Calderon fires up immigration row at start of US visit

By Bob L.
Wed. May 19

I think it is time that the American people tell these people coming to this Country, if you don’t like our laws or our flag don’t come here and tell us how to run our Country, when you can’t even run your OWN.

How many times does it take to get it across to these people that if you come here legally you will not have a problem, but as long as you have raciest, bigots, and hate mongers keeping things stirred up you will never get the problem solved, because all they want is the publicity.

How hard is to sit down on both sides of the Border and screen people wanting to come to this Country like they did when they arrived in New York years ago at Ellis Island, then you will know who entering this Country.

I think the reason they don’t want to bring them here legally is because they can treat them like they did the BLACKS and use them as slaves and that is ILLEGAL, but the Governments are pushing it, U.S. and Mexico, some one is making a big profit from this.

Why is Mexico not producing jobs for its people there in Mexico instead of telling them to come here, or is our Government behind this whole thing, a way to break this Country.

Before long this Country is going to be as bad as Mexico, DRUGS, and no JOBS, OoooH that is right we already don’t have JOBS, and more drug problems, and we can’t forget corruption

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By Jordi Zamora
Wed.May 19

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Felipe Calderon hit out Wednesday at “discrimination” against Mexican immigrants in Arizona, as the row over the state’s draconian new immigration law risked overshadowing his US visit.

Calderon refused to hold his punches at the start of his two-day state visit, strongly criticizing a law that while popular in Arizona has enraged Hispanics, stoked fears of racial profiling and led to widespread condemnation.

“Despite their enormous contribution to the economy and society of the United States,” Calderon said, millions of immigrants “still live in the shadows, and at times, like in Arizona, even face patterns of discrimination.”

The comments bore even more significance as Calderon chose to make them alongside President Barack Obama at a red-carpet White House ceremony full of pomp and pageantry, before going into official talks behind closed doors.

Obama in turn said that he hoped that the United States and Mexico “can ensure that our common border is secure, modern and efficient,” and that immigration “is orderly and safe.”

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has said the law, which has attracted broad support according to recent opinion polls, is needed to help secure the state’s porous border, one of the main entry points for illegal immigrants in the US.

Calderon faces immense domestic pressure to seek US immigration reform in the wake of the new law, which allows the detention of people suspected of being in the country illegally.

Obama has fiercely opposed the law, urging opposition Republicans in the US Congress to work jointly with Democrats on an immigration reform bill this year, while also mulling a legal challenge.

Supporters say the law is merely an expression of the frustration felt by Americans who want action taken to deal with the issue of illegal immigrants and are concerned about soaring crime and unemployment rates.

The thorny issue of how to deal with an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States — mostly from Mexico — stymied the former administration of president George W. Bush and has gone untackled so far by Obama.

“Mexican-American families have been here for centuries as well as those who continue to our proud tradition as a nation of immigrants, all of whom strengthen our American family and who join us today,” Obama said.

The American leader, however, has offered no assurances he will seek new legislation before crucial mid-term elections in November in which immigration is likely to be a hot-button issue.

During his visit, Calderon will also seek to convince US lawmakers that drug violence in Mexico is not spiraling out of control, despite gruesome beheadings and daily gun battles.

Those fears were compounded in the run-up to his trip by the suspected abduction of Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, a former presidential candidate and senior member of Calderon’s own National Action Party (PAN).

“We can stand firm and deepen our cooperation against the drug cartels that threaten our people,” Obama said at the opening ceremony.

Calderon, whose presidency ends in 2012, will also seek further US validation for his war on the illegal drug trade, which has been increasingly criticized at home.

More than 22,700 people have died in surging drug-related attacks since Calderon launched a military clampdown on organized crime, involving some 50,000 troops, at the end of 2006.

Relations have improved since the Obama administration admitted US responsibility in Mexico’s drug violence — recognizing both the role of US drug consumers and US weapons flowing illegally to Mexican drug gangs.

But despite verbal support, only a tiny fraction of a 1.3-billion-dollar US initiative aimed at bolstering Mexico’s anti-drug policy has been paid out so far.

Calderon’s visit includes a state dinner later Wednesday at the White House, only the second such function during Obama’s tenure. The Mexican leader is also scheduled to speak to a joint session of the US Congress on Thursday.

At Wednesday’s greeting ceremony on the White House lawn, the leaders, accompanied by their wives, shook hands before standing for the national anthems and a performance from a marching band of drummers and flautists.

Obama’s first state visit was from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last November.