U.S. Ambassador in Mexico says limited "Amnesty" coming soon

www.el-universal.com.mx ^ | November 05, 2003 | JASON LANGE

[VU4G10]

The U.S. ambassador says the rising death toll among Mexicans trying to cross the border illegally gives the issue 'a sense of urgency.'

U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza on Tuesday said the U.S. Congress will likely approve limited migration reform in the next few months.

Garza said the rising death toll among migrants trying to cross the border illegally has given the issue "a sense of urgency," and ventured that migration reform could come in "a couple of months, [perhaps] three months."

"You'll see a lot of movement here pretty quickly," he told participants at an American Chamber of Commerce conference.

In recent months, U.S. lawmakers have proposed three separate bills to give more temporary work permits to undocumented migrants living in the United States. Garza said the Bush administration might take steps on its own toward migration reform apart from any action taken by Congress, though he did not elaborate what form such action could take.

"When you see the kinds of tragedies we've seen, you want to act out of compassion," Garza told a business forum in Mexico City, saying President Bush is looking for ways to "minimize the prospect of someone dying in the desert."

Garza also argued that legalizing undocumented workers was in line with the needs of the U.S. labor market.

He said the size of the Mexican illegal immigrant population an estimated 4-5 million "tells us that [U.S.] employers are seeking" out Mexican labor.

"Our migration policy must begin to respond to these realities," Garza said.

Garza's comments amounted to perhaps the most emphatic argument for migration reform by an official from the Bush administration since the Sept. 11 attacks shelved the issue two years ago.

Before the attacks, Mexico and the United States appeared close to an agreement on some sort of guest worker program. But the United States' subsequent focus on security, coupled by Mexico's refusal in the U.N. Security Council to back U.S. plans to invade Iraq, put migration talks on the back burner.

The past few months, however, have seen introduction of three new migration reform proposals in the U.S. Congress. Two of the bills propose substantial overhauls of migration laws, and could lead to the legalization of millions of undocumented immigrants. A third and less ambitious proposal seen as having the most support would legalize up to 500,000 agricultural workers.

The bills for wider reform face an uphill battle in Congress after being criticized by some legislators as de facto amnesty programs that would reward migrants for breaking migration laws.

The first two years of President Fox's term saw the nation's diplomats aggressively pushing for "the whole enchilada" in migration reform which was how former Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda described a wideranging guest worker program.

Since Castañeda's resignation early this year, the government has toned down its expectations, and in the words of current Foreign Minister Ernesto Luis Derbez, has sought "to cut the enchilada into bite-sized pieces."

Garza agreed that wide ranging reform will not come overnight.

"We're back on solid ground," Garza said of the congressional proposals. "But in the short term, you have to address these [issues] in terms of political realities."

[Dante3]

We need our military to round up and deport the illegals and protect our borders. It has become an invasion and setting the stage for a new kind of warfare where the enemy is blending into our population.

[chicagolady]

It should be a sense of urgency for them to stay home, in Mexico!

[NetValue]

Germany did it - guest workers - Pakistanis, as I recall. Could never get rid of them. Now they look like they will outnumber real Gernmans in 25 years.

France has the same problem as Germany.

I will work against any politician who goes for this liberal method to destroy America.

Time to organize!

[4.1O dana super trac pak]

BTTT

[At _War_With_Liberals]

Of course amnesty is coming soon. It is being packaged in an incremental program to lessen the outrage of citizens. Where else would all of this insanity be heading?

[At _War_With_Liberals]

"Secretary of State Colin Powell, in various interviews last week, told Spanish language television networks that the Bush Administration will not reach an immigration agreement legalizing illegal aliens (amnesty) from Mexico this year.
"

Wow! At least for another month.

After the election, all bets are off.

[Osage Orange]

You wrote:

" In five of ten years this issue will going to boil over and be very ugly. In California, Texas, or AZ. It's inevitable. People are going to stop waiting for the Feds to do something, anything and they will start taking the law into their own hands.

It's already happened in some border towns. "

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

I've thought the same. It is what I fear. And it will cause great harm to our country.........

[At _War_With_Liberals]

Department of Deportation... now.

[Osage Orange]

You wrote:

"One-third of all prison inmates in the U.S. are illegals, the vast, vast majority of whom are Mexican."

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That number seems rather high.

Care to give a source?

TIA

[At _War_With_Liberals]

Politicians and proponents figure that this immigration issue will blow over just like previous waves of European immigration.

[Centurion2000]

U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza on Tuesday said the U.S. Congress will likely approve limited migration reform in the next few months.

Any congress that passes this tripe is going to be a Rupublican congress no more.

[ought-six]

Justice Department.

[TLI]

Americans told George NO to the illegals.

George decides to ignore the Americans.

Americans tell George NO to reelection.

George begins to understand the concept of N + O.

[norton]

Setting PC aside (forever)... I'd be a lot happier if the US ambassador to mexico were named Jones, or Smith, or Diem, or Schwartz.

It'd be worth it to hear some faceless translator come up with a nice way to say "keep your trash on your side of the fence and everything will be just fine, oh, and where do you want us to dump the ones we've found on our side?".

[Lazamataz]

2003: In a surprising moment of clarity, Congress decides that it would be easier to simply cede California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas to Mexico outright. "If there aren't any borders, there won't be any undocumented citizens trying to overrun them," Sen. Daschle is overheard saying, "Problem solved!"

2005: President Hillary Clinton, elected by 4,209% of registered Democrats, decides that fighting Al-Qaeda is "too bloody and unfair to Muslims". She cedes the remaining states to Al-Qaeda, the territories now to be referred to as the "United States of Al-Qaeda". She is to be the only woman in America not required to wear a bhurka.

[Afronaut]

Bush will never sign an agreement legalizing illegals before an election. He will wait for us to re-elect him and then screw the USA with total amnesty.

[Egon]

She is to be the only woman in America not required to wear a bhurka.

Figures. She's one of a dozen or so that I actually would prefer to see wearing one.

[MissAmericanPie]

And we will raise hades and scare the heck out of congressmen like we did both times they attempted to sneak 245i past us.