Calderon: Defending migrants, promising change

Defending migrants, promising change
12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, April 23, 2008
By ALFREDO CORCHADO and DIANNE SOLÍS / The Dallas Morning News
/ The Dallas Morning News

Laurence Iliff and Al Día / The Dallas Morning News
Alejandro Martínez contributed to this report.

Mexican President Felipe Calderón defended immigrant workers and their contribution to the U.S. economy Tuesday in Dallas, but also said Mexico needs to produce jobs that will keep its people home and end the painful separation of families.

"It's not my dream to spend the rest of my life seeing how Mexicans risk their lives crossing the river or the desert to find opportunities," Mr. Calderón told about 125 advisers to the government's Institute for Mexicans Abroad.

Mexico is improving its infrastructure and fighting drug cartels in order to create the conditions for economic growth and prosperity that will allow new generations to stay home, he said.

"One day, there will not be a single boy or girl that leaves out of hunger or need or to look for employment," Mr. Calderón said. "One day, a child will not leave his parents never to see them again ... and the Mexican government is absolutely committed to doing its part."

His visit comes as anti-illegal immigrant sentiment across the U.S. has risen. States and cities have passed thousands of measures targeting illegal immigrants – including efforts in Farmers Branch to prohibit renting to illegal immigrants and Irving's participation in a federal program to report illegal immigrants who are arrested.

Mr. Calderón was greeted with applause as he arrived at the conference – the only visible protesters were four local members of a Mexican opposition party criticizing the government's plan to allow greater private investment in the state-owned energy sector.

But in Washington, Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, took issue with what he called "a Mexican foreign official" giving the U.S. economic advice.

"It is really none of Mexico's business whether the Mexicans are good for the U.S. economy," said Mr. Krikorian, whose group seeks to end illegal immigration and restrict legal immigration. "My concern here isn't even that the Mexican government is sticking their nose in our business, but that we don't object."

The institute – meeting outside of Mexico for only the second time – is a Mexican government agency that seeks to help immigrants with education, health and other issues by reaching out to their leaders in the U.S. Mexico's 31 states and Mexico City are also represented on the institute's advisory panel, as well as advisers from Canada.

In his 20-minute speech, Mr. Calderón said immigration is a natural process that is good for both countries – especially for such U.S. industries as agriculture and transportation.

Mr. Calderón, who has said he has relatives working in the U.S. illegally, drew heavy laughter when he suggested that only after the U.S. overhauls its immigration laws would he reveal their whereabouts. Mr. Calderón is from the central Mexican state of Michoacán, where many families have both legal and illegal relatives in the U.S.

"We admire you ... we thank you ... we miss you," he told the group to rousing applause.

Emotional welcome

On his arrival at Dallas Love Field, Mr. Calderón was met by Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, the chairman of the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce, Robert Chereck, and members of the immigrant community, one of whom offered him a gift box and an emotional welcome.

"This is a small souvenir to remember your visit," said María Antonieta González, an immigrant representative from San Antonio. "Mr. President, remember that we are here in El Norte [the U.S.], but our roots and our hearts are in Mexico and in your hands."

Some people in the group wiped away tears, visibly moved by her words.

Later, speaking to about 50 business executives at the Rosewood Crescent Hotel, Mr. Calderón moved smoothly, in English, through a slide presentation of Mexico's improving economy. According to Goldman Sachs, he noted, Mexico will have the world's fifth-largest economy by 2050.

It has cut its external debt, pours 5.5 percent of its gross domestic product yearly into infrastructure improvement, and in 2008 it will spend a record $100 billion a year on education and health.

"The goal is to make Mexico the best place for investment in the world," said the Mexican president, as he sat in front of the U.S. and Mexican flags.

Mr. Leppert called the meeting a continuation of conversations started in a January trade trip he made to Mexico.

As for the immigration dispute, he said, "It is clearly important to have comprehensive immigration reform, and that comes at the federal level."

Advice for the president

Advisory group members said Mexico needs to do more to keep people at home and defend those forced to leave.

Nancy Guerrero, 38, a former institute member who contributes to the Spanish-language magazine La Revista, urged Mr. Calderón to lobby hard for more legal immigration. "We're getting hit hard in Farmers Branch and Irving."

Earlier, at the North American summit in New Orleans, Mr. Calderón, President Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper all defended the North American Free Trade Agreement against critics who want it renegotiated.

"Now is not the time to renegotiate NAFTA or to walk away from NAFTA," Mr. Bush said. "I'm concerned about protectionism in America."

Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton favor reworking NAFTA.