To me, this is reason enough to build a wall big enough to stop a tank.
In Mexico City on Thursday, Fox reached out to the millions of Mexicans living north of the border.
"I have always believed that there is one Mexico, and that no walls can divide it," he said. "There are no barriers or borders or even fences that can keep Mexicans apart."
Mexico angered by lack of immigration reform, decision to increase security at border
The Associated Press
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/05/america/LA_GEN_Mexico_Border_Fence.php TIJUANA, Mexico Mexico lobbied for six years for a comprehensive immigration reform that would allow millions to cross into the United States legally. Instead, it got a wall.
Mexicans from leading politicians to migrants preparing to cross illegally consider the U.S. plan to fence off much of the border shameful, offensive and ill-conceived.
U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday signed a bill that would allot US$1.2 billion (¬940 million) for hundreds of miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border and for more vehicle barriers, lighting and infrared cameras.
The measure capped months of debate on immigration. Mexican immigrants in the U.S. and the Mexican government lobbied lawmakers for more ways to cross the border and work legally.
While Bush had proposed a temporary worker program, it didn't garner enough support in Congress for passage. The idea has been dropped by Washington, at least until after the November congressional elections.
Congress focused on security over immigration, arguing that the porous border could be used by terrorists who want to sneak into the U.S. undetected. There is no evidence that has happened, however.
The Mexican government this week sent a diplomatic note to Washington criticizing the plan for 1,125 kilometers (700 miles) of new fencing along the border. Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez called it an "offense" and said Wednesday his office was considering taking the issue to the United Nations.
But Ruben Aguilar, the spokesman for President Vicente Fox, said Thursday that Mexico had ruled out that possibility. He added he was "confident" the additional fencing would never become a reality because an immigration accord would eventually replace it.
"We regret that we haven't been able to find a solution," so far, Aguilar said.
In Mexico City on Thursday, Fox reached out to the millions of Mexicans living north of the border.
"I have always believed that there is one Mexico, and that no walls can divide it," he said. "There are no barriers or borders or even fences that can keep Mexicans apart."
Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon, speaking in the Chilean capital of Santiago, called the wall plan "a deplorable decision" that "does not solve our common problem, which is emigration."
After he takes office Dec. 1, he said, "the first thing I will do is continue to insist on the defense of the rights of Mexican immigrants in the United States." Calderon added that he will try to tackle the root cause of migration by creating more jobs in Mexico.
Guillermo Alonzo, a migration expert at the Tijuana-based Colegio de La Frontera Norte, said fences will do little to stop the illegal migration tide and instead will force migrants to look for new ways to sneak into the United States and find new routes through deadlier terrain.
"When migrants are determined to cross, they find a way to jump the fences," Alonzo said. "Walls don't stop anything."
Alonzo cited the construction of a fence between Tijuana and San Diego, known in Mexico as "the tortilla wall." It was completed in the 1990s and forced migrants into the sparsely populated and dangerous Arizona desert.
While there are walls at various points along the border, the one in Tijuana is the longest stretch, running 14 miles (22 kilometers) west from the Otay border crossing and plunging into the Pacific Ocean.
It has become a symbol of the divisive issue of immigration, a blank slate for graffiti, crosses, photos and other remembrances of those who have lost their lives trying to sneak into the United States. Some families, divided by the border, even meet at the fence, talking through the metal wires.
While the wall downgraded Tijuana from the illegal migration mecca it was in the 1990s, when it was common to see groups of migrants rush across the border, dodging traffic and Border Patrol agents, hundreds of migrants still come here, Alonzo said.
"Now smugglers hide migrants in trunks of cars or get false documents," he said.
Arrests of migrants trying to sneak illegally into California sharply increased in the San Diego area this past fiscal year after enforcement was increased along the Arizona border. That upward trend will likely continue with the increased security ordered by Bush on Wednesday.
Luis Kendzierski, a priest who directs a Tijuana migrant shelter, said building a wall is an unfriendly gesture that will lead to a hike in smugglers' fees and more migrant deaths.
"We are supposed to be neighbors and friends, and instead of building bridges and doors, we're building obstacles," Kendzierski said.
Between 2001 and 2006, almost 2,000 migrants died while trying to sneak into the United States, according to El Colegio de la Frontera Norte.
Migrants resting at a Tijuana shelter after being deported from the United States said more walls wouldn't deter them.
Alfonso Martinez, a 32-year-old from southern Mexico, had been working as a farmhand for six months in Vista, California, when he was arrested and deported last week.
Martinez said he would try to cross again through Tecate, a mountainous town about 35 miles (55 kilometers) east of Tijuana .
"Wall or no wall, I will try at least three times," Martinez said. "I have three girls that I have to support, and in Mexico there is no work."
TIJUANA, Mexico Mexico lobbied for six years for a comprehensive immigration reform that would allow millions to cross into the United States legally. Instead, it got a wall.
Mexicans from leading politicians to migrants preparing to cross illegally consider the U.S. plan to fence off much of the border shameful, offensive and ill-conceived.
U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday signed a bill that would allot US$1.2 billion (¬940 million) for hundreds of miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border and for more vehicle barriers, lighting and infrared cameras.
The measure capped months of debate on immigration. Mexican immigrants in the U.S. and the Mexican government lobbied lawmakers for more ways to cross the border and work legally.
While Bush had proposed a temporary worker program, it didn't garner enough support in Congress for passage. The idea has been dropped by Washington, at least until after the November congressional elections.
Congress focused on security over immigration, arguing that the porous border could be used by terrorists who want to sneak into the U.S. undetected. There is no evidence that has happened, however.
The Mexican government this week sent a diplomatic note to Washington criticizing the plan for 1,125 kilometers (700 miles) of new fencing along the border. Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez called it an "offense" and said Wednesday his office was considering taking the issue to the United Nations.
But Ruben Aguilar, the spokesman for President Vicente Fox, said Thursday that Mexico had ruled out that possibility. He added he was "confident" the additional fencing would never become a reality because an immigration accord would eventually replace it.
"We regret that we haven't been able to find a solution," so far, Aguilar said.
In Mexico City on Thursday, Fox reached out to the millions of Mexicans living north of the border.
"I have always believed that there is one Mexico, and that no walls can divide it," he said. "There are no barriers or borders or even fences that can keep Mexicans apart."
Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon, speaking in the Chilean capital of Santiago, called the wall plan "a deplorable decision" that "does not solve our common problem, which is emigration."
After he takes office Dec. 1, he said, "the first thing I will do is continue to insist on the defense of the rights of Mexican immigrants in the United States." Calderon added that he will try to tackle the root cause of migration by creating more jobs in Mexico.
Guillermo Alonzo, a migration expert at the Tijuana-based Colegio de La Frontera Norte, said fences will do little to stop the illegal migration tide and instead will force migrants to look for new ways to sneak into the United States and find new routes through deadlier terrain.
"When migrants are determined to cross, they find a way to jump the fences," Alonzo said. "Walls don't stop anything."
Alonzo cited the construction of a fence between Tijuana and San Diego, known in Mexico as "the tortilla wall." It was completed in the 1990s and forced migrants into the sparsely populated and dangerous Arizona desert.
While there are walls at various points along the border, the one in Tijuana is the longest stretch, running 14 miles (22 kilometers) west from the Otay border crossing and plunging into the Pacific Ocean.
It has become a symbol of the divisive issue of immigration, a blank slate for graffiti, crosses, photos and other remembrances of those who have lost their lives trying to sneak into the United States. Some families, divided by the border, even meet at the fence, talking through the metal wires.
While the wall downgraded Tijuana from the illegal migration mecca it was in the 1990s, when it was common to see groups of migrants rush across the border, dodging traffic and Border Patrol agents, hundreds of migrants still come here, Alonzo said.
"Now smugglers hide migrants in trunks of cars or get false documents," he said.
Arrests of migrants trying to sneak illegally into California sharply increased in the San Diego area this past fiscal year after enforcement was increased along the Arizona border. That upward trend will likely continue with the increased security ordered by Bush on Wednesday.
Luis Kendzierski, a priest who directs a Tijuana migrant shelter, said building a wall is an unfriendly gesture that will lead to a hike in smugglers' fees and more migrant deaths.
"We are supposed to be neighbors and friends, and instead of building bridges and doors, we're building obstacles," Kendzierski said.
Between 2001 and 2006, almost 2,000 migrants died while trying to sneak into the United States, according to El Colegio de la Frontera Norte.
Migrants resting at a Tijuana shelter after being deported from the United States said more walls wouldn't deter them.
Alfonso Martinez, a 32-year-old from southern Mexico, had been working as a farmhand for six months in Vista, California, when he was arrested and deported last week.
Martinez said he would try to cross again through Tecate, a mountainous town about 35 miles (55 kilometers) east of Tijuana .
"Wall or no wall, I will try at least three times," Martinez said. "I have three girls that I have to support, and in Mexico there is no work."
