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Arizona’s Republican governor Jan Brewer says she will appeal against a federal court’s decision to block parts of an anti-immigration law hours before it came into effect. The court issued a temporary injunction against a requirement that police check the immigration status of suspects they had stopped while enforcing other laws. A section making it a crime not to hold immigration papers was also blocked. The ruling was anxiously awaited in the U.S. and beyond. About 100 protesters in Mexico City who had gathered at the U.S. Embassy broke into applause when they learned of the ruling yesterday. Marco Werman speaks with Mexico’s Foreign Minister Patrica Espinosa. Download MP3
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MARCO WERMAN: Mexico’s been keeping a close eye on the debate over Arizona’s immigration law. And Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa says her government welcomes the ruling that suspended key portions of the law.
PATRICIA ESPINOSA: We feel that this is one step in the right direction. The government of Mexico will follow very closely all the procedures that come after this. There are some indications that the government of Arizona may present an appeal. So, we expect that this will be probably a long process.
WERMAN: Now you said before that the Mexican government will do more to ensure protection of its citizens abroad regardless of their legal status. About half of the eleven million undocumented workers in the United States were born in Mexico. What will your government do for its citizens who are in the US without papers?
ESPINOSA: What we are doing is providing a national information on their rights. The fact that they have to be treated in any case with respect and also that if they are detained, they have the right to have their consulates informed about their detention, so that the consulate can provide also some legal advice to accredited lawyers who are service of consultancy. And this is one very important action for the protection of the rights of our migrants.
WERMAN: Now I understand why Mexico has a problem with this Arizona law, but Mexico faces somewhat similar immigration pressures as well. I mean Central Americans drawn to the US often head to Mexico without papers and Mexico considers that a law enforcement issue. It tries to round up Central Americans and send them back. Can you blame the US for doing something similar?
ESPINOSA: We have made a reform of our population law that decriminalizes undocumented migrants which means, of course, if they are caught by the authorities they are brought back to their homes in an orderly fashion. What we cannot accept is the intent to treat as criminals people that are in the country because of looking for a job, looking for work, and because they don’t have the documents. The fact that they could be treated as criminals is what we just do not agree.
WERMAN: Now, last year Mexicans in the United States sent home more than 20 billion dollars in remittances. That’s more foreign currency than any other source for Mexico except for oil exports. A slowdown in Mexicans coming to the US would presumably slow down the flow of remittances back to Mexico. That’s got to be a big worry for Mexico.
ESPINOSA: Of course, 20 billion is a lot of money, but let me tell you that our trade is far bigger than that, so I don’t want to minimize the importance of these remittances, but at the same time, I think we have to keep in mind that Mexico is a big country, a very big economy, and one of the main traders in the world.
WERMAN: Mexico’s Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa. Thank you for joining us today, Madame Minister.
ESPINOSA: Thank you very much.
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