Mexicans say changing NAFTA may force them to move to U.S.

[GaryC 7]

By Franco Ordonez, McClatchy Newspapers Mon Mar 3, 6:17 PM ET

MEXICO CITY — Jesus Velasquez doesn't want to move to the United States . He fears, however, that he may have to if he loses his job selling avocados. Velasquez, 36, says he and his family have benefited from the North American Free Trade Agreement. For him, the alternative is to immigrate to the United States .

"The trade act is good because we have jobs," he said Sunday, speaking loudly over the clamor of hundreds of workers hauling fruits and vegetables off rumbling trucks. "If there are no jobs, more people are going to go to the U.S. I have so many friends who can't find jobs and leave."

As voters in Ohio , Texas , Rhode Island and Vermont prepare to go to the polls Tuesday, some workers and distributors at this 800-acre food market, one of the biggest in the world, are expressing concern about presidential candidates Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's threats to pull out of NAFTA unless it's renegotiated.

NAFTA is unpopular in Ohio , a key battleground state for Clinton and Obama, where thousands of manufacturing workers have lost jobs.

Several vendors at the Central de Abasto food market said NAFTA isn't perfect. Prices on many products have risen, and many corn farmers said they've been run out of business because of the influx of cheaper American grown corn. But overall, they say, NAFTA has been good for the country, and they worry what changes the U.S. would seek should it return to the negotiating table with Mexico and Canada .

"People are worried," said Gerardo Peralta , 55, who sells rice, nuts and condiments. "If the U.S. tries to renegotiate, they are going to do what's best for them. That could be bad for Mexico ."

Some Mexican leaders sought to downplay the candidates' statements as political rhetoric and "campaign talk."

Sen. Ricardo Garcia Cervantes said that any renegotiation of NAFTA would be based on the issues and not on the "heated statements" made by the American political candidates in hopes of gaining their party's nomination.

"In this electoral environment, one that we have to be very attentive to, we also have to be aware that many of these declarations by the Democratic candidates and Republicans are made for gaining votes," Garcia Cervantes , chairman of the Mexican Foreign Relations Commission for North America , said in a statement.

Mexico has gained because of NAFTA, according to Mexican Economy Secretary Eduardo Soto . He told a gathering last week of U.S., Canadian, and Mexican representatives that the Mexican economy has grown 51 percent because of NAFTA, that nearly 5 million jobs have been generated and that exports to the U.S. and Canada have multiplied five times.

"As representatives of the Mexican government, we do not want to insert ourselves into the U.S. political campaigns," he said. "However, we are convinced that what North America needs is more integration and not less integration. North America needs to look to the future and not return to the past."

Avocados have flourished under NAFTA, but not everyone is in favor of the trade agreement. Last month, hundreds of thousands of farmers clogged Mexico City streets with tractors to protest lifting corn tariffs under the free-trade agreement.

Corn farmers said the entry of cheap imported corn has undermined their profits, and towns are emptying because thousands of small farms have gone out of business. Many head to the U.S. illegally looking for better pay.

"It's not that we're against free trade," said Victor Suarez , the executive director of ANEC, a farmers' coalition, who helped organize the Mexico City rally. "We're in favor of free trade that is balanced— not one that is for corporations and monopolies. We want free trade that is fair for all parties involved."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20080303...clatchy/2867869

[Heracles 417]

For him, the alternative is to immigrate to the United States .

I really like this part. How he feels he can simply choose whether and whenever 'he' wants to migrate to the US.

[GaryC 7]

For him, the alternative is to immigrate to the United States .

I really like this part. How he feels he can simply choose whether and whenever 'he' wants to migrate to the US.

I think it's funny because Steven says NAFTA is one of the reasons for our illegal problem.

[Heracles 417]

For him, the alternative is to immigrate to the United States .

I really like this part. How he feels he can simply choose whether and whenever 'he' wants to migrate to the US.

I think it's funny because Steven says NAFTA is one of the reasons for our illegal problem.

yes. I remember him saying that we have to "fix" NAFTA in order to stop illegal immigration. Funny to hear someone from Mexico say that 'NAFTA' is what is keeping him in Mexico and employed..

I also find it funny how Hillary and Obama talk about Nafta as being the root of all evil, in terms of manufacturing, when in reality most jobs lost have gone to China and India. Two countries which have absolutely nothing to do with NAFTA. People also forget the US has similar free trade agreements with a lot of other countries.

[Ban Hammer 13,342]

For him, the alternative is to immigrate to the United States .

I really like this part. How he feels he can simply choose whether and whenever 'he' wants to migrate to the US.

I think it's funny because Steven says NAFTA is one of the reasons for our illegal problem.

[DeadPoolX 9]

So... let me get this straight. If we change or eliminate NAFTA, that "may" force Mexicans (illegal or not) to come over here to the United States? How does this change the situation at all? The last time I checked, we were been flooded anyway.

[Ban Hammer 13,342]

So... let me get this straight. If we change or eliminate NAFTA, that "may" force Mexicans (illegal or not) to come over here to the United States? How does this change the situation at all? The last time I checked, we were been flooded anyway.

some are just looking for an excuse to jump the border.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

oh noez, more brown people

[HAL 9000 96]

Yes they're looking for excuses.

[GaryC 7]

Yes they're looking for excuses.

They don't need an excuse. They do whatever they damn well please. It's the illegal enablers that need the excuse.

[HAL 9000 96]

Now now Gary... if they have a legal way of doing things they won't need to spend so much cash in getting here. Those fomenting the illegal crisis are the ones that profit from it and as far as I know there are laws in place and coming into practice that are handling them to a certain point.

Too bad there's no real avenue for avocado workers to come here and farm the jobs most Americans don't want to do at the current labor rate. Maybe we can all fight for higher wages so that legals displace legals on our side of the border. Not the easiest arguement to side on is it?

[GaryC 7]

Now now Gary... if they have a legal way of doing things they won't need to spend so much cash in getting here. Those fomenting the illegal crisis are the ones that profit from it and as far as I know there are laws in place and coming into practice that are handling them to a certain point.

Too bad there's no real avenue for avocado workers to come here and farm the jobs most Americans don't want to do at the current labor rate. Maybe we can all fight for higher wages so that legals displace legals on our side of the border. Not the easiest arguement to side on is it?

I am all for a legal way for them to come over. If every migrant farm worker had a legal visa in his pocket then as far as I am concerned they are welcome. I am also in favor of paying our own people enough to make it worth their while to do the work. I strongly object to the business's that pay an illegal $1.50/hr and encourage this mess to start with. I am for enforcement. That means deporting illegals when they are found and putting the business owners that hire them in jail. I would also be in favor of a guest worker program provided that no one that is already here illegally gets one without first going home to apply for it. No more amnesty.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Now now Gary... if they have a legal way of doing things they won't need to spend so much cash in getting here. Those fomenting the illegal crisis are the ones that profit from it and as far as I know there are laws in place and coming into practice that are handling them to a certain point.

Too bad there's no real avenue for avocado workers to come here and farm the jobs most Americans don't want to do at the current labor rate. Maybe we can all fight for higher wages so that legals displace legals on our side of the border. Not the easiest arguement to side on is it?

I actually do have an idea on how to turn the illegals into legal immigrants, reduce our illegal population and make the U.S. a less desirable place for illegals to stop without doing anything extremely drastic. In the end, it would benefit the United States.

[Heracles 417]

I actually do have an idea on how to turn the illegals into legal immigrants, reduce our illegal population and make the U.S. a less desirable place for illegals to stop without doing anything extremely drastic. In the end, it would benefit the United States.

Here is a start. No need to reinvent the wheel when somebody else has a great plan to use..

Fines for hiring illegal workers

New legislation which will punish businesses caught employing illegal foreign workers has come into force.

If employers are found to have knowingly hired illegal workers they could incur an unlimited fine and be sent to prison for up to two years.

The fines are part of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act.

Small businesses have criticised the new legislation, because they fear it will require employers to act as "immigration officers".

Bosses caught employing illegal workers could face a £10,000 on the spot fine. Previously the maximum was £5,000.

The Home Office said the new civil penalties for employers who unknowingly hire illegal workers would allow it to save criminal prosecution for more serious cases.

The measures sit along side other changes being made as part of the biggest immigration shake-up for 40 years.

It is totally unfair to expect small business owners to act as immigration officers Alan Tyrrell, Federation of Small Businesses

The UK will introduce an Australian-style points system that will allow the government to pinpoint immigrants with skills that will benefit the UK economy.

It will also make ID cards compulsory for foreign nationals.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said the new rules imposed unrealistic expectations and draconian fines on employers.

"It is totally unfair to expect small business owners to act as immigration officers," said Alan Tyrrell, FSB employment chairman.

The FSB said the act requires small businesses to understand and verify up to 13 different forms of identification when employing foreign workers.

When the new measures were announced in November, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the penalties were "a more effective way of dealing with employers who use slipshod or exploitative recruitment methods".

Families could also be affected by the changes to the law if they, for example, employ a nanny who turns out to be an illegal worker, said Kerry Garcia, an employment and immigration specialist at law firm Stevens and Bolton.

"There is a move toward making employers bear some of the burden on immigration and some employers resent this," said Ms Garcia.

She encouraged employers to check the documents of all new workers and make sure they have the right to work in the UK.

The UK's latest official annual immigration statistics showed record levels of people arriving in the UK and record numbers leaving.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics said 591,000 people migrated to the UK in 2006 while some 400,000 people moved overseas.