Posted on 03/13/2007 6:58:12 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
MERIDA, Mexico - President Bush sought to soothe strained ties with Mexico on Tuesday by promising to prod Congress to overhaul tough U.S. immigration policies. But Mexican President Felipe Calderon criticized U.S. plans for a 700-mile border fence and said Bush must do more to curb American drug appetites.
Mexico was the last stop on Bush's five-nation Latin American tour, and the one where the political stakes seemed the highest.
Bush walked a high wire: He wants to improve frayed ties over immigration and drug trafficking and the Iraq war, but without alienating supporters back home, particularly Republican lawmakers advocating stiff penalties against undocumented workers.
The president also was distracted by problems at home.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales acknowledged mistakes were made in the firing of eight federal prosecutors, and that the White House was involved in discussions of who would be dismissed and when.
This was Bush's first meeting with Calderon since the Harvard-educated Mexican conservative took office Dec. 1 after a razor-thin victory.
They clashed, though gently.
Welcoming Bush to a restored hacienda on the sun-drenched Yucatan Peninsula, Calderon said it would be hard to reduce Mexico's drug production while demand remains high in the United States.
"We need the collaboration and the active participation of our neighbor," Calderon said.
Bush and Calderon — both pro-business conservatives — acknowledged their differences and vowed to work together.
Calderon said it was time for a fresh start to "direct our relationship toward a path of mutual prosperity."
"Geography has made our countries neighbors, but the choice we've made for each other is a choice for freedom," said Bush. "And that choice has made us friends."
Happy talk aside, relations between the two neighbors have worsened since Bush last year signed a law calling for construction of fencing along the long border the two countries share. Calderon has ridiculed the fence — a mix of physical and high-tech barriers — and likens it to the Berlin Wall.
Calderon argued that the fence would do little to stem illegal migration. But he also praised Bush for pushing for immigration reforms, and acknowledged that improving economic conditions and generating more jobs in Mexico "is the only way in order to truly solve the migratory issue."
It is questionable whether the full 700-mile fence will be built. A bill authorizing the fence did not come with any new funding, and the $1.2 billion that Congress previously approved is not enough. A 14-mile stretch under construction in the San Diego area is estimated to cost $126.5 million.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has noted that border officials say it may be unnecessary to build all 700 miles of the fence.
Bush has been having a hard time lining up support from his own Republican Party for his proposals to establish a guest worker program and a path to citizenship for some of the 12 million undocumented workers already in the United States. He has said he hopes for movement, at least in the Senate, by August, but he faces daunting obstacles.
"In the debate on migration, I remind my fellow citizens that family values do not stop at the Rio Grande River, that there are decent, hardworking honorable citizens of Mexico who want to make a living for their families," Bush said as he stood beside Calderon. "And so, Mr. President, my pledge to you and your government — but, more importantly, the people of Mexico — is I will work as hard as I possibly can to pass comprehensive immigration reform."
Calderon's complaints about the fence marked the second day in a row that Bush drew a rebuke from a host. In Guatemala on Monday, President Oscar Berger complained about roundups in the United States of undocumented Guatemalans.
Presidential counselor Dan Bartlett said such reactions are to be expected. In Mexico and in Guatemala, as in the United States, migration "is a very emotional debate," Bartlett said. He said Bush wasn't taken off guard by the criticisms. Those leaders "are very concerned about their fellow citizens that are living in the United States at this time," Bartlett said.
The meetings resulted in no new agreements. But the two leaders "were direct with each other" both in public and in private, Dan Fisk, a White House adviser on the Western Hemisphere, told reporters. "What the president likes is that President Calderon is square with him."
President Bush and his wife, Laura, toured the nearby Uxmal Ruins, the remains of an ancient sprawling Mayan city.
Security was extremely tight in Merida. Schools were closed. The area around the hotels where Bush and Calderon are staying was guarded by police and surrounded by metal barriers.
Why don't Mexicans finally stand up to the monopolistic oppressor who lives in Mexico year 'round, and is about to become the wealthiest person on Earth according to the Forbes billionaire list? To read an astonishing new exposé about the guy, feel free to visit:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1800509/posts
think its time for a third party NOW??? I not only voted for him but also worked darn hard in the campaign. Disgusted would be an understatement. Livid would be closer.
It's time for massive amounts of D-Con.
So... basically, American Citizens are telling him.. NO.
Bush has been having a hard time (getting a butt kicking) lining up support (demanding obedience) from his own Republican Party for his proposals to establish a guest worker program amnesty and a path to citizenship chain migration program for some all of the 12 30 million undocumented workers illegal alien criminal border violators already (violating the law) in the United States.
And no, Libertarians, legalization isn't going to solve the solution, just dumb-down America further.
Flame away...I am ignoring you Libertarians, anyway.
Correction, "solve the problem", not "solve the solution".
Maybe he should retire there when he leaves the White House.
I gather the Bushbots are looking on in amusement. Bush Derangement Syndrome is a serious matter, and it's spreading.
He didn't lose his mind. This has been his calculated intent all along.
Unfortunately for him, the American People stirred a bit from their slumber long enough to see what he and the rest of his ilk have been doing to us and weren't happy.
Is that your excuse, you were slumbering?
lol not me
me, neither
Screw Mexico!
Step #1. Seal the border between Mexico and the US.
Step #2. End all money transfers by ACH or wire between persons in the US and Mexico. If they want to transfer funds, they need to prove that the funds were earned legally.
Step #3. Zero tolerance for illegal aliens. If they're here working illegally, they need to be deported, and those who hired them need to be seriously fined, and made to pay restitution for any taxes collected by them, back to the people from whom they stole it. Of course, those funds would need to be transferred to them once they're back in Mexico.
Once 12 to 20 millions illegal aliens have been repatriated, THEN we should open a dialog with Mexico. And that's when we should start caring what they think of us!
Mark
Amen to that!
Have you read much about Ron Paul?
He doesn't have much name recognition, but it sounds like he's entering the race.
He is from Texas and sounds pretty doggone conservative.
Break out the tin-foil hats for this one folks, but this just occurred to me: What if there are plans to create a single "North American Union." And one of the things that needs to be done, to ensure that there is no (or only minor) resistance, is to ban and collect up all the firearms the public owns. Of course, they can't just pass a law, due to that "pesky" 2nd Amendment. So, the first thing they need to do, is have the SCOTUS rule that the 2nd Amendment does NOT protect an individual's right, but that it's a collective right, of the state or federal government. Once that's done, they can pass a law for the confiscation of all firearms.
And we know that the recent ruling in DC is going to be headed to the SCOTUS sometime soon...
Mark
Bush is our first Mexican President.
I think "President Bush sucks up to Mexico" might be more appropriate.
My sentiments exactly. I'm getting to where I can't stand him.
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