Mexican Governors Meet With Emigrants in U.S.

Mexican emigrants in 2006 sent home $23.05 billion in remittances

**

August 20, 2007
Ivan Mejia -- EFE
Mexican governors are traveling to different cities in the United States to learn first-hand the experiences of their compatriots north of the border and seek mechanisms to help protect them and aid in their development. Three members of the Commission on Migrant Affairs of the National Conference of Mexican Governors, or Conago, began here Thursday a tour that will also take them to Chicago, New York and Dallas.

During their visit, the politicians will meet with community leaders and Mexican consuls to exchange ideas and explore ways to increase the wellbeing of their countrymen living in El Norte. "We want to express Conago's concern over the lack of advances toward a comprehensive and inclusive immigration-reform policy that avoids persecutory actions," Guanajuato Gov. Juan Manuel Oliva Ramirez told a press conference.

Despite support from most Democrats and the Bush administration, a bill that would have put many of the millions of illegal immigrants on a path toward citizenship while also bolstering border security was checkmated earlier this summer in the U.S. Senate.

Proponents of the legislation were unable to sway Republican lawmakers who contended that the proposal amounted to another "amnesty" for undocumented immigrants, would encourage more illegal migration and not do enough to secure the frontier.

Speaking on behalf of all the visiting Mexican governors, Oliva Ramirez said he proposes that the United States adopt "a reciprocally beneficial policy based on respect." Amalia Garcia Medina, the governor of Zacatecas, said that roughly half of all those with roots in her state are now living in the United States. "For me it's essential to strengthen that link with Mexicans who generate wealth for the United States and who also contribute so much to their own country," referring to the remittances sent home by emigrants.

Ruben Beltran, Mexico's consul general in Los Angeles, told Efe that there are about 24 million people of Mexican descent in the United States. "We estimate there are around 12 million people born in Mexico who live in the United States and probably half of them, some 6 million, are undocumented," Beltran said.

According to figures from Mexico's central bank, Mexican emigrants in 2006 sent home $23.05 billion in remittances, up 15.1 percent from the previous year. But according to that institution, remittances in the second quarter of 2007 were down 1.6 percent relative to the same period last year.

The reasons for that decrease are the difficulty Mexicans have had finding work and the uncertainty regarding their immigration status.

"The problem here (with the immigrant workers) is not how the United States is going to get rid of a problem, but rather how all of us, with a bi-national vision, can generate synergies that allow us to move forward," said Colima Gov. Jesus Silverio Cavazos. Silverio Cavazos said that with the help of the United States, Mexico could create more jobs and the annual emigration of some 500,000 Mexicans would be reduced. "The different states are making efforts to generate the conditions to create jobs," Guanajuato's Oliva Ramirez said, adding that 45,000 jobs must be created annually in his state alone to keep people from emigrating. EFE

http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=74193