September 18, 2006

Memo From Mexico, By Allan Wall

Calderon’s Plans For U.S. Immigration Policy

It’s official. Felipe Calderon has been declared the president-elect of Mexico and is scheduled to take office on December 1st.

Calderon was declared the winner of the election on September 5^th, 2006, and the very next day he was on the telephone with George Bush.

What does Calderon want from us?

Well, among other things: a "migratory accord"—giving Mexico veto power over U.S. immigration policy.

An immigration accord was a goal of Mexican President Vicente Fox, whose term is almost over. Fox didn’t actually achieve the accord but he was able to accomplish a lot through meddling in U.S. immigration policy, while he should have been concentrating on other things, like improving Mexico’s economy.

So with the passing of the baton to Calderon, the game goes on.

On September 7th, Calderon told foreign correspondents that an immigration accord with the U.S. is one of his top priorities. His strategy is to persuade members of the U.S. Congress that an immigration accord would be in the interests of both the U.S. and Mexico. Calderon’s goal is to achieve such an accord before the end of the Bush administration, that is, by January 20^th, 2009. [El Siglo de Torreon, Luchará Calderón por acuerdo migratorio con Bush ,  September. 7th, 2006]

Calderon believes that the Bush Administration is ready to help, and he’s surely right on that score. On immigration, Bush and Calderon are in agreement already.

"We will work intensely over the next two years to arrive at a concrete agreement." declared Mexico’s president-elect to foreign reporters.

Like all Mexican politicians, Calderon admitted that Mexico needs to create more jobs In Mexico. He was quoted as saying:

"Every year, more than 1.2 million Mexican youths reach working age. Many, facing a lack of alternatives, go looking for opportunities in the United States.

We can’t ignore it, we can’t write a law making it disappear. We have to find ways to improve things. That is not only in the interest of Mexico, but also a U.S. interest." [ Mexican President-Elect To Press U.S. Reforms | Mexican Wants Deal During Bush's Term, By Will Weissert, Associated Press, September 8, 2006]

I agree - a more prosperous Mexico would be in the interests of the United States.

But as long as mass emigration exists, what real incentive do Mexico’s leaders have to reform the economy? Emigration has become, in effect, Mexico’s economic policy.

The best way for the U.S. to help Mexico would be to close the border.

Calderon is not even president yet and is already planning U.S. immigration policy. There’s nothing surprising about this.

As I have pointed out in previous articles, all the major candidates in the Mexican election had the same view on immigration.

During the campaign, Calderon called on U.S. Congressmen to halt the "irrationality" of HR4437 because it goes against the rights of "migrants". As a candidate he expressed solidarity with Mexicans in the U.S., and said they are not criminals and that they contribute to the economy of the U.S. Calderon said the Mexicans in the U.S. are fighting for their human rights, labor rights and political rights.

Candidate Calderon said that "Immigration is not solved by a wall". Discussing the proposed border fence, Calderon joked that "We'll jump over it anyway." So much for respecting U.S. sovereignty.

Calderon is pro-NAFTA and wants to take it farther . Here’s what he said:

"In the coming two decades, I envision the whole North American region ... as a single region with a free market, not just in goods and services and investments, but also a free labor market. The region could be like the European Union." [ Calderon vows to look U.S. in the eye, My San Antonio.com, Sean Mattson, April 3, 2006]

President Bush must be very happy about this, because it all fits in with his North American Union agenda.

On June 6^th, a Mexican presidential debate was held, and one of the topics on the agenda was "Migratory Foreign Policy" . That is, American migratory policy, not Mexican migratory policy!

In that debate Calderon called for a migratory accord to legalize Mexican illegal aliens in the U.S. and a guest worker program. The candidate promised to "defend all our paisanos" (i.e., meddle on behalf of illegal aliens).

Besides the famous migratory accord, Calderon proposed another accord, in which the U.S. and Canada would finance development in poor regions of Mexico.

But why should U.S. taxpayers finance both Mexican development and mass immigration to the U.S.?

Calderon’s agenda is clear. Mexico’s president-elect plans to keep his northern border open and to attain veto power over U.S. immigration policy.

Will Calderon succeed?

The real answer to that question lies on the northern side of the border. We already know President Bush shares Calderon’s agenda. What about Congress?

And what about the American people?