Posted on 07/13/2005 8:37:38 AM PDT by jackbenimble
WASHINGTON - (KRT) - While Mexico has enhanced security since the Sept. 11 attacks, future cooperation hinges on U.S. willingness to liberalize its immigration policies, former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda warned Congress on Tuesday.
Castaneda, who is running as an independent in the 2006 presidential race, said security must be twinned with what he called the "whole enchilada" - legalization for the 6 million Mexicans living here illegally, visas for Mexicans desiring to come here in the future, and economic development for impoverished interior regions responsible for the exodus.
"There can be no future cooperation beyond what already exists without some form of immigration package," he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a border security hearing.
Just as immigration is a volatile topic in the United States, Castaneda said the idea of enhanced U.S.-Mexican cooperation on security issues, such as military-to-military involvement, is "very, very sensitive" to Mexicans.
"It is not easy for any Mexican government to move forward on that," he said. "It can be done in a package. If it's done in a sort of salami-type arrangement - slice by slice - I'm not sure it's going to work."
But Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., pointed to the difficulties inherent in enacting a massive immigration-and-security package and instead suggested that both countries tackle measured "confidence-building" steps.
"I can't agree with you that we have to do this in totality," Dodd said. "As a practical matter, it's just very difficult to anticipate Congress adopting large comprehensive proposals."
The Senate Judiciary Committee on July 27 will consider rival proposals that would create guest worker programs for many of the estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants of all nationalities already here.
One, by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., would provide a path to citizenship after six years as a guest worker. The other, being drafted by GOP Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Jon Kyl of Arizona, would require the guest workers to return home when their visas expire.
Both bills include enhanced border security measures but fall short of the expansive framework advanced by Castaneda.
The former Mexican official, who resigned from President Vicente Fox's Cabinet in 2003, acknowledged that Mexico must do more to crack down on organized crime gangs operating with near impunity along the Southwest border. He also spoke of the need for Mexico to control its southern border, which Central Americans and other foreigners cross en route to the U.S.
"More and more people in Mexico today understand that our southern border has to be brought back under control," he said. "We are having enormous problems with the Salvadoran gangs, the Mara Salvatrucha, in southern Mexico. We are having enormous problems with prostitution (and) drugs on our southern border."
The United States is confronted with a rising wave of foreigners using Mexico as a platform to cross illegally into the United States, Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar testified.
The Border Patrol is on pace to apprehend 148,000 non-Mexican illegal immigrants this year - nearly twice the 75,000 arrested last year, he said. As many as 4,000 non-Mexicans arrested this year are from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq and other countries known to harbor terrorists, said Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Dick Lugar, R-Ind.
Very true. There is another thread going on FR this morning that shows that the Mexican economy has slipped in size from the world's 10th largest to the 12'th in just the last year. There was a thread a few days ago that said that 28% of Mexico's workforce was living in the United States. Do you suppose these facts could all be related?
"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,
1. The act of invading; the act of encroaching upon the rights or possessions of another; encroachment; trespass.
Castaneda is an idiot.
"More and more people in Mexico today understand that our southern border has to be brought back under control," he said. "We are having enormous problems with the Salvadoran gangs, the Mara Salvatrucha, in southern Mexico. We are having enormous problems with prostitution (and) drugs on our southern border."
Hmmm...
"More and more people in the US today understand that our southern border has to be brought back under control," he said. "We are having enormous problems with the gangs in the southern US. We are having enormous problems with prostitution (and) drugs on our southern border."
Much better!
The solution is for the beneficiaries of the labor of the illegal immigrants to pay for the added cost to the social system. Thus the employers of illegal aliens should pay a system development tax for each of their illegal employees. One essential advantage of this approach over some Federal or State level approach is that it can be made appropriate for the locale. Farm areas may not want to have any tax, whereas urban areas might want to charge a lot.
"There can be no future cooperation beyond what already exists without some form of immigration package,"
Bush Admin will agree to this since its wage depression policy is more important than sovereignty, to its mind.
I like this approach.
I have kicked around the notion of doubling the business tax rates and then offering a 50% tax break to any company that certified that that they did not hire illegals and that signed-up and agreed to use the Optional Pilot Program for Social Security Verification for all of their hiring. They would also agree to random employment audits.
This would have the impact of transferring the social costs of illegals to the businesses that hired them and it would make American citizens less costly and therefore the most desirable employees even if they required higher wages. Illegal aliens would be the employees of last rather than first resort. One final benefit of this scheme is that it would put the IRS in charge of enforcement. There is only one part of our Federal bureaucracy that really is good at enforcing the law and it is the IRS.
Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!
Be Ever Vigilant!
Minutemen Patriots ~ Bump!
[["There can be no future cooperation beyond what already exists without some form of immigration package," he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a border security hearing.]]
I have an immigration package. Anybody caught enterring the US illegally is shot on sight!
Sr. Castaneda: Vaya al diablo! When you allow Americans to enter, stay and buy and sell property in Mexico, then we may talk, but since Mexico will never agree to that, neither will we agree with the flood of illegals crossing our borders Illegals out!
If I had said this in a post it would have been pulled as being too anti Mexican. I can't imagine this lasting long either, as too much truth is told here.
Personally, I would like to see an actual reduction in taxes to those who don't hire illegals to be paid for by an additional surcharge for those which do.
This way, it could be sold to law abiding businesses as a tax reduction package.
Why put this in the Alaska topic? We are a little far from Mexico...
Among the immigrants coming to the US are their best and brightest, that doesn't mean that all of them are.
Is Mexico even an ally in the WOT? If so I have not heard about it.
I must have missed the Arizona button. But don't fret, they are fast overrunning the rest of the country and they will be in Alaska shortly.
"Among the immigrants coming to the US are their best and brightest, that doesn't mean that all of them are."
I guess your right, there would have to be some of their brightest "among the immigrants" and it would also depend on what type you'd have moving into your area. Certain areas would attract those with the higher intellect. All I can judge are those here, in the mill town, where I live. The Latinos I work with, have done work for, live around and that broke into my home are the the most rude, crude, immoral ingrates I've every had the displeasure of knowing. I was disgusted by the white trash that once lived here but what has taken their place is much worse.
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