I'm willing to bet this is in response to his SPP meeting. According the press conference in August '09 Obama had with Pres Calderon & PM
Harper.
Obama answered a question from a reporter about how since he's fighting so hard for health care reform, etc., etc., how "hard, if not impossible,"
would it be for him to get immigration reform passed....
"With respect to immigration reform, I continue to believe that is also in the long-term interests of the United States...And if we continue on a
path we're on, we will continue to have tensions with our Mexican neighbors; we will continue to have people crossing the borders in a way that is
dangerous for them...
"There are going to be demagogues out there who try to suggest that any form of pathway for legalization for those who are already in the United
States is unacceptable...
"But ultimately, I think the American people want fairness. And we can create a system in which you have strong border security, we have an orderly
process for people to come in, but we're also giving an opportunity for those who are already in the United States to be able to achieve a pathway to
citizenship so that they don't have to live in the shadows, and their children and their grandchildren can have a full participation in the United
States. So I'm confident we can get it done."
Mexican Pres Calderon immediately thereafter said:
"Now, in regard to migration, actually many of the people who work in the United States, who live in the shadow, live in the state or come from
Jalisco, the state. These are people who have migrated in order to build a better future for their families. All of them, or most of them, have
enormously contributed to the American society and the American economy, and it is unthinkable to see that the U.S., the main power, the main economic
power in the world, without the contribution of the Mexican laborers and workers. This is not only a goodwill statement...
"The only way to have sustained progress throughout the North American region, especially, is allowing for the natural economic processes, for
integration can happen, and this implies a
labor mobility that cannot be determined by mandate or by decree.
"This is what we have underscored with President Obama during this meeting,
to keep on invoking the protection for the Mexican laborers, whatever
their migration conditions are in the United States. And our
highest commendment to the way President Obama has tackled this migration issue
now."
www.whitehouse.gov...
So this isn't being initiated by the US government, but by the North American Union if you ask me.
(Uh-oh, I think I just got put on the WH "Watch List"
)
[edit on 10/6/2009 by willow1d]