- The Bush administration wants to grant amnesty to hundreds
of thousands of Mexican illegal aliens now in the United States, according
to the new U.S. ambassador to Mexico.
Tony Garza, sworn in this week at the White House, told reporters in Mexico
City that reaching an accord legalizing the status of Mexican immigrants
" without giving them citizenship " continues to be a top administration
priority.
Mr. Garza also proposed new guest-worker programs for Mexican immigrants.
Bush administration efforts to pursue immigration agreements with Mexico
were put on hold after the September 11 terrorist attacks on America.
"If we don't do something about their status, we will be admitting
that our country has a permanent underclass," Mr. Garza said.
Congress plans to debate the matter as soon as the economy improves, he
added, because "people tend to discuss immigration issues more comfortably
when the economy is strong."
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- The new ambassador's comments Wednesday and Thursday
fell short of a proposal by President Bush and Mexican President Vicente
Fox, made just four days before the September 11 attacks. That plan would
have led to amnesty for as many as 3 million illegal aliens now living
in the United States.
But Mr. Garza's remarks were viewed by the Mexican government and media
as a first step toward a more comprehensive package.
A senior State Department official said he was unaware of any pending immigration
proposal involving Mexico, and questioned whether it was wise to make recommendations
that Congress might not approve.
"It doesn't do us any good to overpromise to the Mexican side or
to indicate that we can do things that really we understand have no chance
of getting through the Congress at all," the official said during
a briefing on Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's trip next Tuesday to
the U.S.-Mexico summit.
"There is tremendous sympathy, interest in seeing what can be done
on this issue. There are other competing concerns " security "
that have to be made consistent with whatever we do on immigration,"
the official said.
But the senior official noted that Mr. Garza "came directly from
the White House, so maybe he knows something we don't."
Several Republicans on Capitol Hill are expected to oppose any effort to
grant amnesty, led, in part, by the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus.
The caucus has called the amnesty proposal "a kick in the teeth
to the thousands of individuals across the world who are legally attempting
to enter the United States."
"Instead, the United States is saying, 'Why wait? Sneak on in. Whether
you enter illegally or not, you will be a resident or citizen in no time,'"
said Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican and caucus chairman. "The
first lesson these new residents will learn about the United States is
it is OK to break the law. Is that the America we want to build?"
In August, the government said 215,000 illegal aliens were granted legal
status in fiscal 2001 and an additional 970,000 cases were pending. One
in five persons who became legal U.S. residents in fiscal 2001 either entered
the country illegally or remained here after the expiration of a temporary
visa, the report said.
A recent Zogby poll found that 77 percent of Americans surveyed believe
the government is not doing enough to control the border and 56 percent
thought efforts by Mr. Bush and Mr. Fox to consider amnesty for as many
as 3 million illegal immigrants was a "bad or very bad idea."
A Gallup poll found that 67 percent believe the U.S. government should
not make it easier for illegal immigrants to become citizens.
Mr. Garza told Mexico's Reforma and El Universal newspapers that the United
States could offer legalized residency to as many as 15 percent of the
undocumented aliens who have been here for more than 10 years.
"What I would like to see is us have a debate to establish some
criteria to legalize these people who have been part of our community,"
Mr. Garza told Reforma. "I believe we should recognize them, giving
them some sort of status."
Although citizenship should not be included in the amnesty offer, the ambassador
told El Universal, "that can be sought as part of another process,
without discrimination."
In September 2001, Mr. Bush and Mr. Fox talked about amnesty for as many
as 3 million illegals. Mr. Bush planned to ask Congress to legalize Mexican
aliens if they took jobs that others passed up. The president also called
for the abolition of laws barring American employers from hiring border
jumpers.
"If somebody is willing to do jobs others in America aren't willing
to do, we ought to welcome that person to the country, and we ought to
make that a legal part of our economy," Mr. Bush said at White House
ceremony with Mr. Fox. "We ought not to penalize an employer who is
trying to get a job done, who hires somebody who is willing to do that
kind of work."
Mr. Fox long has supported the idea that illegal aliens should not be viewed
as criminals, but as essential to the success of the U.S. economy. The
Mexican president was the force behind a joint U.S.-Mexico statement that
immigration policy should respect "the human dignity of all migrants,
regardless of their [legal] status."
The September 11 attacks put the proposal on hold.
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- White House chief political strategist Karl Rove told
The Washington Times last year that an Hispanic-outreach strategy was only
part of a broader plan to elect more Republicans to Congress and win Mr.
Bush a second term. Mr. Rove said Mr. Bush's popularity among Hispanics
was the result of a pattern of communication strategies, policy initiatives,
high-level appointments and foreign visits.
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- Mr. Bush and Republicans were doing "far better
among Hispanics than we have done in previous years," Mr. Rove said.
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- Most of the Hispanic population growth is in pivotal
electoral states such as California, New Jersey, Texas, Illinois, New York
and Pennsylvania. By 2010, the United States is expected to have the world's
second-largest Hispanic population, behind only Mexico.
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