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Fox meets with business leaders as immigration bill advances
By Curt Woodward, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, May 25, 2006 | No comments posted.
SEATTLE - Mexican President Vicente Fox, continuing a push to strengthen ties with U.S. companies, planned a meeting today with heavyweight business leaders as an immigration reform bill aimed squarely at Mexico's northern border advanced in the Senate.
Among the guests expected at the breakfast with Fox were officials from Microsoft and Starbucks, along with CEOs from Boeing, Alaska Airlines and Costco.
The meeting is part of Fox's three-state swing through the Western United States - he also visited Utah and planned to finish in California - amid an extended election-year debate about illegal immigration.
In a speech to dinner guests Wednesday night, Fox outlined a five-point position on immigration, saying Mexico does not support undocumented migration and must expand economic growth so that migration is “(no) longer a necessity, but a free will decision.”
Fox's speech came as the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to limit debate on election-year immigration legislation. The maneuver cleared the way for final passage later this week of a bill that calls for tougher border security as well as an eventual chance at citizenship for millions of men and women in this country illegally.
Such a path to citizenship is supported by Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat, who also pointed out the need for a robust guest worker program to make agriculture in Washington and elsewhere viable.
“This great state and this great nation (were) built by those immigrants and continue to be built by immigrants today,” Gregoire said Wednesday.
Fox began his stop in Washington by touring an orchard in the agriculture-rich Yakima Valley, telling hundreds of farmworkers that he believes a solution on immigration is near.
“The people came to this land with sacrifice, many times risking their lives,” Fox said in Spanish. “It's clear the purpose is to reach an agreement that can give security, that can give legality, that can give flow to the migrant people. I think we are closer to the end of this route. This is a shared responsibility, the immigration reform.”
Gregoire specifically pressed Fox to stop in Eastern Washington, where thousands of Hispanic workers - many of them illegal immigrants - labor in the agriculture industry, planting and harvesting crops and packing and processing food.
Agriculture is the state's top industry. As a result, Hispanics account for up to 90 percent of the population in some farm communities.
Fox was greeted at Boeing Field in Seattle by about 30 well-wishers, at one point grabbing a microphone from a mariachi band and thanking the crowd for being there. He ended the impromptu speech with “Gracias, felicidades, viva Mexico!” to cheers from the crowd.
Protesters made sure Fox had a less welcome arrival in downtown Seattle. Before his dinner with Gregoire, about 50 camped out on street corners, loudly denouncing Fox's ties with President Bush and liberalized trade policies while offering support to Zapatista rebels.
Fox also was to visit a community health center Thursday and have lunch with other business groups. He then heads to California to address lawmakers and meet with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Among the guests expected at the breakfast with Fox were officials from Microsoft and Starbucks, along with CEOs from Boeing, Alaska Airlines and Costco.
The meeting is part of Fox's three-state swing through the Western United States - he also visited Utah and planned to finish in California - amid an extended election-year debate about illegal immigration.
In a speech to dinner guests Wednesday night, Fox outlined a five-point position on immigration, saying Mexico does not support undocumented migration and must expand economic growth so that migration is “(no) longer a necessity, but a free will decision.”
Fox's speech came as the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to limit debate on election-year immigration legislation. The maneuver cleared the way for final passage later this week of a bill that calls for tougher border security as well as an eventual chance at citizenship for millions of men and women in this country illegally.
Such a path to citizenship is supported by Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat, who also pointed out the need for a robust guest worker program to make agriculture in Washington and elsewhere viable.
“This great state and this great nation (were) built by those immigrants and continue to be built by immigrants today,” Gregoire said Wednesday.
Fox began his stop in Washington by touring an orchard in the agriculture-rich Yakima Valley, telling hundreds of farmworkers that he believes a solution on immigration is near.
“The people came to this land with sacrifice, many times risking their lives,” Fox said in Spanish. “It's clear the purpose is to reach an agreement that can give security, that can give legality, that can give flow to the migrant people. I think we are closer to the end of this route. This is a shared responsibility, the immigration reform.”
Gregoire specifically pressed Fox to stop in Eastern Washington, where thousands of Hispanic workers - many of them illegal immigrants - labor in the agriculture industry, planting and harvesting crops and packing and processing food.
Agriculture is the state's top industry. As a result, Hispanics account for up to 90 percent of the population in some farm communities.
Fox was greeted at Boeing Field in Seattle by about 30 well-wishers, at one point grabbing a microphone from a mariachi band and thanking the crowd for being there. He ended the impromptu speech with “Gracias, felicidades, viva Mexico!” to cheers from the crowd.
Protesters made sure Fox had a less welcome arrival in downtown Seattle. Before his dinner with Gregoire, about 50 camped out on street corners, loudly denouncing Fox's ties with President Bush and liberalized trade policies while offering support to Zapatista rebels.
Fox also was to visit a community health center Thursday and have lunch with other business groups. He then heads to California to address lawmakers and meet with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
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