UPDATE: The Senate just passed the Immigration bill. That should make things around Sacto a little more exciting.
Vicente Fox is in Sacramento this afternoon and evening. He will give a speech to a joint session of the legislature, which will appear on the CalChannel. He will also meet with legislative leaders and the governor. During yesterday’s press conference that I attended, Speaker Nunez stressed the economic connections between California and Mexico. The Speaker seemed genuinely excited about continuing the dialog between California and Mexico.
Nunez called immigration the “800 pound gorilla in the room” but stressed that he would not “challenge” the President directly, at least in public. He suggested that he would pressure Fox to put his money where his mouth is: economic reform. Nunez stressed that most of the people who illegaly enter the U.S. don’t do it out of choice, but out of necessity. They can’t afford to feed themselves. Schwarzenegger, for his part, has been brushing off suggestions that he should “stand up” to Pres. Fox about the immigration issue. I’m not really sure what the wingnuts want Fox to do. Do they want him to station his own troops at his Northern border? Would we tolerate that if the situation was reversed? I think not. What Fox can do is concentrate on improving the economic situation in Mexico such that the citizens won’t have a reason to make a run for the border.
For more on the run-up to the visit, check out John Myers’ post at Capitol Notes.
The text of the speech can be found at the California Progress Report. As for what the President actually said, well it’s unsuprisingly banal. But, he congratulates the Senate for passing a reasonable bill, and commits his country to four points:
Today historic vote is a monumental step forward but we recognize that there is more debate ahead, so I want to reiterate the commitment of my government:
1. To respect the sovereign right of the United States to enforce its laws and protect its border and its citizens.
2. To continue to expand jobs, economic growth and social opportunities so migration is no longer a necessity.
3. To develop and enforce migration laws and policy with full respect for human rights and the safety of citizens on both sides of the border and to fighting all forms of human smuggling and trafficking.
4. To adjust Mexico’s migration policy to safeguard our borders under the principle of shared responsibility.
It’s a start. And hopefully a reasonable bill will come out of the conference committee so that we can assure that North America’s immigration issues will not harm our overall relationship. Mexico is the largest trading partner of our state, and it is in our own best interest to ensure that we have solid relations with Mexico City.