Toolsview all

David Stanley Ford

Mexico's ex-president advocates law reform
Mexico's ex-president advocates law reform

By Don Mecoy    Comments Comment on this article4
Published: February 6, 2008

Oklahoma and other states have launched immigration legislation because Congress has failed to act, former Mexico President Vicente Fox said Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

More Info


John Allison, left, protests with others against NAFTA and the North American Union in front of the Civic Center where former Mexican President Vicente Fox spoke. BY PAUL B. SOUTHERLAND, THE OKLAHOMAN
Advertisement

Fox, speaking at the Civic Center Music Hall, said the United States must develop a sensible national immigration policy.

"At the very end, it's a federal issue so in the end it should be satisfied by the federal government, by the U.S. Congress,” Fox said. "Immigration is an asset to every nation. It's an asset to the United States, no doubt. What we need to do is take advantage of that asset by bringing order to it, and by bringing legality to it.”

Oklahoma lawmakers last year adopted HB 1804, which has been called the toughest immigration statute in the nation.

Fox, 65, president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006, spoke at an Executive Management Briefing sponsored by Oklahoma State University's William S. Spears School of Business. Fox, before his political career, was head of Coca-Cola Latin America.

Fox said he favors a plan similar to a bill authored by Sens. John McCain and Ted Kennedy in 2005 that would have provided a path to legal citizenship for many of the millions of illegal immigrants in the United States. The bill, which never came to a floor vote, also would have provided funding for increased border security.

A reasonable temporary guest worker program would solve many problems by providing documented foreign workers who need good wages for the American economy, Fox said. Fox said most Mexican immigrants don't want to become American citizens; they want to help their family and then return to their homeland.

"They like better tacos, tortillas and chilies than hot dogs or hamburgers,” he said.

The United States should join its economic might with its neighbors, Mexico and Canada, to meet the challenges of the world marketplace, Fox said.

"This century will be the century of Latin America,” said Fox, who noted that Mexico's economy is forecast to be the world's fifth-largest by 2040.

About a dozen protesters from Oklahomans for Sovereignty and Free Enterprise demonstrated outside the Civic Center to voice their opposition to a closer economic relationship between the United States and Mexico.

"I don't want a North American union established,” protester Robert Forrester said. "That's why I'm here.”

Fox, whose American-born grandfather emigrated from Ohio to Mexico to find his "American dream,” said only dictatorial governments build structures to keep people in or out such as the wall that has been proposed to control illegal immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border.

"I'm totally opposed to building a wall. That's the worst of the answers to a problem that has to be dealt with among different nations,” Fox said. "The threat to the United States is not immigration. ... The threat to the United States is isolation by building a wall.”

Fox suggested support for building a wall to stop illegal immigration might arise from "understandable” fears born in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"I am not for disorder. I am not for walls,” he said. "I am for wisdom.”

In response to questions from the audience of about 500, Fox prompted applause when he said that the United States should withdraw its troops from Iraq "as soon as possible.” Fox opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Fox, an admitted fan of President Bush, said the next U.S. president will have to rebuild relationships among nations.

"The United States has lost, I'm sorry to say, a lot of respect,” he said.

He also drew laughter and applause when, responding to a hypothetical question about northern Mexico states possibly joining the United States, he suggested that his country instead might re-annex Texas.

Toolsview all

David Stanley Ford





Need Affordable Health Care?
Get Affordable Health Insurance Quotes Online - Plans from $30 / Month
USInsuranceOnline.com

Obama Wants You to Return to School
Get Your Degree Now. Financial Aid & Scholarships are available.
www.classesusa.com


Leave a Comment

Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online

Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.


Log in below or sign up (it's free).





Why doesn't Vincente Fox take his own advice and get Mexico to help with the damn problem instead of causing it. He wants our Government to be responsible when Mexico encourages there own people to break the law.

And on another note: Another pro-illegal story written by another Liberal at News 9. Heaven forbid they write one positive story about 1804. I got a Journalism degree but got out of the Field. I was simply tired of being around weak minded people.

How dare Mr. Fox come into our state and try and dictate how we should handle a problem he refused to stop.
Kent, Glendale - Feb 13, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Report as inappropriate or
Ignore Kent
legal immigration is a good thing, would be nice to enforce our laws like you do yours, which is to enforce them, the Federal Govt has good laws they just dont enforce them, a great idea is for you to take of your citizens instead of trying to send them all over here, another good idea would be for you to keep your nose out of the US policies, I just wish our officials would tell you the same, and if you didn't like it you could go home and stay there, and take all the illegals home with you and you care for them and not the American taxpayer
James, Myrtle Beach - Feb 8, 2008 at 4:49 am
Fox wants to export much of his poorest population to the US.He needs to implement reforms in Mexico instead of using the US as a dumping ground.Seal the border.NAFTA has been terrible.
charles, tulsa - Feb 6, 2008 at 11:48 am
The Mexican president says illegal aliens are a federal issue. Meanwhile back in the states illegals are committing crimes and bankrupting the states. Some federal issue indeed...
Rufus, spencer - Feb 6, 2008 at 10:02 am

    News Photo Galleriesview all