three leaders.
Rifle-toting federal police in riot gear scuffled briefly with 30 Mayan handicraft sellers bearing signs that said "Bush, go home" and complaining of being barred from the site, and a handful of anti-globalization demonstrators.
The summit marked Bush and Fox's first meeting in a year, and immigration topped the agenda.
"This is a good start to a very important series of discussions," said Bush after touring the hot, dusty ruins.
The U.S. Senate opened debate on Wednesday with Republicans split on whether to back Bush's call for sweeping reforms to create a guest worker program and put some of an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants on the path to citizenship.
Conservatives in Bush's party, normally his allies, reject that as a form of amnesty and seek instead to erect a fence along a third of the U.S.-Mexico border and make illegal immigration a felony. The issue has brought out thousands of mostly Hispanic protesters in major U.S. cities.
NEW TEST FOR BUSH
With his job approval ratings at a low point, immigration is a new test of Bush's political strength at a time when his second term has been beset by woes.
Fox, who has failed for five years to convince Washington to let more Mexicans get jobs in the United States legally, is making one more push before leaving office in December.
His government worked with the Mexican Senate to produce a written document that recommends a crackdown on people smugglers as well as housing and economic incentives to attract undocumented immigrants into returning to Mexico.
That may help Bush win over some doubters in his party, but opponents of his approach will demand decisive action by Mexico, which accounts for more than half of all illegal immigrants in the United States.
Fox will tell Bush the document shows Mexico's "sense of shared responsibility", diplomat Geronimo Gutierrez said.
Mexican migrants in the United States sent about $20 billion home to their families last year, the country's second largest source of hard currency after oil revenues.
Mexicans once had high hopes for Bush, who took office promising to make America's southern neighbor a priority but pushed the region to the back burner after the Sept. 11 attacks.
In Cancun, police and sniffer dogs mingled with U.S. and European college students on spring vacations. Crowds were smaller this year with many hotels still closed after last October's Hurricane Wilma.
Harper, a conservative, said this week the Cancun summit would help build better relations with Washington after friction between Bush and former Prime Minister Paul Martin.
Bush hopes to solve a dispute with Canada over softwood lumber, but Canadian officials said a deal was unlikely in Cancun. Canada ships $6 billion in softwood lumber to the United States each year.
Washington has slapped duties on the imports, saying Ottawa unfairly subsidizes logging. Canada denies the claims and accuses the United States of being protectionist.
No doubt Bush will look into Fox's soul and declare him aces in his book.
I don't get it. Fox couldn't cut it as a janitor in some Banana republic, but somehow he's got Bush by the short hairs.
HA! Further wisdom from Sarge:
"Pyle, I think the best part of you ran down . . . "
I don't care. I would like to see socializt mexico go hard core communist. It's a lot easier to fight the enemy you can see. And as far as the oil is concerned, it's about time America got to do without for a while. It's about time to let these... b@stards play their oil card once and for all time.
Not true, I'm a CONSERVATIVE (not a half wit neocon fool) and think Bush is a chump who's selling out my kid's future for his buddy Fox.
Bring the troops home from IRAQ and station them on the mexican border. Protect our homeland not some piece of desert.
sheeeez, pop a chili.
I am in your camp. It seems as if the same crowd that criticized the DP World ports deal are trying to look for something to nitpick about with the illegal Mexicans.
Based upon Senor Fox's statements of late, I think he has had far too much tequila.
Never watch either of them.
But these Bush haters are right out of the Pat Buchanhan brigade. These haters never bash the dems and relentlessly bash Bush.
Old Pat is case in point and a lot of the Bush bashing has his ring to it.
Affirmative Action would have been ended in 2003 if it wasn't for Perot. Because of Perot we got ginsberg and breyer. Abortion would have been ended if it wasn't for Perot.
People think Bush is all three branches in one.
Bush said he would sign sensenbrenner's bill. Dems all voted against it. 95 percent of republicans voted for it.
You want to fix immigration congress is the body to do it.
They make the laws not Bush. If you want to change the laws let congress know. They need to change the laws to speed up the judicial process for deportation for these illegals.
If you want to change the anchor baby law you need a constitutional amendment from congress. Bush has nothing to do with that. It is laughable that Bush is enemy number one on this issue when congress is the one that makes laws not Bush.
The dems went after Alito because he had deported so many illegals in his cases.
What these Bush haters don't realize is they are about to give this country to rangel, conyers, waxmen, pelosi, hillary on and on kooks.
Bush has done as much as he could on illegals. When Bush first came into office he changed the formula on illegals in voting proportion. Clinton used the higher formula bush's agency changed it and he took heat for that.
You know, there are some of us who think Pat Buchanan is a loon, and yet still understand W is a danger to himself and others.
Read Posse Comitatus.
Federal troops are not allowed to use law enforcement power on u.s soil.
You want enforcement vote out that rat dem governor in arizona and put in her republican challenger who will send the national guard from arizona to the border.
You want enforcement inland focus in state houses that have the power to give that power to state troopers.
The real debate here should be in state houses that actually can change the laws on the ground with real law enforcement power inland.
Get involved at the county and local level. Work to get local police departments the power to arrest illegals.
Is there syndrome or mental disorder of some kind that causes a person to put more effort into pleasing their opponents than they put into pleasing their allies?
Perhaps they'd the next Congress to include Majority Leader Reid and Squeaker of the House Pelosi, and Judiciary Committees chaired by Sen. Pat Leahy and Rep. John Conyers.. and just wait and see what you get with THAT lineup.
(BigLizards)
Again you are giving Bush way too much power.
You make the U.S sould like a dictorship where the king can do whatever he wants.
This issue will not be solved until mexico changes their ways. Look for the next mexican leader to change some of the policies there.
You need to look at the root of the problems. Why are all these illegals coming here. Until that changes the problem will never be solved.
The next mexican leader seems like he will be better than Fox who is leaving in a few months.
Se Habla Espanol?
This whole issue has completely absorbed the airwaves, the tv, the talk of most people. However, it's not the only issue that matters and we need to keep driving through the tunnel, not sit in it and wail our lungs out. If illegals can organize a huge rally in several cities, then we need to organize ourselves and get a game plan:
1) countering their protests
2) letting our gov't and reps know THIS matters
3) fighting where it will do the most good (ie employers/companies that are HIRING these illegals = BOYCOTTS)...
Seems to me APRIL 15th IS an IDEAL DATE because as TAXPAYERS we are PAYING through our TAXES to support these ILLEGALS MEDICAL, EDUCATIONAL and TAXES THEY DON'T PAY...
SO, how do we organize a MASSIVE April 15th TAX PROTEST AGAINST ILLEGALS DAY?
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