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http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/mexico_president/2007/09/02/29351.html
Mexico Blasts U.S. Immigration Policies
Sunday, September 2, 2007
MEXICO CITY -- President Felipe Calderon blasted U.S. immigration policies
on Sunday and promised to fight harder to protect the rights of Mexicans in
the U.S., saying "Mexico does not end at its borders."
The criticism earned Calderon a standing ovation during his first
state-of-the nation address.
"We strongly protest the unilateral measures taken by the U.S. Congress and
government that have only persecuted and exacerbated the mistreatment of
Mexican undocumented workers," he said. "The insensitivity toward those who
support the U.S. economy and society has only served as an impetus to
reinforce the battle ... for their rights."
He also reached out to the millions of Mexicans living in the United States,
many illegally, saying: "Where there is a Mexican, there is Mexico."
Since taking office in December, Calderon has maintained strong ties with
the United States, but he has often denounced U.S. immigration policy,
including more deportations that have divided many families, sometimes
forcing U.S.-born children to build new lives in Mexico.
In one of the most high-profile cases, illegal immigrant Elvira Arellano was
deported recently to Mexico after spending a year in a Chicago church to
avoid being sent home. Her 8-year-old son Saul, who is a U.S. citizen, flew
to Mexico on Friday to be reunited with his mother and said he plans to stay
indefinitely, helping her fight to return to the United States.
Calderon addressed the nation Sunday from the National Palace, avoiding a
showdown with leftist opposition lawmakers who had vowed to prevent him from
making the speech in Congress, as Mexican tradition dictates.
Mexico's Federal Electoral Tribunal declared Calderon the winner of the July
2006 race nearly a year ago, rejecting leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez
Obrador claims that Calderon's narrow victory was fraudulent.
Calderon's predecessor, Vicente Fox, was also blocked last year from making
his state-of-the-nation address in Congress after leftist lawmakers stormed
the stage and refused to give him passage. The lawmakers claimed Fox
unfairly aided Calderon's win, which Fox denied. Both are members of the
conservative National Action Party.
Lopez Obrador refused to recognize Calderon's eventual victory and declared
himself leader of a parallel government. But he has largely disappeared from
the public eye amid sharp divisions within his leftist Democratic
Revolutionary Party.
Calderon, meanwhile, has garnered some of the highest approval ratings in
Mexico's history.
He said Sunday that Mexico has created 618,000 new jobs since January and
needs to do more to close the giant gap between the rich and the poor. He
also promised not to let up in his nationwide crackdown on drug gangs who
control large swaths of Mexican territory.
"We can close our eyes to the reality, and because we are afraid or
irresponsible, let organized crime take over our streets," he said. "Or we
can decide to fight and defeat crime with all the risks and costs that
implies."
Mexico Blasts U.S. Immigration Policies
Sunday, September 2, 2007
MEXICO CITY -- President Felipe Calderon blasted U.S. immigration policies
on Sunday and promised to fight harder to protect the rights of Mexicans in
the U.S., saying "Mexico does not end at its borders."
The criticism earned Calderon a standing ovation during his first
state-of-the nation address.
"We strongly protest the unilateral measures taken by the U.S. Congress and
government that have only persecuted and exacerbated the mistreatment of
Mexican undocumented workers," he said. "The insensitivity toward those who
support the U.S. economy and society has only served as an impetus to
reinforce the battle ... for their rights."
He also reached out to the millions of Mexicans living in the United States,
many illegally, saying: "Where there is a Mexican, there is Mexico."
Since taking office in December, Calderon has maintained strong ties with
the United States, but he has often denounced U.S. immigration policy,
including more deportations that have divided many families, sometimes
forcing U.S.-born children to build new lives in Mexico.
In one of the most high-profile cases, illegal immigrant Elvira Arellano was
deported recently to Mexico after spending a year in a Chicago church to
avoid being sent home. Her 8-year-old son Saul, who is a U.S. citizen, flew
to Mexico on Friday to be reunited with his mother and said he plans to stay
indefinitely, helping her fight to return to the United States.
Calderon addressed the nation Sunday from the National Palace, avoiding a
showdown with leftist opposition lawmakers who had vowed to prevent him from
making the speech in Congress, as Mexican tradition dictates.
Mexico's Federal Electoral Tribunal declared Calderon the winner of the July
2006 race nearly a year ago, rejecting leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez
Obrador claims that Calderon's narrow victory was fraudulent.
Calderon's predecessor, Vicente Fox, was also blocked last year from making
his state-of-the-nation address in Congress after leftist lawmakers stormed
the stage and refused to give him passage. The lawmakers claimed Fox
unfairly aided Calderon's win, which Fox denied. Both are members of the
conservative National Action Party.
Lopez Obrador refused to recognize Calderon's eventual victory and declared
himself leader of a parallel government. But he has largely disappeared from
the public eye amid sharp divisions within his leftist Democratic
Revolutionary Party.
Calderon, meanwhile, has garnered some of the highest approval ratings in
Mexico's history.
He said Sunday that Mexico has created 618,000 new jobs since January and
needs to do more to close the giant gap between the rich and the poor. He
also promised not to let up in his nationwide crackdown on drug gangs who
control large swaths of Mexican territory.
"We can close our eyes to the reality, and because we are afraid or
irresponsible, let organized crime take over our streets," he said. "Or we
can decide to fight and defeat crime with all the risks and costs that
implies."
