April 21, 2008

Felipe Calderon to meet with IME advisory board in Dallas (+Alfredo Corchado's pro-Mexico spin)

On Tuesday, Felipe Calderon will be attending a meeting of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad/Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior advisory board to the Mexican government (www.ime.gob.mx). The board has about 125 members, some of whom are U.S. citizens, all of whom have divided loyalties, and some or most of whom have some influence on U.S. politics. One member is even an Illinois state senator, Martin Sandoval. Another is Juan Salgado of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

Others mentioned in "Mexico's President Calderon to hear immigrant leaders' concerns at Dallas conference" by Alfredo Corchado (link) include:

* Claudia Torrescano of Dallas: naturalized U.S. citizen and Univision radio host.

* Mexico City native Mario Cesar Ramírez, who runs the La Paloma taquería chain in the Dallas area. Also a U.S. citizen.

* Rene Martínez: works for the Dallas Independent School District in an unknown capacity; see this.

* Graciela Reyes Salinas: nurse in Dallas, naturalized U.S. citizen. ...She understands why some might be suspicious of her participation in IME... IME's mission, Ms. Salinas said, is aimed at providing "know-how" that "hopefully, we can stop the flow of illegal immigration to this country."

Why exactly people might be suspicious of U.S. citizens having divided loyalties and helping push Mexico's agenda inside the U.S. is, of course, not explored. What we are offered is this:

...A crackdown against illegal immigrants is roiling Texas and much of the U.S., and its scope and fury haven't been seen in this country in at least 50 years, historians have said... With about 125 members, the advisory board's influence is growing, analysts and Mexican government officials say. And that is why Mexico's president chose to visit the group's semiannual conference, which is being held outside Mexico for only the second time... With its burgeoning immigrant population, Dallas is a logical place for Mr. Calderon's visit, Mexican officials said. The Dallas area now has more Mexican-born people than Houston, placing the region just behind Chicago and Los Angeles in terms of political and economic importance for Mexico.

The article also quotes IME director Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez:

"The access of these Mexican migrants to the decision-making process in Mexico is rare, if not unprecedented, and it's growing... Sometimes we're not in total agreement with IME advisers, but the consultation between us is real, and this meeting in Dallas is a reflection of that. These are people who want to influence both sides of the border, so our relationship is far from being one-sided... Polls have consistently shown that it is only a small minority of Americans who believe that it is feasible to deport 12 million undocumented people... We want to stay close and work with those organizations because we share their concerns."

What exactly he means by "those organizations" isn't clear, but presumably he's referring to the far-left U.S. non-profits that Calderon previously indicated he wants to use to push Mexico's agenda inside the U.S.

Posted to Immigration2008a at April 21, 2008 02:58 PM