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From the WSJ:
Rather disturbing, especially the allowance by Mexico of dual-citizenship.
Seems almost like an act of war based upon the reasons Fox allows Mexican dual-citizenship.
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Fox Seeks to Cement Ties
With Mexicans in the U.S.
President Thinks Loyalties Will Help
His Government, but Plan Is Stuck
By EDUARDO PORTER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
LOS ANGELES -- Ever since the terrorist attacks of 2001 derailed talks between Washington and Mexico City on amnesty for illegal immigrants in the U.S., Mexican President Vicente Fox has been struggling to re-establish links with Mexico's eight-million-strong expatriate population in the U.S.
Late last year, his government created a new department in the foreign ministry, advised by a council of immigrant community leaders across the U.S., to determine a policy agenda for immigrant affairs. The council is to have its first meeting, in Mexico City, March 20 and 21.
[[hedcut]]
It is Mr. Fox's most ambitious effort yet to harness the support of Mexico's expatriates, and it is the first time a Mexican government has tried to organize its immigrants here on a national scale. If successful, the effort could help cement immigrants' loyalties to the Fox administration.
But because President Bush's antiterrorism efforts have pushed amnesty for illegal Mexican immigrants off the priority list for now, Mexico's plan is running into trouble even before it gets off the ground. Without the amnesty card, Mr. Fox has little to offer.
The support of expatriates is important for the Mexican government, which has long seen its immigrants in the U.S. as a potential lobbying force. During the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations in the early 1990s, Mexican officials wooed Mexican-Americans in Congress to help fend off opposition from trade unions and environmental groups.
Mexico in 1997 allowed dual nationality, removing a bar for Mexicans here to gain U.S. citizenship and a way into the U.S. political system. "They can open doors for us," says Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez, counselor for Latino affairs at the Mexican Embassy in Washington.
[[chart]]
Immigrants also hold a more specific political importance for Mr. Fox. Eight to 9% of people born in Mexico live in the U.S., and while they can't vote in Mexican elections, they send $10 billion to their families every year -- representing two-thirds of Mexico's world-wide deficit in the trade of goods and services.
Recognizing the political power of the immigrant community, mayors and governors from states in which many immigrants originate, such as Jalisco, Michoacan and Zacatecas, make regular campaign stops in the U.S., presiding over soccer matches and crowning hometown beauty queens. Mr. Fox himself put immigrants at the center of his presidential bid in 2000, making campaign swings through the U.S. and promising that his government would push for an immigrant accord with Washington.
Even without the amnesty talks, Mr. Fox still has a few chips to offer expatriates. He has publicly supported passage of a law that would allow Mexicans in the U.S. to vote in Mexican elections, a central demand of immigrant community leaders who want more political clout back home. The law is currently stuck in Mexico's Congress, but Mr. Fox could push to dislodge it.
And there is a grab bag of lower-profile initiatives that could go a long way to earn immigrants' support: helping lower the cost of sending money transfers home, reducing bureaucratic hurdles for immigrants sending equipment to their hometowns, investing in social infrastructure in Mexican communities in which immigrants originate.
Indeed, Mr. Fox's government scored points with immigrants when it launched a high-tech identification card for Mexicans in the U.S. and lobbied American bankers, mayors and sheriffs to accept it as official identification. Last year alone, more than a million Mexican immigrants, including many illegal immigrants who can't get any other official ID, flocked to Mexican consulates to get the card.
But Mexico's attempt to build a new immigrant strategy carries significant risks. Some immigrant leaders resent what they see as an effort to co-opt the Mexican community in the U.S. In addition, a dozen or so House Republicans sent a letter in January urging Secretary of State Colin Powell to take "immediate action" against the Mexican ID, arguing it undermines U.S. law.
Rather disturbing, especially the allowance by Mexico of dual-citizenship.
Seems almost like an act of war based upon the reasons Fox allows Mexican dual-citizenship.
============================
Fox Seeks to Cement Ties
With Mexicans in the U.S.
President Thinks Loyalties Will Help
His Government, but Plan Is Stuck
By EDUARDO PORTER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
LOS ANGELES -- Ever since the terrorist attacks of 2001 derailed talks between Washington and Mexico City on amnesty for illegal immigrants in the U.S., Mexican President Vicente Fox has been struggling to re-establish links with Mexico's eight-million-strong expatriate population in the U.S.
Late last year, his government created a new department in the foreign ministry, advised by a council of immigrant community leaders across the U.S., to determine a policy agenda for immigrant affairs. The council is to have its first meeting, in Mexico City, March 20 and 21.
[[hedcut]]
It is Mr. Fox's most ambitious effort yet to harness the support of Mexico's expatriates, and it is the first time a Mexican government has tried to organize its immigrants here on a national scale. If successful, the effort could help cement immigrants' loyalties to the Fox administration.
But because President Bush's antiterrorism efforts have pushed amnesty for illegal Mexican immigrants off the priority list for now, Mexico's plan is running into trouble even before it gets off the ground. Without the amnesty card, Mr. Fox has little to offer.
The support of expatriates is important for the Mexican government, which has long seen its immigrants in the U.S. as a potential lobbying force. During the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations in the early 1990s, Mexican officials wooed Mexican-Americans in Congress to help fend off opposition from trade unions and environmental groups.
Mexico in 1997 allowed dual nationality, removing a bar for Mexicans here to gain U.S. citizenship and a way into the U.S. political system. "They can open doors for us," says Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez, counselor for Latino affairs at the Mexican Embassy in Washington.
[[chart]]
Immigrants also hold a more specific political importance for Mr. Fox. Eight to 9% of people born in Mexico live in the U.S., and while they can't vote in Mexican elections, they send $10 billion to their families every year -- representing two-thirds of Mexico's world-wide deficit in the trade of goods and services.
Recognizing the political power of the immigrant community, mayors and governors from states in which many immigrants originate, such as Jalisco, Michoacan and Zacatecas, make regular campaign stops in the U.S., presiding over soccer matches and crowning hometown beauty queens. Mr. Fox himself put immigrants at the center of his presidential bid in 2000, making campaign swings through the U.S. and promising that his government would push for an immigrant accord with Washington.
Even without the amnesty talks, Mr. Fox still has a few chips to offer expatriates. He has publicly supported passage of a law that would allow Mexicans in the U.S. to vote in Mexican elections, a central demand of immigrant community leaders who want more political clout back home. The law is currently stuck in Mexico's Congress, but Mr. Fox could push to dislodge it.
And there is a grab bag of lower-profile initiatives that could go a long way to earn immigrants' support: helping lower the cost of sending money transfers home, reducing bureaucratic hurdles for immigrants sending equipment to their hometowns, investing in social infrastructure in Mexican communities in which immigrants originate.
Indeed, Mr. Fox's government scored points with immigrants when it launched a high-tech identification card for Mexicans in the U.S. and lobbied American bankers, mayors and sheriffs to accept it as official identification. Last year alone, more than a million Mexican immigrants, including many illegal immigrants who can't get any other official ID, flocked to Mexican consulates to get the card.
But Mexico's attempt to build a new immigrant strategy carries significant risks. Some immigrant leaders resent what they see as an effort to co-opt the Mexican community in the U.S. In addition, a dozen or so House Republicans sent a letter in January urging Secretary of State Colin Powell to take "immediate action" against the Mexican ID, arguing it undermines U.S. law.