Posted on 04/22/2006 1:46:11 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
MEXICO CITY — An immigration study partly funded by the Mexican government recommended Friday that Mexico bar its citizens from the most dangerous illegal border crossings.
The recommendations from the joint report by U.S. and Mexican immigration experts run counter to Mexico's long-standing claim that it cannot prevent its own citizens from massing at the border, because the constitution guarantees freedom of movement.
But Assistant Foreign Relations Secretary Geronimo Gutierrez said his country was willing to consider the recommendation that "restricted access zones should be established in dangerous areas."
"It's no secret this topic has been taboo in Mexican politics," Gutierrez said at a news conference presenting the report. He added, "We are open to analyzing this."
"We are not closed to any option," said Gutierrez, who called for a wider debate on Mexico's role and responsibilities in migration issues.
The study also suggested the U.S. provide more temporary work visas and enforce visa requirements.
Mexico has long defended its citizens' right to migrate, and Gutierrez said the debate "is just in the beginning stage."
The report _ by Susan Martin of Georgetown University and Agustin Escobar of Mexico's Center for Research on Social Anthropology _ recommends more temporary worker visas, but says that in order for them to work, the programs need to be simplified, workers encouraged to return to their home countries and sanctions enforced against employers who hire or recruit undocumented labor instead.
However, Martin said that constant, small-scale enforcement would be more effective than big, one-time raids on employers like those carried out this week against the largest U.S. pallet services company.
The two-year research project found that immigrants in general have a small, net positive effect on the U.S. economy: They tend to decrease wages for low-skilled workers and previous immigrants, but increase business profits.
It also found that Mexican migrants are staying longer in the United States, not so much because of tougher border security, but because they now are more likely to have steady, urban employment rather than the seasonal farm jobs that used to predominate.
And while Mexican migrants to the United States are only slightly better-educated than Mexico's national average of about an eighth-grade education, there is also a "brain drain": Almost one-third of Mexicans with post-graduate education are in the United States.
Border Study Ping!
The US gave Mexico about $60 million last year for border protection. Mexico's southern border that is.
Pass the Emetrol!!
Now we are paying to conduct studies with mexico?
INSANITY!
It's obvious our govt WELCOMES the criminals so why go thru any the farce to pretend otherwise.
This runs counter to something I heard a few days ago. There are places in Mexico, like Mexico City, that require a permit to enter -- even if you are a Mexican traveling from inside Mexico.
Outrageous. That would have paid for 60 miles of fence along our border.
Extortion: Hoping to encourage Washington to legalize millions of migrants illegal aliens, Mexico's president has offered to crack down on a multimillion-dollar network that smuggles migrants from around the globe into the United States.
For some reason this first statement leads me to believe the U.S. Government footed the rest of this crap. It is ridiculous to even think Mexico will cooperate.
If the Mexican government cared about these people they would try to stop them. It is a very dangerous undertaking.
I watched all of these on another thread. They are good.
I don't think this is true. I've been to Mexico City 3 times and moved in and out of the city freely. I was with a Mexican citizen who also moved about freely.
Can you believe that NAFTA being the great, great, free trade treaty of the 20th century, that Mexico is still begging for work permits???????This after 14 years of NAFTA.
snort, snort
I'll go one better: I recommend that Mexico bar its citizens from all illegal border crossings.
One imagines a truly effective NAFTA would've raised the standard of living in Mexico so much that they'd not need to cross here illegally. That giant sucking sound is all the money being wired back to Mexico.
Is that what the Minute Men want to build on private land or is that what Israel's planning to erect along its border with Palestine?
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