Mexican opposition urges discussion of migration at Mexican-U.S. summit

Mexican opposition leaders on Sunday publicly appealed to Mexico's president-elect Felipe Calderon to focus on migration when he meets U.S. President George W. Bush next month.

The Bush-Calderon meeting is set to take place on Nov. 9, and will form part of Calderon's tour of the United States and Canada. The already published agenda shows the meeting will focus on trade, competitiveness and security, paying scant attention to the migration topic.

Opposition member Edmundo Ramirez Martinez, who is the Institutional Revolution Party (PRI) leader in the legislature, told media that Calderon should focus on the border wall, the militarization of the border, and the growing climate of xenophobia and anti-immigrant feeling in the United States.

"A lukewarm rejection of the border wall, as part of an agenda dominated by trade and security, would be a bad signal and a bad start for both leaders," he said.

Bush signed a homeland security bill earlier this month to give 1.2 billion U.S. dollars toward the building of a 1,200-km fence along the U.S.-Mexico border in a bid to stem the flow of illegal immigrants. The move was heavily criticized by Mexico.

"We need to go beyond diplomatic notes, to a discourse that explains that building walls does not solve migration; something Bush does not understand," Ramirez said.

He expected that Mexico's legislature would approve before the meeting a point of order insisting that migration was fundamental to Mexico and the United States.

Felipe Calderon will take power on Dec. 1.

The United States shares some 3,200 km of common border with Mexico.

Source: Xinhua