AVWatch: Tony Villar on Elvira Arellano; Mexico complains about consular protocol

Elliot Spagat of the Associated Press offers a two-fer. First up, former MEChA leader and current Hillary Clinton campaign co-chair and Los Angeles mayor Tony Villar (aka Antonio Villaragosa, Mayor Reconquista) has thoughts on the Elvira Arellano matter:

"Until we resolve the status of the estimated 12 million undocumented people living and working in the United States by giving them some meaningful pathway to citizenship, families will continue to be torn apart."

Not quite as fiery as I would have liked; unfortunately he's at least smart enough to realize how much of a liability explicitly supporting her would be.

And, while we're on the topic, Mexico is complaining about a possible violation of consular protocol (irony noted):

Arellano asked to speak with Mexican officials in Los Angeles but was denied, [Luis Cabrera, Mexico's general consul in San Diego] said. She was not given access until hours later, at San Diego's Otay Mesa immigration detention center.

Mexico's Foreign Relations Department issued a statement saying that denying Arellano access to the consulate may have violated "bilateral arrangements established for a safe and orderly repatriation and to allow for immediate consulate access when the defense requests it."

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was unaware of any request that Arellano made to speak with Mexican officials in Los Angeles, and Arellano was given extensive access in San Diego Sunday night, agency spokeswoman Lauren Mack said.

Immigration2007b · Tue, 08/21/2007 - 08:00 · · Importance: 1