MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mexican official calls US Migrant Bill “lame and stupid”

Mexican Foreign Affairs minister Luiz Ernesto Derbez said that the Migrant Bill passed by the United States House of Representatives is “lame” since it ignores the contribution of millions of Mexicans, but also “stupid” for pretending that a wall will solve the migratory challenge.

Mr. Derbez was quoted by a Mexico City broadcasting station following President Vicente Fox's description of the bill, approved last week in the Lower House, as a "shameful" setback in bilateral relations.

"Under all circumstances it's a lame bill, it's missing all the migratory substance; and stupid believing that frontier barriers or an increase in police activity will solve the problem", underlined Mr. Derbez.

However the Mexican official said he was hopeful the bill would not be approved by the US Senate, a body which does not address issues so lightly or change opinion as often as happens with the House of Representatives.

"The big battle will take place in the US Senate, where there are more reasonable people", stressed Mr. Derbez.

The House of Representatives approved the bill by 239 to 182 votes. The bill among other things contemplates building a wall along the Mexican border with the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

It also stipulates for the first time that military personnel and policemen can support border patrols in combating illegal migration, plus ensuring that all of US companies subscribe to a verification program to detect undocumented labour.

Private organizations in the US estimate that anywhere between nine and fifteen million Mexicans, mostly illegal migrants, work in United States.

Remittances from Mexicans working in the United States, plus tourism and oil are among the country's three main income sources.

President George Bush praised representatives for having passed the bill and called on Senators for a quick approval. The bill is scheduled to be debated in the Senate next February but Republicans are divided on the issue.

Four strong US Hispanic organizations sent Friday a letter to President Bush warning that the bill was "excessively harmful" for families, companies and communities both American citizens and immigrants, and anticipated devastating effects.

"Among the many concerning provisions figures turning into criminals 11 million undocumented workers", pointed out the letter which was signed by the League of United Latin American Citizens; Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund; National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and the National Council of La Raza.