Mexican anger over US 'trespass'

[DRTYFN]

Mr. Pot Meet Mr. Kettle If this weren't so infuriating it'd be funny.

Mexican anger over US 'trespass'
Mexico's Congress has condemned what it says is a border violation by US workers building a controversial barrier between the two countries.
Legislators say workers and equipment building a section of the barrier have gone 10 metres (yards) into Mexico.

The alleged border violation comes ahead of a high-level meeting in the Canadian capital Ottawa.

US, Mexican and Canadian foreign ministers are to discuss border security and trade issues.

Mexican legislators said they had photographs and video, taken on Monday, of the workers and heavy-duty construction equipment that showed them about 10 metres inside Mexico near the border city of Agua Prieta and the town of Douglas, Arizona.

The Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa said she had complained to the US authorities and that the men and equipment had been withdrawn.

Continental trade concerns

In a statement, the US Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza said: "The US is sensitive to Mexican concerns... [and] has the deepest respect for the integrity of the sovereignty of Mexican soil".

He said US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff had not been in the area of the alleged incursion and recent photographs of him welding a section of the fence had been taken in a different part of Arizona on the US side of the border.

The US says it is building 700 miles (1,125km) of fencing along its border with Mexico to stop illegal immigration.

Many Mexicans see the fence as offensive and say it will be ineffective and potentially cause more deaths in border crossings.

An estimated 1.2 million illegal immigrants were arrested in 2005 trying to cross into the US via the border states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

About 11 million Mexicans are thought to live in the US, more than six million of them illegally.

Later on Friday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is meeting her Canadian and Mexican counterparts - Peter Mackay and Patricia Espinosa - in Ottawa.

They are to discuss concerns that security measures put in place after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US may hamper trade between the three countries.

The officials will also look at co-ordinating responses to emergencies such as a pandemic outbreak of avian flu.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6390291.stm

I think I need to move to Arizona and switch from squirrels to illegals.

[DRTYFN]

This is the really infuriating part.

Mexican guide aiding illegal US entry decried
MONTERREY, Mexico -- The Mexican government is distributing a comic-book guide that warns would-be migrants about the perils of crossing illegally into the United States and offers tips to stay safe -- enraging some advocates of stricter immigration policies in the United States who argue the booklet encourages illegal migration.

About 1.5 million copies of the pocket-size book titled ''Guide for the Mexican Immigrant" were published by Mexico's Foreign Relations Department and distributed as a free supplement in comic books popular with adults that are sold throughout the country.
The comic book's introduction shows an illustration of three men huddling by riverbank bushes accompanied by the statement, ''This guide is intended to give you some practical advice that could be of use if you already have made the difficult decision to seek new job opportunities outside your country."
Each year, as would-be migrants start considering a trip north, the Mexican government launches radio or television campaigns to inform them about the risks they'll face along the US-Mexican border.
This year, the Foreign Relations Department decided to add the guide as a way of ''trying to provide the information directly" in the would-be migrants' home communities, said Geronimo Gutierrez, the department's deputy secretary for North American affairs. ''Once they reach the border, it's very difficult for them to change their minds."
The booklet, which officials began distributing last month, explains the safest way to enter the United States is the legal way, with a US visa and a Mexican passport. But it also offers tips on avoiding serious injury or death to those who have decided to cross illegally.
On one page appears a drawing of people walking near power lines, with the hint, ''If you get lost, guide yourself with light poles, train tracks, or dirt roads."
''Crossing a river can be very risky, especially if you cross alone and at night," the booklet warns. ''Heavy clothing becomes heavier when wet, and this makes swimming or floating difficult."
Critics say the tips serve more as instructions on how to cross illegally than as a deterrent to would-be migrants.
''With this document the Mexican government not only has not instructed its citizens to obey immigration law but, in rich detail, it has supplied a manual on how to circumvent US immigration law," said John Keeley of the US-based Center for Immigration Studies, which favors stricter immigration policies.
Editorials in several US papers sharply criticized the comic book. The Arizona Republic called it ''an illustrated guide to Mexico's domestic failures" and The Washington Times asked that the US government file an official complaint.
The US State Department issued a statement saying it had not contacted the Mexican government about the comic book, and it praised recent cooperation between the countries to improve safety.
The Mexican government has been criticized often for not doing more to stop the flow of illegal migrants. But officials say they can do little, because while aiding illegal crossings for a fee is a crime, there's no Mexican law stopping migrants from gathering near the northern border.
In the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, there were 325 migrant deaths along the US-Mexican border, according to the US Customs and Border Protection Bureau.
Braulio Munoz, 42, has tried twice in the past 13 days to cross the US border illegally with his son. He said he hadn't seen the guide but doubted anything would discourage them from attempting a third swim across the Rio Grande. ''In Jalisco there isn't any work," he said. ''God willing, we'll make it to the United States -- even if they kick us out 15 times."
http://www.boston.com/news/world/lat...entry_decried/

Me> <illegals

[f5fstop]

"Many Mexicans see the fence as offensive and say it will be ineffective and potentially cause more deaths in border crossings."

We can only hope...

[RubHer Yellow Ducky]

I have mixed feeling about the Iraq war. The initial idea was good but like in VN it seems we didn't send enough people. IF we withdraw, I SAID IF...

Maybe we should open several more MLITARY INSTALLATION near the mexican border. We can let the Army & Marines do their training there.

RYD

[KenP]

Let's just copy the Mexicans outline for their southern border. That'll piss them off.

[ssgharkness020147]

Why cant we just annex them? Really? I dont get it, then ALL mexicans can live in the land of the free, with a non (less) corrupt government. AND we get a great vaccacion spot. Seems logical to me.

[GLBLWARMR]

I say we just set up a 1/2 mile wide mine field along the border and if they can make their through it and survive then they obviously bring some sort of skill with them and we should let them stay. If they don't make it we are just helping out the population control of both countries.

[BlueHUMMERH2]

An estimated 1.2 million illegal immigrants were arrested in 2005 trying to cross into the US via the border states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

About 11 million Mexicans are thought to live in the US, more than six million of them illegally.

That's extremely distrubing.

[NewHummerGuy]

Originally Posted by GLBLWARMR

I say we just set up a 1/2 mile wide mine field along the border and if they can make their through it and survive then they obviously bring some sort of skill with them and we should let them stay. If they don't make it we are just helping out the population control of both countries.

[ROX]

Originally Posted by RubHer Yellow Ducky

I have mixed feeling about the Iraq war. The initial idea was good but like in VN it seems we didn't send enough people. IF we withdraw, I SAID IF...

Maybe we should open several more MLITARY INSTALLATION near the mexican border. We can let the Army & Marines do their training there.

RYD

Almost the entire section spanning the Arizona Border is a US Bombing range. I don't know about the other border states.

We will continue to have an illegal immigration problem if we are not allowed to shoot at them while they are trying to cross. We shelter them and feed them and send them back. It's not too scarey when you're fed first.