Propelled by a new Arizona law, the debate over immigration reform was set to take center stage when President Barack Obama welcomed Mexico’s Felipe Calderon to the White House yesterday.
While immigration has long been a source of tension, the controversial Arizona law threatens to further strain US-Mexican relations. Calderon has condemned the law. Obama has called it “misguided” and asked the US Department of Justice to review it.
Facing pressure from lawmakers at home, Calderon has vowed to push for immigration reform during his trip to Washington. His government has issued a travel warning for Arizona, warning Mexicans they face an adverse political environment there.
Obama has promised to start work on an immigration overhaul, but he’s also warned that Congress may not have the appetite to take on the controversial issue this year. A senior administration official said on Tuesday that the president would reiterate his commitment to fixing the US immigration system during his meetings with Calderon.
The official also said the administration plans to address security along the US-Mexico border and build on work done this year to open new border crossings and invest in the modernization of existing ones.
The two leaders were due to hold a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden at midday, followed by a formal dinner for 200 guests in the evening — Obama’s second state dinner.
Obama and Calderon have met nearly a dozen times since Obama took office, including a meeting in April last year in Mexico City and a North American leaders’ summit in Guadalajara in August. First lady Michelle Obama has also formed a friendship with Mexico’s first lady, Margarita Zavala, who visited the White House in February.
Michelle Obama visited Zavala in Mexico City last month on her first solo trip abroad as first lady.
Obama and Calderon are also expected to discuss drug violence that has affected both sides of the border. More than 22,700 people have been killed since Calderon deployed tens of thousands of troops and federal police across the country in December 2006 in an offensive against drug traffickers.
The US has been a strong supporter of the offensive, providing training and equipment under the US$1.3 billion Merida Initiative. The Obama administration has earned praise from Mexico for repeatedly acknowledging that US drug consumption is a large part of the problem.
A series of other issues are also expected to be on the agenda. These include climate change. Calderon has worked to make Mexico a global leader on the issue. His country will host the next round of international climate negotiations in December in Cancun.
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