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Caribbean-Latin America
Vicente Fox to US: Bend Over
2005-03-20
EFL - Read the whole thing.
Anti-immigrant sentiment appears to be growing in the United States, Mexican President Vicente Fox said Wednesday, and he urged U.S. officials to act quickly to control movements. Mexico's National Human Rights Commission recently issued a warning about several new grass-roots movements inspired by Arizona's Proposition 200. Other Mexican officials have cited the Minuteman Project, a plan by activists to patrol the border during April, as a sign of rising extremism. "There are signs of these kinds of problems present today, and (they are) progressing," Fox said during a news conference for foreign reporters. "We have to act quickly and on time to prevent these kinds of actions."
So patrolling the border is now a sign of extremism?
Fox also harshly criticized the construction of walls along the border, including a new "triple fence" planned for the San Diego area. "We are convinced that walls don't work. They should be torn down," he said. "No country that is proud of itself should build walls. No one can isolate himself these days." Fox said he understood Americans' concern about protecting their southern border. But he dismissed fears that terrorists have sneaked into the United States through Mexico. "We have absolutely no evidence of that," he said.
And prior to 8:46 AM ET on September 11, 2001 we had no solid evidence that Islamist terrorists were operating within the United States.
Posted by:AzCat

#24  lex - I am inclined to believe that when the issue is serious, W & Co have the cojones to take it on.

What I wonder about at the moment is that they have invested so much in the fight over SocSec that there will be a letdown afterwards for the other issues still on the agenda. I've never seen such backassward self-delusioned morons as the Dhimmidonks in their lies and obfuscation campaign against fixing a problem their own icon, Clintoon, admitted was crucial - and getting worse. Suicide comes to mind.

Of course, if the fools force the Nuke Option in the Senate over losing / wrong-headed propositions, well, that will just make others easier to pass in that half of the legislature.

He said he'd tackle early in this term. I think SS has momentarily derailed it, but I have no doubt it's still on the table. The upcoming meeting with Mexico and Canada indicates it's still a high priority.
Posted by: .com   2005-03-20 8:50:23 PM  

#23  Hi Mike... all I can say is, are sharks with laser beams on their heads too much to ask?
Posted by: Phil Fraering   2005-03-20 8:40:17 PM  

#22  Add Nevada to the list also. You're looking at 40% population growth each decade in these states, vs population declines in the NE and rustbelt blue states. This issue will become huge in US politics, just as the hispanic vote will become huge.

Wonder what Rove's calculations are on this... screw the "minutemen" and pander to the hispanic vote? Or come up with a humane and principled stand against illegal immigration, with a consistent and carefully-phrased message that makes clear to hispanics that legal hispanics have the most to lose from the mess we have now?

I'd choose Door #2 myself, but I've no idea which way Rove will incline. It's very, very easy to pander to both employers and the hispanic "activist" idiots on this.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex)   2005-03-20 8:18:15 PM  

#21  Note also that all the fastest-growing states are in the rocky mountain west, esp Colorado and New Mexico. This has big implications for 2008 and beyond.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex)   2005-03-20 8:13:18 PM  

#20  Truth. Word, lex.
Posted by: .com   2005-03-20 7:52:06 PM  

#19  This is the sleeper issue that could well tip the 2008 presidential election (given that the crucial swing states are all located in the southwest: New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada; perhaps Texas and California will be in play as well).

If the Republicans don't get serious about this-- and that means punishing their beloved business constituency for employing illegals-- then don't be surprised if Hillary sneaks in and grabs the issue for herself. Mark my word, this issue will bite the Republicans in the ass if they don't wake up, and fast.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex)   2005-03-20 7:49:46 PM  

#18  I agree - a wall won't work. What we need is a good deep trench, say 1000 meters deep and a couple of hundred meters wide, filled with half-starved critters with big teeth. Can't tunnel under that deep a trench. It might even make Douglas a seaport, who knows... And build it half on the Mexican side of the border!
Posted by: Old Patriot   2005-03-20 6:32:23 PM  

#17  Fox is right. The Mexican method of just shooting people who try to illegally cross their southern border works much better than fences. Perhaps we should just mine a 500 meter strip north of the border in the desert and close the border crossings in urban areas. Based on observations in San Diego, we would be better off without the illegals. Farmers can machine pick most of those crops and, if hotels and restaurants have to increase their prices to cover the costs of hiring Americans, so be it. It would be offset by not having to subsidize the medical care and education of illegals. By the way, they work in a cash economy and DON"T pay taxes.
Posted by: RWV   2005-03-20 5:51:37 PM  

#16  What can I say, I want to be a good neighbor but he's wearing a sash.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-03-20 5:25:01 PM  

#15  But he dismissed fears that terrorists have sneaked into the United States through Mexico. "We have absolutely no evidence of that," he said.

We do have evidence tho, of the presence of more than 8 MILLION Mexicans illegally in this country. Does he deny that?

(Sorry for unembedded URL, but when I tried to embed it I got some unwanted stuff added to the link.)

Use apostrophes in place of quotes.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2005-03-20 2:07:37 PM  

#14  I don't mind having lots and lots of Mexican immigrants -- as long as they are LEGAL Mexican immigrants.
Posted by: Tom   2005-03-20 1:33:29 PM  

#13  "walls don't work"

Bouncing Bettys do.
Posted by: mojo   2005-03-20 12:19:33 PM  

#12  If Fox were smarter, I'd say he's baiting us.
Posted by: regular joe   2005-03-20 12:12:32 PM  

#11  Mr. Fox doesn't think much of walls and fences? Ask him when he plans to tear down the walls surrounding his presidential compound in Mexico City. The walls surrounding his villa isn't there for aesthetics. It serves a purpose.
Posted by: Mark Z.   2005-03-20 11:44:10 AM  

#10  Mr. Fox doesn't think much of walls and fences? Ask him when he plans to tear down the walls surrounding his presidential compound in Mexico City. The walls surrounding his villa isn't there for aesthetics. It serves a purpose.
Posted by: Mark Z.   2005-03-20 11:44:08 AM  

#9  Fox is just using the US as a safety valve and as a source of cash for Mexico. He needs to deal with his problems instead of dumping them on us.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2005-03-20 11:29:18 AM  

#8  He's noting that the demographic bulge in the US has passed but Latin America's is just getting started. The geeks at RB might find these demographic projections interesting: http://devdata.worldbank.org/hnpstats/HNPDemographic/dependency.pdf

(Sorry for unembedded URL, but when I tried to embed it I got some unwanted stuff added to the link.)
Posted by: Robin Burk   2005-03-20 9:57:25 AM  

#7  Hey guys, ol' Vicente really is looking out for the US's best interests.

He said that the U.S. population is aging and will need Mexican labor in the future and that turning millions of undocumented Mexicans into legal, taxpaying workers could help keep the Social Security system afloat.

Is he trying to get a campaign contribution from the AARP?


Posted by: Desert Blondie   2005-03-20 9:46:15 AM  

#6  "We are convinced that walls don’t work. They should be torn down,"

Didn't we hear the same thing about Sharon's wall?
Actually, it does seem to be working!

BTW, Senor Fox has now wasted 4 years of even making an appearence of reducing the level of human dumping across the border. Give the man a seat next to Kofi and Chirac.
Posted by: Spavimble Hupeart2664   2005-03-20 9:25:38 AM  

#5  donation......nice....need coffee
Posted by: Frank G   2005-03-20 8:35:38 AM  

#4  I let the RNC know that my usual donations is withheld pending action on the border.
Posted by: Frank G   2005-03-20 8:22:10 AM  

#3  No limit.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis   2005-03-20 8:17:09 AM  

#2  What, will it be a fox season? ;-)
Posted by: Sobiesky   2005-03-20 7:49:18 AM  

#1  Vincente is in for some big surprises.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis   2005-03-20 7:41:38 AM  

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