U.S. Envoy Praises Bush State of the Union Remarks on Immigration

Via the Washington File
01 February 2006

Washington
-– The United States wants a secure border with Mexico, “with open
doors,” that is capable of allowing for trade between the two countries
at legal entry points, says Antonio Garza, the U.S. ambassador to
Mexico.

In a January 31 statement, Garza praised the comments
President Bush made that evening during his State of the Union speech
on immigration reform.  Garza said Bush’s comments showcased the U.S.
desire for a border that allows Mexican workers to legally enter and
work in the United States.

Garza said that “as recent weeks
have demonstrated, border security and immigration are two of the most
complicated and difficult issues in the great diversity of questions
that arise in the bilateral relationship between Mexico and the United
States.”  Garza was referring to violence in the border region that has
increased “markedly” in the last several weeks.  (See related article.)

The envoy said the Bush speech offered ways to improve the lives of citizens in both the United States and Mexico.

Bush
said in his speech that the United States hears “claims that immigrants
are somehow bad for the economy — even though this economy could not
function without them.”  He added that the United States needs “orderly
and secure borders” and can achieve them through stronger immigration
enforcement and border protection and “a rational, humane guest worker
program that rejects amnesty, allows temporary jobs for people who seek
them legally, and reduces smuggling and crime at the border.”  (See related article.)

Garza
said that he has had several “very positive and what I think have been
constructive discussions this week with members” of Mexican President
Vicente Fox’s administration “about ways our two countries can
cooperate to achieve what is important to us both.”

Regarding
U.S.-Mexican relations, Garza said that in “any long-term and
meaningful friendship, difficult discussions are inevitable.  I have
tried to speak openly and honestly these past few weeks about America’s
need for a secure border and legal immigration.  It is important to
remember in our discussions on immigration that efforts by the United
States to stop illegal immigration do not amount to an attack on
immigration as a whole.”

Garza said “there is a common
misconception that Americans are only thinking about security, and
Mexicans are only thinking about immigration reform.”

The
truth, he said, is that the United States “derives much of its
greatness from its tradition of welcoming foreigners to our shores —
and Americans continue to welcome those who come to work in compliance
with our laws. President Bush has so often said ‘family values do not
stop at the U.S.-Mexico border’ — and we are eager to facilitate the
entry of those Mexican laborers who come to the United States, with
visas, to earn money to support their families.”

Garza said
Mexicans, just like Americans, “want to live in a peaceful and secure
society where they do not have to fear for their safety or the safety
of their children.  Indeed, in recent months, Mexicans have taken to
the streets to protest ever-increasing violence in its cities and along
the border, and they want to see more done to fight criminals and break
the chokehold that narcotraffickers and human-smugglers have on our
border region.”

The envoy said he was offering “any and all
cooperation” the U.S. government can provide in combating
narco-violence and “making our border region safe for our citizens, and
I look forward to working closely with the Mexican people to achieve
our common goals.”

Garza’s statement is available on the Web site of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico.

For more information on U.S. policy toward Mexico, see Mexico.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)