Posted on 03/20/2002 3:22:53 PM PST by RCW2001
SANDRA SOBIERAJ, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, March 20, 2002
©2002 Associated Press
URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/03/20/national1557EST0742.DTL
(03-20) 16:18 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --
On the eve of his trip to Mexico, Peru and El Salvador, President Bush promised initiatives to ease the plight of would-be illegal immigrants, saying, "There are people in our neighborhood who hurt."
He embarks on the trip not quite ready, however, to resume drug surveillance flights over Peru or seek a base of U.S. counterterrorism operations near Peru's border with Colombia, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday.
Bush leaves Thursday on a four-day trip that begins with a stop at the U.S.-Mexico border at El Paso, Texas. From there, he continues on to Monterrey, Mexico for two days of meetings related to a United Nations conference on aid to developing countries.
Cuba's Fidel Castro will be at the summit; but Rice said firmly that Bush has no plans to cross paths with the communist leader.
In advance of the economic deliberations with his international counterparts, Bush gave several interviews at the White House on Tuesday and Wednesday with Latin American journalists. He underscored his plan to make more than $5 billion in new foreign aid contingent on recipient nations' instituting corruption-fighting economic and political reforms.
"I want to do it in a way that rewards countries which battle corruption, which honor education, which focus on health care, so that there (are) good habits developed," Bush said Wednesday.
Under the new foreign aid initiative unveiled last week, Bush would offer developing nations about $1.7 billion the first year, about $3.3 billion in the second year and the full $5 billion in the third and subsequent years. If approved by Congress, the money would come on top of current U.S. aid levels and would be rewarded largely as grants rather than loans.
Foreign aid to corrupt governments only helps "an elite group of leaders," not needy citizens, Bush said.
"And that's not fair to the people of a particular country, nor is it fair to the taxpayers of the United States," Bush added without naming any nations.
As evidence of his administration's commitment to its southern neighbors, aides said Bush will announce in Mexico minor new initiatives aimed at creating jobs in the poorest areas of Mexico that send so many undocumented immigrants across the border in search of a better life.
The idea is to create "economic circumstances in Mexico that allow them to (stay) home," Rice said.
The president had hoped to carry with him on the trip a freshly minted law making it easier for hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants working in the United States to gain legal status.
But he has not been able to push through the Senate a House-passed bill he wants to extend the deadline for those immigrants to apply for residency without leaving the United States.
The legislation would also require immigration identification documents to be more tamper-resistant, toughen the alien applicant screening process, and require monitoring of foreign students and exchange visitors.
Referring to Democrats who control the Senate, Bush said: "I'm not confident they'll move on it."
Bush's state visit to Lima, Peru, on Saturday will mark the first time any U.S. president has visited that Andean democracy.
Despite hopes widely expressed by U.S. and Peruvian officials in advance of the trip, Bush does not have a decision to announce to President Alejandro Toledo on the resumption of drug interdiction flights, Rice said.
The flights were suspended last April after a Peruvian air force jet, working in coordination with a CIA surveillance plane, shot down a missionary plane, killing an American woman and her 7-month-old daughter.
Asked about reports in the Peruvian press that Bush planned to ask Toledo about establishing a U.S. counterterrorism operation near Peru's border with Colombia, Rice said such talk is "far premature."
While in Lima, Bush will meet with neighboring Colombia's lame-duck president, Andres Pastrana, who is barred by law from seeking a second term in that country's May 26 election.
Bush said he remains committed to persuading Congress to let him use American security aid to Colombia for counterterrorism initiatives there -- and not just anti-drug efforts, as is prescribed by current law.
"We expect (Colombia) to fight all renegade and terrorist groups," Bush said. "We have no interest in committing ground troops, but we do want to help them, and we'll do so."
Before returning to Washington late Sunday, Bush will stop in El Salvador's capital, San Salvador, for talks with President Francisco Flores that will wrap in the seven other Central American presidents over a working lunch.
©2002 Associated Press
Immigration will be key topic when Bush, Fox meet Friday
"The proposal calls for a registration program for the estimated 10 million undocumented immigrants illegal aliens living in the United States, a legalization program for those immigrants who register,"
Audio - "We will not tolerate foreign forces dictating and enacting laws on Mexicans."
AUDIO CLIP
Juan Jose Gutierrez,
One Stop Immigration,
leads March on Washington,
October, 1997, demanding
amnesty for illegal aliens.
TRANSCRIPT OF AMERICAN PATROL SEGMENT OF O'REILLY FACTOR, JUNE 18, 2001
This is a planned invasion
If we can throw money at Afghanistan, we may as well throw some at Mexico, but both should allow us to determine what it is spent on. If we give it, we get the say.
I noticed that Laura gave a speech today in which she mentioned "Global" etc. about four times in about three minutes. She too is bit with the "Globalist Firster" bug.
I think you mentioned the oil business as well. I've heard talk that Bush & Fox are going to talk about using American expertise to develop the area in Mexico south of the Permian & Delaware basins in New Mexico & Texas.
Reserves there are huge and the the job benefit would be tremendous. High paying and both technical and hard labor (roughnecks on the rigs), welders/pipelines, geologists, engineers. I wish the Bush smackers here could see the trees in the forest. This Amnesty thing has clouded a lot of usually rational thinking and the obvious is being overlooked in favor of passion.
The tourist industry could be huge, bringing a massive number of good paying construction jobs. That country is blessed with so many natural resources, if they would let us help them develop those it would make for a rapid turn around in their economy. Hopefully we'll see some beginings after this summit.
I've heard from a number of sources that once Bush makes up his mind he never changes it. If true, the die is cast and it will be another 3 long years of misery. My personal opinion is that Bush, for whatever reason, wants the Mexican Invasion to continue and is not afraid of losing reelection because of it.
Just as during the criminal reign of the Clintons, Congress is our only hope in staying in the game until we can get that *unusual* president that puts the interests of America before self-interests or with Bush, foreign interests.
Why not? He's screwing them, too.
What a suprise, new fella.
Here is the key...
The idea is to create "economic circumstances in Mexico that allow them to (stay) home," Rice said.
China is going to be pissed.
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