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RIGHTS-US:
Anti-Terrorist or
Anti-Immigrant?
Diego Cevallos
MEXICO CITY, Feb 16 (IPS) -
Ignacio, a 22-year-old Mexican,
has decided to move up the date
of his departure for the United
States, after the ”coyote” who
has promised to get him across
the Mexican-U.S. border warned
him that the trip could be more
difficult and costly come April
or May.
Word has spread among the
”coyotes” or ”polleros”, as
migrant smugglers are called in
Mexico, that the United States
is preparing to further tighten
its border controls.
”It's their business, so they
have to be well informed,” said
Valentín Contreras, a volunteer
with a migrants' rights group in
the Mexican border town of
Tijuana.
On Feb. 9, the U.S. House of
Representatives passed a bill
known as the ”Real ID Act” which
would further limit the rights
of undocumented immigrants and
give the green light for
extending the walls erected
along the Mexican border. The
bill enjoys the support of the
George W. Bush administration in
Washington and must now be
passed by the Senate to become
law.
A number of other anti-immigrant
initiatives have been put
forward in recent months by
lawmakers and citizens groups
alike, although they have yet to
be officially debated.
Most of these initiatives are
similar to Proposition 200,
approved by voters in the state
of Arizona during last
November's presidential
elections, which demands proof
of legal immigration status for
access to services like health
care and education.
Republican Party senators in the
state of Arkansas tabled a bill
in January that is also aimed at
denying public services to
undocumented immigrants, while a
civic organisation called Defend
Colorado Now is pushing for a
plebiscite to adopt legislation
similar to Proposition 200 in
that state.
Another citizens group in the
state of California is promoting
the ”Save Our Licence”
initiative, to oppose the
granting of driver's licences
and other public benefits to
undocumented immigrants.
In the meantime, like-minded
groups in Georgia, Idaho, Nevada
and Utah are also pressuring
their lawmakers to adopt
anti-immigrant measures.
”We are seeing a severe
crackdown” with regard to
anti-immigration policies in the
United States, according to Joel
Magallán, director of New York's
Tepeyac Association, a
non-governmental organisation
devoted to defending the rights
of Latino immigrants.
There are 39.9 million people of
Latin American birth or descent
living in the United States, the
majority of whom are
Mexican-American. Of that total,
roughly five million are
undocumented.
Valentín Contreras, who works at
the Youth Shelter for Migrant
Minors in Tijuana, told IPS in a
telephone interview that migrant
smugglers are now urging
would-be U.S. immigrants like
young Ignacio to speed up their
trips. ”They know it will soon
become more complicated and
expensive, so they want to leave
as quickly as possible,” he
noted.
Prior to 1993, when Washington
began to beef up controls along
the Mexican border with a
greater police presence and the
building of walls, it cost 150
dollars to hire a ”coyote” to
get safely across the Mexican
border into the United States.
But now that crossing into U.S.
territory is more dangerous and
difficult, the same trip costs
over 2,000 dollars.
The state-run National Migration
Institute of Mexico estimates
that there are at least 100
migrant-smuggling rings
currently operating in this
country of just over 100
million.
Metal or concrete walls have
been constructed along 112
kilometres of the
3,200-kilometre-long border
between Mexico and the United
States. The rest of the border
is protected by natural barriers
or smaller fences, all of them
heavily guarded.
Most emigrants to the United
States cross the border along
the least heavily guarded
stretches, although these tend
to be the most dangerous because
of the geographical terrain or
extreme weather conditions.
Between 2000 and 2004, an
average of 400 Mexicans a year
lost their lives while
attempting to make the trip
north.
As was the case with Arizona's
Proposition 200, the ”Real ID
Act” has met with vocal protest
from human rights groups and the
Mexican government of President
Vicente Fox, who view it as an
attack on immigrants' rights.
If the Senate passes the new
bill into law, which is almost
certain to happen, the U.S.
government will permit the
extension of the wall already
separating Tijuana and the U.S.
city of San Diego, California by
an additional 22 to 27
kilometres.
The new legislation would also
demand proof of legal
immigration status in order to
obtain a driver's licence, which
some states currently do not
require.
In addition, the ”matricula
consular” ID cards currently
issued by Mexican consulates to
nationals living in the United
States and accepted by some
states for opening bank accounts
and a number of other official
procedures would no longer be
recognised.
This new legislation does not
contribute to establishing more
orderly immigration, which is
why Mexico does not support it,
said Fox.
According to the state-run but
independent National Human
Rights Commission (CNDH) of
Mexico, the bill will fuel
intolerance and violence against
immigrants and obstruct
diplomatic dialogue.
The Bush administration,
however, has announced its
backing of the bill, claiming
that it will help to keep
terrorists from entering the
country.
CDDH president José Luis
Soberanes accused the U.S.
government and lawmakers of
”criminalising” immigration,
something that ”undermines the
friendship that should exist
between two neighbouring
countries.”
Mexico and the United States
have held ongoing talks since
2001 aimed at establishing an
immigration agreement. Mexico is
pushing for the legalisation of
the status of undocumented
immigrants currently residing in
the United States, but
Washington is only willing to go
so far as issuing temporary work
permits.
The two sides have not been able
to reach a mutually satisfactory
compromise as of yet. In the
meantime, however, the United
States has been moving forward
with initiatives that will serve
to even further limit
immigrants' rights. |
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