• The bodies of three would-be Mexican immigrants were found last week in a standing freight car along the Southwest U.S. border, bringing the year’s death toll to 120.

• The Fox and Bush administrations vow to work together to save lives but have conflicting agendas for a possible method for future regularized immigration.

• With issues of security losing precedence, Fox wants to renew discussions that foundered after September 11.

• Will the Bush administration recognize that tightened security and massive technologies may not be the most fruitful approach to creating a safe and effective border?

 

Last Tuesday, the bodies of three Mexican immigrants, two men and a 16-year old boy, were found in a parked freight car east of Houston, bringing the year’s death toll along the U.S.-Mexico border to 120. At least one of the three survivors of this tragedy was able to seek help from family members living in Austin and aid authorities in locating the victims’ bodies. The six individuals appear to have illegally crossed the border last Friday near Del Rio, Texas, by jumping onto a temporarily stopped freight train and locking themselves inside. While the survivors managed to escape by fastening their clothing together as rope in order to climb from the stifling car, they were forced to leave their dying friends and family members behind. The above incident and last month’s discovery of 19 bodies in a truck in Victoria, Texas are only the most recent cases in a string of ghastly immigrant deaths that continue taking their toll along the U.S.-Mexico border. The deaths are a persistent and tangible reminder of the Bush administration’s relative neglect of the immigration issue.

 

Mexican Immigration and the United States

Now composing 13 percent of the total population, Hispanics have become the largest minority in the United States. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, over 35 million individuals identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino. Of those individuals, approximately two-thirds identified themselves as Mexican. From 2000 to 2001, the Hispanic population of the U.S. grew four times faster than the general population, and as it continues to expand, it is diffusing throughout the country. Over 50 percent of U.S. metropolitan areas are now experiencing an upsurge of growth in their once relatively small enclaves of Hispanic population. A 2002 report by the Washington-based Pew Hispanic Center indicated that Atlanta, for example, saw a 995 percent increase in its Hispanic population. Similarly, topping the list for growth are Charlotte, North Carolina, with a 930 percent increase and Sarasota, Florida, with a 538 percent increase.

As the Hispanic population in the United States grows at an explosive rate, the community becomes more of a player in the U.S. political process. The number of registered Hispanic voters has increased from 2.5 million in 1972 to 7.6 million in 2000, making their presence of growing importance. More than 12 million U.S.-born Hispanics are under the age of 18, and 60 percent of the total Hispanic population remains ineligible to vote. As the migration trend continues, and Hispanics currently in the U.S. come of age, the community’s potential votes and influence will continue to grow.

The 1,940-mile border between the United States and Mexico is one of the most turbulent crossing points in the world, with approximately 10,000 illegal aliens crossing each day and almost 3 million every year. Of those individuals making the attempt, about one-third are apprehended and a small number die during their efforts. Since the border section between Mexico and California has the most stringent security and the largest number of personnel, the majority of Mexican migrants choose to travel through the Arizona desert. Officials along the Arizona border report deaths nearly every day and admit that others go unreported and unnoticed. According to a report by Mexican consulates, the border-wide death toll from 2002 was reported at 371. As this year’s body count reaches the same number from this point last year, one can only expect approximately the same total for 2003.

The typical Mexican worker earns about one-tenth that of an American counterpart, providing a powerful economic incentive to attempt the illegal passage. Those who have managed to enter the U.S. represent an important stimulant to Mexico’s economy. Each year illegal aliens earn about $60 billion in the U.S., making remittances from Mexicans in the U.S. one of their homeland’s largest streams of revenue. As long as there is hope for a better life across the border, Mexican citizens will continue to brave the Arizona desert. As so many make the often perilous journey in search of a job in the U.S., some small Mexican towns have been left completely devoid of adult males. With migration occurring at such a staggering rate, some mechanism must be set in place to regulate the movement.

 

The Contradicting Approaches of Bush and Fox

News of the latest freight train tragedy comes at a critical time, as Mexican President Vicente Fox is once again trying to catch the attention of the Bush administration for action on a new immigration policy, and thereby deflecting popular awareness of his electorate from his failure to create new jobs in Mexico’s sluggish economy. While the two leaders have, in the past, seen themselves as partners and friends, actions taken by the Bush administration continue to conflict what Fox sees as the future of Mexican-U.S. relations.

In a common effort to save lives, U.S. officials, with the cooperation of Mexico, have decided to implement Operation Desert Safeguard, adding 150 Border Patrol agents to the area along Arizona’s southern border. They will strengthen border security, increase staff, and add helicopter and air surveillance over this area known as the “Corridor of Death” in order to supply help when needed, as they apprehend those trying to make the passage to the U.S. Although this project was designed as a joint effort to decrease the death toll and provide safety measures, most Mexican politicians take the position that they are tired of having to view their compatriots as criminals and as a threat to U.S. security. They argue that instead of tightening the border, both governments should be looking to regularize and stipulate the flow of an agreed upon number of workers across the border. Unfortunately, while the U.S. sees the rising death toll mainly as an issue for law enforcement, Mexico views the problem from a political perspective that emphasizes the U.S. failure to decriminalize migrant labor coming from the country.

The immigration question invites a comparison with current policy on Cuban immigration into the United States. The U.S. and Cuba came to an agreement that facilitated legal migration by allowing 20,000 visas per year to be allotted to future Cuban migrants through a lottery system. Any Cuban who physically lands in the United States is eligible to begin the process leading to citizenship. Why has the U.S. successfully regulated Cuban immigration and yet refused to make a similar deal with Mexico?

As the backbone of many industries depending on cheap labor in the U.S., Mexican immigrants are undeniably a crucial component of the U.S. labor force. With both the U.S. and Mexico’s interests in mind, Fox has proposed a “sector-by-sector” approach to work visas that would begin with granting priority to bilingual teachers and nurses to fill the current short supply of professionals in those fields in the United States. In the past two years, Mexico has also attempted to cooperate with Washington’s security efforts and has taken a number of steps to strengthen border security and bolster anti-terror precautions. Now Fox needs Bush to reciprocate by recognizing that Mexican immigrants are hard workers who play an important role in the economic success of the United States. Mexican politicians are looking for Washington to resume talks that would involve recognition of Mexico as a unique case for U.S. immigration policy. Its geographical location alone should afford it at least the same attention as Cuba.

It has been almost two years since September 11 and with the war in Iraq at a close, Fox continues to hope and anticipate that the Bush administration will reintroduce Mexican immigration onto its agenda. However, Washington still appears to be only interested in tightening security as a method of regulation. Despite Mexican hopes at the time, today’s atmosphere remains profoundly different from the optimism of only two years ago.

 

The Discussion Before September 11

When both leaders took office, they vowed to create a more “safe and orderly” flow of Mexican workers to the United States. Having made the issue a priority in his presidential campaign, Fox initiated his term by dedicating himself to the creation of an enlightened immigration program. In early September 2001, he was hopeful for an effective immigration agreement between Mexico and the United States by the end of the year. There was a great deal of optimism regarding the creation of a temporary guest-worker program and a possible plan to legalize several million undocumented Mexicans living and working in the United States. Fox’s national security advisor at the time, Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, confirmed that “President Bush has made it clear, privately and publicly, he’s committed to this.” In Washington, then-press secretary Ari Fleischer said that Bush was determined to work with the Mexican government and improve "what has been a disorderly process" along the border.

These discussions, which in retrospect can be seen as the golden moments of Mexican-American relations, were sidelined a week later. The attacks on September 11 drastically shifted the focus of the Bush administration to the Middle East, terrorism, and issues of national security. The relationship between Mexico and the United States further deteriorated following Mexico’s opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, after which Washington exacted vengeance on Mexico’s perceived treachery by lowering the curtain on any progress towards an immigration agreement.

 

Mexican-Americans, Cuban-Americans and U.S. Policymaking

The drastic discrepancy between the Bush administration’s harsh treatment of Mexican immigrants and its whole-hearted acceptance of Cuban immigrants can be clearly traced to the respective influence of these communities in the United States. Wealthy and educated right-wing Cuban émigrés in the United States have had an extraordinary influence over U.S. policy towards Cuba. Regardless of their citizenship status, this relatively small group of Latinos has come to play a crucial role in Florida politics, creating a political and financial mechanism through which to shape U.S. policy. Since emigrating from Cuba, they have made major financial contributions to state and local politicians who share their anti-Castro views, and aid in influencing U.S. policy toward the island.

The Mexican community in this country, while more than 15 times larger than that of Cubans, has not been nearly as influential in Washington. Unlike the situation with Cuba, Mexico has not exported its wealthy classes to the U.S. On the contrary, less-educated and unemployed Mexicans come to the United States in search of a better life. According to Glenn Spencer, president of Voices of Citizens Together, a California-based non-profit group, the huge stream of illegal immigrants from Mexico to the United States are “importing poverty” and creating an ethnic community that is more loyal to Mexico than to the United States. While their numbers should give them significant political clout, their lack of funds and influence has failed to open Washington’s eyes and ears to this demographically compelling new factor in America’s political life.

 

How Many Lives Will Be Lost?

Many believed the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants last month would have generated the necessary pressure on Washington—even if only on humanitarian grounds--to move to regularize the labor relationship between the two countries. Although the most horrific smuggling case in recent U.S. history, there may have been no reason to assume that this one tragedy would be enough to make a difference. Just last fall, grain elevator workers in Iowa found the mummified remains of 11 Mexican immigrants, and similar cases are not as rare as one would hope.

Now with the news of three more deaths only a few weeks after the tragedy in Victoria, Texas, it has become painfully obvious that the Bush administration is underestimating the urgency for progress on this issue. By tightening the control of the border, it is possible that both Mexican and U.S. officials will be able to reach their common aspiration of eliminating the growing number of deaths on the border. But progress on this front still sidesteps the more important question of legalization and regulation of Mexican immigration. While some understand that the United States must enforce immigration law and control its borders, others believe that the stricter policies have simply cut off the safest routes and driven Mexicans and other Latin Americans, intent on entering the U.S., to find alternate and invariably more dangerous travel options.

In fact, according to México Solidarity, a coalition of over 80 organizations fighting for human rights, economic justice, and democracy in the United States and Mexico, migrant deaths have increased by 500 percent along the U.S.-Mexico border since 1994. That is the year that NAFTA coincided with “Operation Gatekeeper”, a program that blocked the traditional border routes into California. The question remains as to how many lives must be lost before the U.S. looks for another method of regulating Mexican immigration. Fox asserts that he will continue to press Washington until some program has been agreed upon for a safe and controlled flow of Mexican migrants into the United States. Surely, as his advisors ask, if such a formula works for Cuba, why not Mexico?

 

 

This analysis was prepared by Laura Orrico, research associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs. Issued 10 June 2003

The Council on Hemispheric Affairs, founded in 1975, is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, tax-exempt research and information organization. It has been described on the Senate floor as being “one of the nation’s most respected bodies of scholars and policy makers.” For more information, please see our web page at www.coha.org; or contact our Washington offices by phone (202) 216-9261, fax (202) 223-6035, or email coha@coha.org