U.S.-Mexico agreement avoids immigration


By Eliza Barclay
United Press International

Washington, DC, Jul. 22 (UPI) -- The United States and Mexico have signed a declaration aimed at improving conditions for Mexicans working in the United States, but pro-immigration groups said the agreement dodged the critical issue of immigration reform.

U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez signed the accord in Washington Wednesday and reaffirmed their mutual commitment to enhance compliance with and awareness of workplace laws and regulations protecting Mexican workers in the United States.

"This administration is committed to ensuring that they are safe on the job and fully and fairly compensated for their work," said Chao. "These agreements will build on this administration's unprecedented joint outreach program with the Mexican Embassy and its consulates in the United States."

"President Vicente Fox has instructed the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs to implement concrete actions that will improve the quality of life of all Mexicans in the United States," Derbez added.

The agreement outlines new outreach strategies, including the development, translation, and dissemination of informational materials on topics of workplace laws and regulations that affect Mexican workers in the United States. DOL -- through its Wage and Hour Division and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration -- will work with the Mexican Embassy and the 45 consulates in the United States to distribute the materials.

But according to some labor and pro-immigration groups, the agreement does not address the larger issue of immigration reform that could have the most impact on the enormous population of Mexicans living in the United States. Sixty percent of the 8 million to 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States are believed to come from Mexico.

"So many Mexicans work in dangerous conditions, but because they are undocumented they are paralyzed from speaking out," said Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigration advocacy group in Washington. "Until they have a path to legal status, the notices on the company bulletin board are not going to fix anything."

President George W. Bush in January talked about a proposal to allow companies that have "inadvertently" hired non-citizens without visas to identify them publicly. Those non-citizen workers would get temporary permits allowing them to work and travel, bring family members with them, and essentially come out of the shadows.

But there has been little mention of the immigration issue since then, and experts agree there is little likelihood the issue will prominently reappear before the November U.S. presidential election.

According to Maria Echaveste, Washington representative for the United Farm Workers, the Bush administration made a political decision to ignore the immigration issue. Echeveste, who held a number of posts in the Clinton administration, including administrator of the DOL Wage and Hour division, said Wednesday's agreement is not much of an effort to improve conditions for Mexican workers.

"The agreement is a thinly veiled rhetorical effort," Echaveste told United Press International. "It could have been an affirmative thing, and if the administration had wanted to do something, it could have legalized the agricultural workforce."

Workplace safety for undocumented workers has also come under the limelight in the last year as shocking numbers are emerging.

Experts say the undocumented Mexican communities are particularly hard to communicate with, and they often end up in the most dangerous jobs with the least safety training and equipment.

Hispanic advocates are also concerned about low wages for Mexicans and other Latino groups in the United States.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, the median weekly wage for Hispanics has declined in all but one of the past eight quarters. As a result, median wages for Latinos have also lost ground in comparison with the national median wage.

For some Latino labor groups like the U.S. Hispanic Contractors Association, Wednesday's agreement between the United States and Mexico is a step in the right direction.

"Outreach is a very important part of the equation for helping Mexican workers, specifically in construction sites," said Frank Fuentes, chairman of the U.S. Hispanic Contractors Association. "Reaching out to workers is the No. 1 concern of corporate America and this is a positive move."

Fuentes noted that USHCA also works to gain legal status for undocumented Mexican construction workers.

"Mexicans are building your cities; they're building the American dream for American citizens," Fuentes said. "Our goal is legalizing these folks."