BILL PUTS MEXICO ON U.S. WELFARE ROLLS
Bob Ward

May 31 - 2007 - The immigration bill, crafted in secret and sprung on the Senate days before a scheduled recess, has been criticized for amounting to amnesty, but, in fact, amnesty is just the beginning of what’s wrong with this bill.

Christine Romans, a CNN correspondent, reports on Section 413 of the bill, a much-neglected provision which involves the U.S. deeply -- and expensively -- in the domestic affairs of the Mexican government. Appearing on the Lou Dobbs show, Romans noted that Section 413 of the bill commits the U.S. to helping to provide “financial services to Mexico's poor and under-served populations.” This includes supporting Mexico’s education and job training programs.

George Grayson of the College of William and Mary, who was also appearing on Dobbs’ show observed that Mexico spends very little on health care, education or job training and suggests this legislation is an attempt to force U.S. taxpayers to pay for welfare programs that should be the responsibility of the Mexican government.

A further involvement by the U.S. in Mexican affairs is called for in the part of Section 413 that creates a “partnership” with Mexico to provide insurance for Mexican temporary workers and to return injured workers to Mexico for long-term treatment. It will also, according to Romans, mount a “coordinated effort to help Mexico improve prenatal, trauma and emergency care in border areas.”

It has been reported that money sent home by Mexicans working illegally in the U.S. is second only to oil as a source of income for Mexico. In Section 413 of the bill, the Congress notes that in 2004 these remittances to Mexico amounted to $17 billion. The bill commits the U.S. to taking steps to reduce the cost of sending this money to Mexico.

Section 413, Romans relates, also calls on the U.S. and Mexico to “accelerate the implementation of the Partnership for Prosperity, a program mounted jointly by the President of the United States and the President of Mexico in 2001. Its purpose is to improve the “social and economic standards” of Mexicans. Specifically, it is intended to increase access for financial services including credit unions for poor Mexicans; help Mexico work out legal problems in issuing land titles so Mexican citizens can use their assets to procure capital; and assist Mexico in establishing an effective rural lending system for small- and medium-sized farmers.

The immigration bill currently under consideration does a lot to encourage Mexicans to come to the United States, legally or otherwise. It does nearly as much to involve the U.S. in the governance of Mexico. The net effect of these two approaches comes close to making Mexico the 51st state – except that Mexicans don’t pay taxes to the U.S. government or any state government. On the contrary, as the Congress noted in its “findings,” Mexico is enriched by close to $17 billion a year from illegals working in the U.S., a figure that will surely increase substantially if the bill passes making emigration to the U.S. easier and less risky.

The financial benefit to Mexico would be further enhanced by U.S. support for the various projects of the Mexican government as detailed in the bill.