 MEXICAN PRESIDENT BACKS TWO PROGRAMS TO REDUCE IMMIGRATION TO US
Mexican President Vicente Fox is initiating two programs designed to create more jobs in Mexico and to lure Mexican immigrants back from the US. Juan Hernandez, the Mexican migrant-affairs representative, announced the programs during a speech in Orange County, California. One of the programs, the North American Development Fund, would be a non-profit effort to raise money for job creation in Mexico. With this fund, the Mexican government and private businesses would provide matching funds to donations given by Mexican immigrants in the US. A similar fund is already in place in the Mexican state of Zacatecas.
The second program, known as Chambatel, would create a job hotline where Mexican job seekers can be matched with available jobs. The hotline would focus on Mexicans in the US. According to Hernandez, the Mexican government hopes to tap into the large pool of Mexican immigrants in the US who do not intend to remain in the US permanently. They hope that by providing a job, more people will be willing to return.
Those who heard the speech were generally impressed, but also hoped that other issues would be addressed. Of particular concern are the needs of indigenous people, who have historically been left behind. They also hope that the development fund could be used in part to provide education about the dangers of crossing the US-Mexican border, which kills hundreds each year and is seen as a growing human rights issue.
| 
