MIGRATION-US:
Reform Draws Applause and Criticism from Mexico
Diego Cevallos

MEXICO CITY, (IPS) - Mexican President Vicente Fox may be premature in celebrating U.S. Senate approval of legislative reform that would grant legal status to around seven million immigrants, warn activists and academics critical of the bill's scope.

"There is no reason to rejoice. The reform already falls short of expectations, and it has yet to face what is perhaps the most difficult stage in the legislative process," Oswaldo Franco, a Mexican immigration lawyer, told IPS.

Thursday was "a wonderful, joyous, historic day" announced a euphoric Fox, following the majority Senate vote in favour of a bill that, amongst other provisions, sets out to legalise some seven million undocumented workers (the majority Mexican), issue 200,000 temporary work permits per year, and toughen border security with military patrols and walls.

"I believe the Senate has taken a monumental step -- something we can all be proud of -- and I commend the president (George W. Bush), who had the courage to do the right thing by" supporting the reform, said Fox in California Friday, where he was wrapping up a four-day tour of the United States.

The Senate reform, which must still be reconciled with a bill passed by the House of Representatives that makes it a felony to remain in the United States illegally, includes a provision to issue residency permits to foreigners who have lived in the United States for more than five years.

Those who have been in the United States between two and five years would have to return to their home country briefly, but would then be allowed to re-enter as temporary workers and could apply for citizenship. But immigrants in the country for less than two years would be deported.

More than 12 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States -- a number that increases annually by an estimated 400,000 -- which means that five million people, mostly from Mexico and other Latin American countries, would be ineligible for the permits.

President of El Salvador Antonio Saca's response was somewhat more reserved: "This is one step forward in a long battle towards winning benefits for our fellow nationals living in the United States."

On Friday, Republican Representative James Sensenbrenner, who authored the bill passed by the House of Representatives in December, criticised the Senate for considering an amnesty for immigrants. Republican Senator Jeff Sessions called for a vote to rewrite the bill from a blank slate if necessary.

Debates to reach a House-Senate accord are expected to take place in June. After that, it is up to President Bush to sign the bill into law or exercise his veto.

As 42.7 million people who live in the United States are of Latin American origin or descent, the region's governments are keeping a close eye on the process.

Since January, Mexico has been organising periodic meetings with government representatives from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic, to analyse the issue and look for ways to influence the debates.

Hence Fox's tour of the United States this week, where he met with activists, legislators and governors. Guatemalan President Oscar Berger will be paying a similar visit, announced the country's Foreign Minister, Jorge Briz, although the date has yet to be confirmed.

Over recent months, the mood of Latin American governments has shifted from cautious optimism to concern, as they follow the legislative debates and Washington's immigration measures.

Latin American and Caribbean immigrants sent home 45 billion dollars in remittances to their families in 2004, double the amount recorded 10 years ago, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Bush announced on May 15 that he would be sending 6,000 National Guard troops to patrol the 3,200-km border with Mexico to help stem the influx of undocumented immigrants. Two days later, the Senate approved construction of 595 km of new walls along the southern border.

"Even though the debates could result in the most important immigration reform of the last 20 years, it will not be what Latin America is waiting for or what Fox is celebrating," warned Franco.

The president of the National Council of La Raza, Janet Murguía, spoke to IPS from New York, noting that even though "the Senate voted to get millions of immigrants started on the road to legalisation," some of the approved reform revisions fall short.

Additionally, the final version of the bill, which is still pending, is what needs to be analysed, said the spokeswoman for the Council, the most influential Latino civil rights and advocacy organisation in the United States.

The country's last major immigration reform, which granted an amnesty to undocumented foreigners -- again, mostly Mexican -- was signed in 1986 by then-president Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) after five years of debate in Congress.

According to former Mexican Foreign Secretary Jorge Castañeda, the recent Senate approval of immigration reform represents a "triumph for Fox" as well as the immigrants and activists who staged mass demonstrations in the United States over the past three months.

Castañeda pointed out that Fox has been active in pursuing immigration issues with Washington since he took office in 2000.

Local observers suggest that Fox, whose term ends in December, and his conservative National Action Party (PAN), stand to gain an electoral boost if the United States provides a path to citizenship to millions of immigrants.

The front-runner in the polls for the Jul. 2 elections, in which the Mexican president's successor will be chosen, is the PAN's Felipe Calderón.

Hard on his heels is leftist Andrés López Obrador, who has accused Fox of being a U.S. "puppet" and of failing in his bids to achieve legalisation of immigrants in the U.S.