Baja Bernie - 10-4-2007 at 05:02 PM
October 4, 2007
Immigration News
Strains in Canada-Mexico Relations
Canada has long enjoyed a reputation among Mexicans as a friendly country
that is much easier to visit than the United States, a neighbor which
strictly limits which Mexican nationals can cross the border. In order to
legally enter this country, visa-seeking Mexicans anticipate spending long
hours in line at US consular offices. Canada hosts a growing number of
Mexican migrants and tourists, while Mexico embraces large numbers of
Canadian snowbirds who pass lazy winter months in sunny Acapulco and other
coastal resorts every year. However, relationships between Canada and
Mexico are currently experiencing strains.
A spill-over effect from the tougher enforcement of immigration laws in
the United States explains at least in part the tensions between the two
countries. Last month, the Canadian border city of Windsor across from
Detroit was swamped by 200 asylum-seeking Mexican migrants who had
traveled from Florida, apparently lured under false premises by a
"religious group" that promised easy Canadian residence on the basis of
refugee status. Upon arrival in Canada, the migrants found themselves
stranded. Declaring that Windsor was over-burdened by an initial $200,000
hotel bill for lodging the Mexicans, Mayor Eddie Francis appealed to his
federal government for financial assistance.
The Windsor incident unfolded at a moment when Canadian border controls
are yielding official complaints from the Mexican government. Mauricio
Guerrero, spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Canada, recently contended
that co-nationals arriving on Canadian territory were increasingly
mistreated. According to Guerrero, about 11,000 Mexicans have been
detained and deported from Canada since 2004. The number represents a
sharp increase from just a few years ago, when less than 800 Mexicans were
deported from Canada for each of the years 2002 and 2003.
"The majority of Mexicans who are detained when they arrive in Canada are
treated in an unacceptable manner," Guerrero said. "They are handcuffed,
and sometimes deprived of sanitary services or medicine," Charging that
Mexicans spend various days in detention before being deported, Guerrero
added that Mexico City has filed multiple complaints about the treatment
of its citizens with the Canadian government. "This is a matter that could
affect the relations between two countries," he said.
On the flip side of the coin, Mexico's image among Canadian tourists and
part-time residents has suffered recent blows, especially in Acapulco,
where snowbirds infuse much-needed cash into the economy. Last winter,
calls for a tourist boycott reverberated in Canada last after the
suspicious death of 19-year-old Canadian citizen Adamo Prisco outside an
Acapulco discotheque prompted accusations of a police cover-up. At the
same time, Canadian part-time residents of Acapulco launched protests
against the chaotic, hazardous traffic that roars along the city's Costera
main drag like a massive try-out for the Indy 500.
"Every time we cross the street we put our lives in danger, especially the
invalids and older adults," said Canadian tourist Emilio Parziale. A
77-year-old Canadian woman, Sara Morabia, was run over by a taxi last
February. Outbreaks of narco-violence and dengue fever in resort towns
like Acapulco have also fanned negative publicity about Mexico in Canada.
Tourism and immigration-related tensions haven't dampened commercial ties
between Canada and Mexico . Quebec Foreign Minister Monique Gagnon
Trimblay, for example, recently announced a series of business agreements
that expands Canadian participation in the alternative energy,
environmental services, construction and information technology sectors.
The $20 million-dollar Quebec-Mexico accord encompasses projects in
Acapulco, Ciudad Juarez, Cancun, and Monterrey. In Acapulco, a Canadian
firm was selected to work on cleaning the city's long-polluted bay. Quebec
official Gagnon also revealed that 25 Canadian companies were scheduled to
travel on trade mission to the northern Mexican border state of Nuevo
Leon. She added that Mexico is Quebec's largest Latin American trading
partner.
Sources: El Diario de El Paso/Notimex/El Universal, September 20 and 22,
2007. El Sur, January 22, 23 and 27, 2007; February 11 and September 24,
2007. Articles by Xavier Rosado, Aurora Harrison, Maximo Kuri, editorial
staff, and the Reforma news agency.
Frontera NorteSur (FNS): on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news
Center for Latin American and Border Studies
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico