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Mexico, U.S. to Renew Migration Talks This Month
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Posted on November 15, 2001 Mexico, U.S. to Renew Migration Talks This Month MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico and the United States will resume talks on a deal for Mexican migrants this month, after the issue was put on the back burner following the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington, a senior Mexican official said on Friday. Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda told reporters during a visit to New York with Mexican President Vicente Fox (news - web sites) that officials from both governments would renew talks on migration on Nov. 20. Mexico hopes to broker a deal aimed at easing immigration controls and improving the treatment of some 3 million undocumented Mexicans living illegally in the United States. border. Some sort of guest worker program for Mexicans is also being proposed. Fox visited his U.S. counterpart, President Bush (news - web sites), in Washington in early September and the two agreed to work toward a migration deal. However, the attacks by hijacked planes on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon (news - web sites) in Washington pushed the issue of Mexican migrants into the background as Bush's government focused on retaliation. Those attacks killed more than 4,600 people. Bush, eager to court the Hispanic vote, is known to be sympathetic to the idea of improving the lot of illegal migrants from south of the border. Hundreds of Mexicans die every year of dehydration, exposure or drowning trying to cross the treacherous 2,000 mile (3,000 km) northern border in search of jobs. ``We are trying to renew this theme as well in Congress along with others,'' Castaneda said in comments faxed to Reuters from Fox's office. |