Posted on 08/16/2005 6:53:53 PM PDT by Happy2BMe
Mexico's Fox protests as second US state closes border
Arizona ignored pleas for greater cooperation from Mexican President Vicente Fox to become the second US state to declare a state of emergency on its border due to rising illegal immigration, violence and smuggling.
Four days after New Mexico declared a 90 day state of emergency for border areas, Arizona did the same for its four counties on the Mexican frontier, citing uncontrolled illegal immigration.
"The federal government has to secure our border, and the health and safety of all Arizonans is threatened daily by violent gangs, coyotes (human traffickers) and other dangerous criminals," said Arizona governor Janet Napolitano in a statement.
"I intend to take every action feasible to stem the tide of criminal behavior on the Arizona side of the border," she said.
Napolitano explained her decision based on statistics showing that illegal crossings on US borders are as high as three million every year, and that as many as 700,000 new unauthorized immigrants entered the country last year, many through Arizona.
On Friday, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson issued the state of emergency along his state's border with Mexico, citing "recent developments ... including violence directed at law enforcement, damage to property and livestock, increased evidence of drug smuggling and an increase in the number of undocumented immigrants."
The moves followed the week-long closure at the beginning of August of the US consulate in Nuevo Laredo, on the border with Texas, following a rise in lethal gang violence in that Mexican city.
The state of emergency declarations for the two states' border areas opened the way for the two governors to tap into emergency funds to expand border control operations.
Napolitano said Arizona would be earmarking 1.5 million dollars in emergency funds "to combat the growing devastation caused by the crimes associated with illegal immigration."
Mexican President Fox responded Tuesday to the moves by the two US governors with calls for greater cooperation over border problems.
He exhorted the United States to coordinate with Mexico to resolve border problems.
"Instead of pointing fingers, let's have proposals; instead of each side working by itself, let's work together; only like this will we be able to win," Fox said.
"There are criminal organizations on both that side (of the border) and this side; there are drug users on that side and this side," he said.
Sean McCormack, spokesman for the US State Department, said Tuesday that the US government is working alongside the Mexican government to protect the border.
McCormack said in regard to Richardson's decision that, as the governor of New Mexico, he has the responsibility to protect his state citizens in the manner he sees apprpriate.
Mexican agencies continued to stress the need to cooperate on border problems. On Monday, Jose Reyes Baena, the governor of the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, met with Texas authorities to discuss border security, especially the problem of drug trafficking, which has resulted in some 550 deaths along the border so far this year.
The Mexican foreign and interior ministries also said Tuesday in a joint statement that they were contacting Napolitano to discuss the new measures.
"We will watch to see that any action by police organizations remains respectful of the rights of our compatriots and respect domestic and international laws," the statement said.
"I said this weeks ago."
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Good for you. Keep it up.
>Aren't Napolitano and Richardson both dems? Must be pretty bad for them to do this.<
When's the election?
Fox is lucky, if this were earlier times the US military would have been dispatched southward to put an end to him and his government's antics.
No, I'm not but I'm smart enough not to hitch my wagon to a lying liberal. It's all posturing and grandstanding for dupes, hry're not going to do anything. It is because of Dims that our borders are wide open today.
"Perry and Schwarzeneggar better jump on, and quick."
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Schwarzeneggar?
That is PRECISELY what the border with Mexico should look like, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific.
and Canada
Vincente...tough tamales
"Instead of pointing fingers, let's have proposals; instead of each side working by itself, let's work together; only like this will we be able to win," Fox said.
This from a lying Marxist bastard who's government prints and distributes for free brochures instructing his own citizens how to cross the border and find work. Why? $14B a year sent from the US to Mexico every year.
"Aren't Napolitano and Richardson both dems? Must be pretty bad for them to do this."
It's a subtle attack on Bush and his "immigration" policy. If it takes nothing worse than political embarrassment to get the White House to re-think it's proposal of allowing card-carrying immigrants to cross the border, I'm all for it.
You need to think about your reply. You are using logic. That can not be allowed. We NEED more laws passed so they can be ignored also. It gives the idiot politicians something to do. If the laws on the books already were enforced there would not be any need for the Jackasses and Jennies in OUR government. Then they would be unemployed and they could go on welfare.
You're right. I'm sorry. What the hell was I thinking?...:-)
"Instead of pointing fingers, let's have proposals; instead of each side working by itself, let's work together; only like this will we be able to win," Fox said.>> "This from a lying Marxist bastard who's government prints and distributes for free brochures instructing his own citizens how to cross the border and find work. Why? $14B a year sent from the US to Mexico every year."
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"The irony is that the Leftists in this country will use a situation like this to argue for greater taxes in order provide for the additional members of the "needy" class."
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Right. The 'Leftists' are the ones causing all this mess . .
Crazy and stray as a loon - and wanting to join the ever-growing OBL Governor's Club . .You can only imagine what these people discuss in their hidden round table meetings before they go public with this stuff.
Here is a yet another champion of the 'New and Improved' Compassionate Republican . .
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Immigrants, legal or otherwise, come to Texas to "put a roof over their heads" and Texas has a responsibility to provide them education and health care once they are here, Republican gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn told a conservative GOP group today.
In a week when the governors of Arizona and New Mexico declared states of emergency for counties along their border with Mexico, citing the "ravages and terror" caused by illegal immigration, Strayhorn took a conciliatory tone on the same issue. But she also said the state needs help from the federal government.
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