I asked about the purpose of the government agency he heads, since I had never heard of such a thing. He said its purpose is to increase the flow of Mexican nationals to the United States. I asked, Why?
"It serves Mexico's needs, he said, and ticked off a list of such things as remittances to Mexico of $10 billion a year, which is 30 percent of the Mexican GDP [gross domestic product]. It provides employment for an exploding population, it alleviates social instability due to rising unemployment and it provides training for Mexicans, ultimately repatriating those skills back to Mexico.
"I responded to his final aim - repatriation of trained and skilled Mexicans back into Mexico - and asked, Then your government would oppose amnesty for the illegal Mexicans in the United States?
"He cried, Oh no! We support amnesty totally. . . . by populating the United States with millions of Hispanics who are tied economically, politically and linguistically to Mexico, we are able to exert enormous influence and pressure on U.S. policy and its dealings with Mexico.
"President Vicente Fox believes the U.S. border is a figment of the imagination. In fact, Fox and/or members of his government stated at one point that the borders of Mexico extend much farther north than currently drawn on the map.
Just as a small side note (since I've seen this posted before and even then it didn't sound quite right so I looked it up...):
Even back in 2003 Mexico's GDP was around $700 bln, currently close to $1200 bln. That '30% of GDP' claim was just silly.
OK, carry on then...