Frontera NorteSur 2006

The Galactic Battle of the Border Cars

Stranded on the US-Mexico border and embroiled in a dispute with Mexican authorities, US residents of Central American origin are battling to return to their homelands for the winter holidays. A conflict centered in the northern Mexican border city of Matamoros , Tamaulipas, pits motor vehicle owners against Mexican customs officials who are demanding the placing of satellite-navigated Global Positioning Systems (GPS) on autos that plan to pass through Mexico .

Rocio Hickson , the spokeswoman for a Central American migrant auto exporters' association, accused local customs officials headed by Eduardo Argote Michel of breaking a previous agreement that delayed implementation of the GPS rule until March 2007. Claiming that the GPS devices don't function on Mexican highways anyway, Hickson said customs officials are violating the spirit of an earlier promise to postpone a planned GPS fee of $400 dollars for each vehicle.

Charging that some Mexican officials were treating the fee as a private business, Hickson said that Matamoros customs officials are still trying to collect $120 dollars from each vehicle owner. Hickson's group represents individuals mainly from El Salvador , Honduras , Guatemala , and Belize . But Mexican customs official Argote Michel maintained that the GPS devices are solely for the purpose of verifying that the US-based migrants drive their cars home to Central America and don't unload them in Mexico for a profit. Mexico has experienced a long-standing problem of used US automobiles dumped on the local market. Many of the older cars and trucks are highly polluting.

Frustrated by the stand-off with the Mexican government and anxious to get home before Christmas, Hickson's group threatened at one point this week to block an international bridge between Matamoros and Texas . Adding that her group was thinking about using US ports to ship the cars by sea if a solution were not found soon, Hickson contended that Mexico stands to lose the most in the conflict.

"Considering that each migrant spends $500 dollars on average during his trip back to Central America , Mexico could lose millions in income," said the migrant car exporter leader.

Source: La Jornada, December 4, 2006 . Article by Julia Antonia Le Duc.

The Border on You Tube

In the age of mass communications, news, information and images flow almost instantly to virtually every nook and cranny of the planet. Nowadays, media consumers can view the realities of the US-Mexico border thanks to the Tamaulipas-based news portal enlineadirecta.info. Featuring links to the Internet site You Tube, the multimedia section of enlineadirecta will guide viewers to professional and amateur video programs about border life.

Recent postings have included an interview with veteran Tijuana investigative journalist and former Zeta newspaper editor Jesus Blancornelas, scenes of the September 18 flooding in Reynosa and a political video entitled "We are all Oaxaca" set to a Rage Against the Machine tune. A particularly biting-and comical-documentary about the administration of outgoing Mexican President Vicente Fox entitled "Adventures in the Land of Fox " is also noteworthy.

Another posting portrays conflicts and issues surrounding the presence of Mexican migrant workers in San Diego County , California . Originally aired on the "In Context" program produced by the Telemundo affiliate in Los Angeles , the investigative report takes viewers into the gardens, fields and canyons of a land where undocumented workers live in makeshift hovels in the shadow of luxury homes.

In the vanguard of rural gentrification, affluent residents demand that the low-income workers be moved away from their hidden quarters. Interviewed on the program, resident Julie Adams blames migrants for crimes including the robbery of her home, but San Diego area law enforcement officials are also quoted as saying that the contested area has a low crime rate.

In their report, journalist Maria Garcia and her camera crew travel into migrants' camps, places where workers wash clothes in a river and sleep under tarps. The camps' occupants are mostly young male migrants from Oaxaca state in southern Mexico . One migrant, who is identified as Romulo, says that he sends about $800 dollars home every month to his wife.

Depicting saints and sinners, "In Context's" cameras capture contrasting scenes of prostitutes arriving to service the male workers and priests coming to give mass on Sundays. Viewers learn that many of the migrants work on trendy organic tomato farms, harvesting pricey produce that's eventually sold at Trader Joe's, Gelson's and Whole Foods Market. Emerging from an improvised shelter, Garcia concludes her report by asking: "We're really in California, the fifth richest economy in the world. Is this (hut) the price we have to pay for our tomatoes in the stores, our perfect gardens and our clean streets..?”

source: enlineadirecta.info

Truncated American Dreams

One of Mexico 's most culturally diverse but economically depressed regions, the southern state of Oaxaca is nowadays part of the migrant-sending stream to the United States . Leaving behind their mountain villages, valley farms and coastal towns, Oaxacans are increasingly taking the hard road north for a new life in El Norte. Many will never see their homeland again.

Death figures quoted by the top official of the Oaxacan Institute for Migrant Attention (IOAM) report that at least 139 Oaxaca natives died in the United States during the first seven months of the year. Of the victims, 110 were men and 29 women. According to the IOAM, the causes of death were diverse: automobile accidents, murders, work accidents and dehydration suffered while trying to cross the US-Mexico border.

Sixty-three of the deaths were attributed to automobile crashes. "This is because migrants need to drive to their jobs and, unfortunately, many of them don't know the road signs," said Rene Ruiz Quiroz, IOAM director. "They don't know how to drive on the big highways; they speed and sometimes drive under the influence of alcohol."

The IOAM's death records report that 38 of the Oaxacans who have died in the United States during 2006 were from the impoverished Mixteco region or central valleys. However, Oaxacans from virtually all regions of the state were represented. Reflecting migrant travel and labor patterns, the majority of Oaxacan deaths in the United States so far this year, 50, have taken place in California, but deaths also have been reported in 20 other US states as well.

The IOAM registered 259 deaths of Oaxacans in the United States for all of 2005. Again, deaths caused by automobile accidents, 92 during last year, accounted for the majority of deaths. In 2005, 48 Oaxacans died from various diseases in the United States .

Responding to the death toll, the IOAM is conducting meetings in municipalities that experience high rates of migration in order to inform potential migrants about the hazards of traveling to the United States .

Source: Proceso/Apro, July 26, 2006 . Article by Pedro Matias.

Mexican Deportations of Central Americans Continue

Even as controversy broke out in Mexico about US immigration policy debates and the proposed construction of new border fences earlier this year, the Mexican government was busy increasing the deportation of Central Americans, especially Guatemalans. Cited by the Apro news service, figures from Guatemala 's national migration institute reveal that 43, 685 Guatemalans were deported from Mexico during the first 4 months of 2006. Almost 100,000 Guatemalans were deported from Mexico during all of 2005.

Increasingly, Central American immigrant advocacy groups are blasting the Mexican government for supposedly having a double standard. The activists contend that while Mexico City criticizes Washington for its alleged mistreatment of Mexican undocumented workers, the Mexican government commits the same abuses against Central Americans.

"In recent years, Mexico has been the best student of the United States , putting into practice anti-immigrant strategies against Central Americans," charged Mauro Verzeletti, the director of the Guatemala-based Center for Attention to Migrants.

Most Central Americans detained by Mexican authorities are nabbed while in transit to the United States . Some Central Americans decide to remain in Mexico , where they can apply for an FM-3 work and residency visa. According to Patricia Ferrara, a Mexican National Migration Institute official charged with legalizing the status of migrants, about 50 people in Nuevo Laredo-mostly Hondurans-have acquired applications for FM-3 status since September 2005.

On the Texas border, Nuevo Laredo is considered one of the northern border's most popular "trampolines" into the United States . Ferrara added that only 10 applications are under consideration . "We want more people to come in so they can benefit from the program," Ferrara insisted.

As if trapped in a endless rerun of the 1980's movie El Norte, Guatemalans and other Central American nationals passing through Mexico confront extortion, robbery, rape and other abuses at the hands of immigration officials, police, thieves, immigrant smugglers, and members of the so-called Mara street gangs.

A 2005 survey by the Regional Group of Migrant Human Rights Defender Organizations reported that more than one-third of 300 repatriated Central Americans interviewed for the study complained of bad conditions in Mexican jails. More than 128 of the interviewees complained that they were held in regular jails, while 132 deportees denounced food shortages during their incarceration. Grupo Beta, the special Mexican law enforcement unit charged with protecting migrants, has reported that the number of injured individuals it attended increased from 750 in 2004 to 1,530 in 2005. Alarmingly, Grupo Beta reported that the number of “mutilated”, undocumented persons it assisted increased from 85 in 2004 to 96 in 2005.

In a recent, violent incident that only is exceptional for its casualty toll, armed robbers assaulted a group of 34 Central American nationals in southern Mexico 's Chiapas state earlier this month, wounding 14 members of the group; 12 of the victims were shot.

Speaking at a recent seminar dedicated to migrant rights, Fabian Venet, the director of the migrant advocacy organization Without Borders, slammed the Mexican state and society for reacting too slowly to the violence. A bill to improve the situation of Central American migrants in the southern border region died in the Mexican Senate last December, Venet noted.

"There is no abandonment of the southern border, but there is a clear negligence in terms of an absence of clear policies that shouldn't be merely the responsibility of the federal and state governments but also of the municipal governments and citizenry," Venet said.

In addition to poverty, human rights advocates blame Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and Hurricane Stan in 2005 for accelerating a migrant exodus from Central America . At a summit held in Guatemala last May, Guatemalan Attorney General for Human Rights Sergio Morales Alvarado said that 10 percent of Guatemala 's population has relocated to the United States in search of the "American Dream."

Morales estimated that about 60 percent of Guatemalans currently in the United States do not possess legal immigration documents.

According to a 2005 study by the International Organization for Migration, the Guatemalan population in the United States consisted of 1,364,000 persons. The study found that the vast majority of Guatemalan immigrants in the US send money back home, sustaining an economic flow to the tune of $3.6 billion dollars last year.

Sources: La Jornada/Notimex, August 15, 2006 . Enlineadirecta.info, August 14, 2006 . Article by Nora Morales Morales. Proceso/Apro, August 2, 2006 and August 14, 2006 . Articles by Isain Mandujano and Velia Jaramillo.

Urban Indians in Ciudad Juarez

Uprooted from the land, more and more indigenous Mexicans are finding homes in Ciudad Juarez , Chihuahua . New figures from Mexico 's National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics (INEGI) report that approximately 14,606 people from dozens of indigenous groups call the border city home. Drawn from the INEGI's 2005 population and housing census, the new population count represents a 74 percent increase over 2000's census figures. Considering Ciudad Juarez 's floating population, however, the indigenous population registered by the INEGI is likely an undercount. According to the INEGI, 42 indigenous languages are spoken in Ciudad Juarez , including Chinateca, Nahuatl, Tarahumara, Mixtec, Zapotec, Popoluca, Huave, Huichol, Tzotzil (Mayan), and numerous others.

Many of Ciudad Juarez 's residents hail from hard-pressed rural zones where the land is not producing and jobs are few and far between. "Over there money and grains are missing," said Ciribina Rosa, an indigenous Raramuri (Tarahumara) who sells herbs in downtown Ciudad Juarez . "There is no corn to eat."

Working the streets and international bridges as vendors or beggars, or toiling away as day laborers, noticeable numbers of indigenous people began arriving to Ciudad Juarez more than 40 years ago. The largest ethnic group, Mazahuas from Mexico state, number about 4,000 people, according to Carlyn James, the local coordinator of the Tarahumara State Coordinator. "(Indigenous people) probably come with the idea of later crossing to the United States to work," James said.

Setting down roots in Ciudad Juarez , indigenous groups have established distintive neighborhoods. For instance, many Raramuris live in three neighborhoods scattered throughout the city and its outskirts, while Mixtecos from southern Oaxaca state inhabit the Anapra colonia near the New Mexico border. In the Raramuri colonias, bilingual schools help teach the children Spanish. According to James, the Raramuris best preserve their language and cultural traditions in the hustle and bustle of a busy border city that's also heavily influenced by US culture.

Among the indigenous population, men still predominate with 55 percent of the population. Some government officials are concerned about the special problems facing women. A new program sponsored by the federal Commission for the Prevention and Elimination of Violence Against Women in Ciudad Juarez seeks to train indigenous women as promoters against domestic violence in their communities. "(Indigenous women) live in a triple vulnerability, because they are women, indigenous and poor," contends Pablo Navarrete, the commission's Ciudad Juarez director.

South of Ciudad Juarez, urban Indians are gaining in population in the state capital of Chihuahua City too. According to the 2005 INEGI census, the number of indigenous people residing in Chihuahua City increased from 6,823 in 2000 to 9,330 in 2005. Numbering 5,090 persons, the Raramuris constituted the largest ethnic group in Chihuahua City last year. Statewide, Chihuahua 's indigenous population rose from 103,057 persons in 2000 to 136,661 in 2005. The leap is attributed to population increases in Chihuahua 's two largest ethnic groups, the Raramuris and the Tepehuans, as well as migration from Mexican states outside Chihuahua .

Sources: El Diario de Juarez, May 30, 2006 . Article by Rocio Gallegos. Norte, May 27, 2006 . Article by Sonia Aguilar.

The Border, Mexico Speak Out on Guards, Gates and Gauntlets

President Bush's announcement that he will significantly increase the number of National Guard troops stationed on the US-Mexico border instantly reframed the terms of the immigration reform debate in the United States . Focused on the immigrant legalization issue in the weeks immediately preceding the President's May 15 speech, the debate suddenly shifted the political discourse to the border security issue. The political ripples quickly spread. By an 83-16 majority, US Senators then approved an amendment May 17 that paves the way for the construction of a series of US-Mexico border walls, albeit on a reduced scale than envisioned in HR 4437, the Sensenbrenner legislation, passed by the US House of Representatives late last year.

In Mexico , reactions to the planned National Guard deployment, as well as the new border walls, were swift, sharp and generally condemnatory. Headlines in major media like the Proceso news weekly spoke about "The Gringo Wall." Harkening back to the killing of Kent State University protestors by Ohio National Guard members in 1970, Mexico City 's El Universal daily ran an editorial warning about threats posed to civilians by a militarization of the border.

From left to right, Roman Catholic Church leaders, the presidential candidates, politicians of differing persuasions, and a host of others joined in a chorus of denunciations. Emerging at a time when an increasingly-polarized election climate is raising political temperatures inside Mexico , the latest US measures offered a rare opportunity for political unity.

One of the sharpest criticisms hailed from Guadalupe Acosta Naranjo, secretary-general of the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution, who accused President Bush of creating “a climate of xenophobia and violence” against immigrants, especially Mexicans. Employing softer language, Chihuahua Governor Jose Reyes Baeza of the Institutional Revolutionary Party nevertheless warned that the Bush Administration's decision could imperil US-Mexico relations.

The northern border state governor called on President Fox to assume a strong stand against the National Guard deployment which, according to Gov. Reyes, does not "correspond to the type of bilateral relationship that Mexico and the United States enjoy in 2006."

The Fox Administration Backs President Bush

Amid a national outcry over the US National Guard, the administration of President Vicente Fox stood virtually alone. Echoing President Bush's assurances, Mexican Presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar insisted that the National Guard deployment does not constitute a border militarization, since the soldiers will be used in a back-up support capacity and not as frontline law enforcement agents. President Bush has stated that the deployment will be a stop-gap measure until more US Border Patrol agents can be trained and stationed on the border.

Elaborating on his administration's views, President Fox characterized the Bush Administration's policy as a "logical" component of an integral US immigration-security reform that will benefit Mexican nationals. Rejecting appeals to protest the National Guard deployment, President Fox contended that such objections would not accomplish anything.

“We are working hard together in order to reach an immigration accord,” President Fox insisted. “That is not to say that President Fox is weak, or accepts in any way, human rights violations or abuses, and we are firm about this. Coming just days before a planned Fox visit to the United States, the National Guard announcement prompted the Mexican Senate's permanent commission to attach conditions to the president's visit that require Fox to to convey Mexican concerns about the presence of US troops on the border.

In the home stretch before leaving office, the Fox Administration is staking much of its prestige on the passage of an immigration reform law in the United States . Early on in its term, the Fox Administration made the negotiation of a US-Mexico immigration pact a political centerpiece. Citing statistics from Mexico's National Population Council, a piece in Proceso reported this week that the number of Mexicans migrating to the United States easily doubled from the decade of 1970 to 1980, when an estimated 1.20-1.55 million Mexicans moved to El Norte, to the ten-year span of 1990-2000, when an estimated 3 million Mexicans headed north. According to Proceso, 2.4 million Mexicans will have relocated to the US during the 6 years of the Fox Administration, which concludes next December; other reports have estimated an even higher number of people left Mexico during the Fox years.

On the US Side

In the US border states , the National Guard announcement likewise stirred controversy. Unlike many issues, supporters and opponents of the troop deployment did not divide neatly along party lines. New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman and Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, both Democrats, backed the policy, as did Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry. Weeks prior to the White House's decision, Gov. Napolitano announced she that was increasing the number of Arizona National Guard troops assigned to duties near her state's border with Mexico . On the other hand, California Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and New Mexico Democratic Governor Bill Richardson were critical of a beefed-up National Guard presence on their borders.

Upholding a human rights stance, immigrant advocacy groups including the American Friends Service Committee, Border Action Network, Latin America Working Group, Border Human Rights Network, Southwest Organizing Project and the San Antonio-based Southwest Public Workers Union, all condemned what they consider another step in the creeping militarization of the border.

"Border communities are being used as political pawns for politicians using "get-tough-on-the border policies to bolster their election year approval ratings," charged Jennifer Allen, director of the Arizona-based Border Action Network.

On the opposite end of the political spectrum, Minuteman leader Chris Simcox said the President's plan didn't go far enough in sealing off the border. Advocating a border "gauntlet," Simcox accused President Bush of "playing the entire country for fools." One CNN poll released after the President's speech, reported that 79 percent of the respondents approved of Bush's plan.

Other political leaders seized on the issue of unilateral decision-making. Tim Manning, the director of the New Mexico Office of Homeland Security, said on New Mexico public radio that he was fully informed of the pending National Guard deployment only 30 minutes before it was announced by President Bush last Monday. Manning said that he first heard rumors about using the National Guard only last week. Three days after the announcement was made, Manning said that he still had no idea how many National Guard troops will be stationed in New Mexico or what units the soldiers will be drawn from for New Mexico border tours. Calling for an enhanced US Border Patrol, Manning said, "Governor Richardson... doesn't want to see the militarization of the border."

Striking similar criticisms, Texas Congressional Representative Silvestre Reyes (D-El Paso) said on national radio that he was worried the National Guard will be deployed without any effective pre-planning or sense of mission. "This is a repeat of Iraq ," contended Rep. Reyes. "We're going to be making this up as we go along."

Ironically, Rep. Reyes, who pioneered a border-sealing strategy back in 1993 when he implemented Operation Hold the Line as the chief of the El Paso Border Patrol Sector, also weighed in against the ambitious fencing plans approved in the House and Senate. Favoring what he called "strategic fencing" in high-density urban population centers, Rep. Reyes said about 100 miles of new fences were necessary along the entire US-Mexico border.

Rep. Reyes also raised an issue that was largely forgotten or downplayed in the Washington and media debates surrounding President Bush's May 15 speech: US-Latin American diplomatic relations. In a letter to President Bush last Monday, the El Paso congressman warned that deploying US troops on the US-Mexico border could fuel anti-American sentiment throughout the hemisphere. Specifically, Rep. Reyes questioned how the decision might influence Mexico 's presidential election and "sway Mexicans toward electing an anti-American administration." Rep. Reyes did not specify which of the five competing Mexican presidential candidates might fall into his classification of "anti-American."

Sources: Proceso/Apro, May 18, 2006 . Articles by Jose Gil Olmos and editorial staff. May 14, 15 , 16, 17, 2006. Articles by Jose Luis Ruiz, Alberto Morales, Nayeli Cortes, Sergio Javier Jimenez, editorial staff, and the Notimex news agency. El Diario de Juarez, March 8 and 24, 2006; May 16 and 17, 2006 Articles by Alejandro Salmon Aguilera, editorial staff, Notimex and the Associated Press. La Jornada, May 13, 16 and 17, Articles by David Brooks, Andrea Bercerril and editorial staff. Ed Schultz Program, May 15 and 18, 2006. KUNM-FM ( Albuquerque ), May 18, 2006 . National Public Radio, May 16, 2006 . Albuquerque Journal/Associated Press, May 18, 2006 . Article by David Espo. Univision, May 14, 16 and 17, 2006. El Paso Times, May 16, 2006 . Article by Chris Roberts.

May Day 2006: Initial Assessments

Nobody really knows how many people participated in the May Day pro-immigrant legalization protest that shook North America and beyond. Very conservative media estimates speak about 1 million people just in the United States , while other media stories and pro-immigrant organizers estimate many millions more. Whatever the numbers, May Day was a spike in a new movement that remarkably, in only a couple months, turned the immigration reform debate in the US on its head, galvanized a new generation of youth activists, spread across borders, and even pumped new life into corporate anti-globalization movements that declined in the wake of September 11, 2001. For the first time in decades, the idea of a general strike was popularized in the United States .

Perhaps the best gauge of how deeply the protest cut into the political fabric is not measured by the mega-marches in Los Angeles or Chicago that each drew 500,000 people or more, but by the actions in almost anonymous settings throughout the United States, places usually not known for their political fervor. In small towns like Tooele , Utah , and Rockdale , Texas , immigrant workers and students demonstrated for legalization. In the self-proclaimed chile (hot pepper) capital of the world of Hatch, New Mexico , a dozen students walked out of the village's small high school- much to the chagrin of a local Baptist minister.

Originally billed as a mass strike and consumer boycott against HR 4437, the Sensenbrenner immigration bill passed by the US House of Representatives last December, and in support of the legalization of undocumented workers, May Day 2006 unfolded in a variety of forms, assuming different characteristics depending on the locale, degree of organization and practical possibilities. Some people went to work or school and attended rallies and marches later in the day. Others stayed home. Some shunned the shopping malls and gas stations. Organized at first by US activists, support for the action quickly spread to Mexico and Central America .

U.S. Actions

Initial assessments of May Day's impact in the US are mixed, ranging from critics who dismissed the action as a misguided adventure that will backfire to movement organizers who characterized the day a great, historic success. Some pro-immigrant forces, most notably the Roman Catholic Church and long-time, Washington, D.C.-based Latino civil rights groups urged people to go to work and school and then participate in mass rallies But by May Day, the call for a strike and boycott had acquired a life of its own, surpassing the ability of traditional organizations to control it.

Word of the protest spread from person-to-person, computer-to-computer and neighborhood-to-neighborhood. Seeing the handwriting on the wall, big companies like Malone's Cost Plus in Dallas announced they were allowing workers to take the day off and participate in the protest.

Shut-downs, whether with employer consent or not, affected strategic sectors of the US economy including California agriculture, Pacific Coast shipping and Florida construction. According to an economist with the Los Angeles Development Corporation, an estimated $200 million dollars in revenue could have been lost on May 1 in Los Angeles County alone. Rumors of mass immigration law enforcement raids that did not materialize also may have contributed to workplace shutdowns. Probably numbering in the thousands, an undetermined number of businesses nationwide closed their doors for the day in solidarity with the movement. In Albuquerque , NM , popular businesses like Taco Tote and El Mezquite market displayed signs announcing their closure.

A post-May Day poll quoted on Univision found that 65 percent of Latino participants did not work on Mayday, while 95 percent reported not buying anything on the boycott day. Most visibly, the huge US rallies and marches, drawing from several thousand to the hundreds of thousands of people, displayed the potential might of what many call "the sleeping giant" of Latino political power. At a large Albuquerque rally that drew several thousand people, signs included: "We are Indigenous People of the Southwest, Not Immigrants," "Mr. Bush: Respect our 1848 Treaty Mexico USA," "Build Schools, Not Borders," "We Pick, We Cook, Serve Your Food," "Justice for Immigrants," and simply "Viva La Raza."

A long-time US resident from Ecuador who worked for 10 years in Alaskan mines, David Rodriguez said May Day had been a long time coming. “I've lived in the US for 30 years and you never used to see these kinds of demonstrations 30 years ago,” Rodriguez said. “There weren't demonstrations of this kind, or organization. Certainly, this is a power that still needs to be organized more….we still got a little ways to go.”

May Day wasn't exclusively a Latino issue, though. In Chicago , large numbers of Chinese, Polish, Irish and other immigrants joined the protest, while in Denver , members of the American Indian Movement took part in a mass rally that drew perhaps 75,000 people. The indigenous activists aimed their criticisms at politicians like Colorado Rep. Tam Tancredo, protesting what they charged was a Washington power monopoly on deciding the destinies of millions of people. "This is a rally about the future of the Americas ," said Colorado AIM leader Glen Morris.

Controversy erupted over the boycott, once again underscoring class differences and conflicting economic interests in the pro-legalization movement. Credited for boosting turn-outs at earlier events in March and April, Spanish-language commercial media, which is obviously dependent on advertising revenues, emerged as the leading voice against boycotts. The Spanish-language television monopoly Univision even followed up May Day with a news story that featured a spokesperson from Los Angeles ' Carecen immigrant rights advocacy organization who criticized the boycott tactic as ineffective.

No counter point of view was presented in the report, even though boycotts, a curious omission, since in the case of the United Farm Workers Union's grape and lettuce boycotts of past decades or the Florida farmworkers' boycott of Taco Bell more recently, tangible results have been yielded.

Mexico 's Day of Solidarity

Spreading on the Internet, the message for solidarity with US immigrants on May Day produced mass marches and rallies, international bridge shut-downs and scattered boycotts of US businesses and franchises in Mexico. As in the United States , the actions were not coordinated by a single organization south of the border, and involved unions, students, former braceros, indigenous groups, and others. A few days before May Day, the Mexican Chamber of Deputies passed a resolution backing the US immigrant protest.

May Day solidarity actions were strongest in the northern border region. In Monterrey , Nuevo Leon , 200 protestors got a head start on others when they closed a Wal-Mart store for 10 minutes on April 30. The next day, in bridge blockades ranging from 15 minutes to several hours, different groups closed international crossings in Tijuana-San Diego, Tecate, Mexicali-Calexico, Ciudad Juarez-El Paso, Nuevo Laredo-Laredo, Reynosa-Hidalgo, and Matamoros-Brownsville. Downtown El Paso , which is largely dependent on shoppers from neighboring Ciudad Juarez , was reported largely deserted with 75 percent of its stores closed. Students, ex-braceros, merchants and others participated in the actions. In Mexicali , former braceros marched to the city's "La Pagoda" building to symbolize Mexican-Chinese unity.

In the interior, May Day had a more scattered impact. Despite the boycott call, brisk business was reported at Wal-Mart and other US-brand establishments in Mexico City . Some shoppers said they couldn't afford to lose a shopping day on traditional work holiday, while others claimed they did not know about the boycott.

Messages of solidarity were voiced at several mass May Day rallies and traditional parades in the capital city, including one protest outside the US Embassy led by Zapatista Subcomandante Marco. Linking the migrant struggle with other causes, Marcos declared the real struggle was for a new society in which people would not have to live their homes in search of work.

In Toluca near Mexico City , meanwhile, Mazahua indigenous women marched into a McDonald's restaurant and offered free tortillas and traditional Mexican food to customers. In one of Mexico 's newer migrant expelling regions, the Yucatan Peninsula , an estimated 200,000 indigenous Mayans reportedly supported the boycott. Masses in honor of migrants were held in some Yucatan municipalities, and a group of protestors burned cartons of US products outside the US Consulate in Merida . Over on the Pacific Coast, residents of San Marcos, Guerrero, dressed up in white and staged a march in support of their 25,000 relatives neighbors who work in El Norte.

May Day also was an occasion for the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico and the Mexican franchise holders to stake out their positions. While generally agreeing with the need for immigration reform, the business groups argued, not surprisingly, against the consumer boycott tactic. The NAFTA-linked business sector leaders emphasized how US businesses and franchises employed Mexicans and used Mexican ingredients in their products.

Central America Joins in Too

Even more dependent on migrant money from the US than Mexicans, Central Americans massively supported the May Day actions. Marchers raised the migrant banner in Honduras , Guatemala , El Salvador , Nicaragua , Costa Rica , and Panama . Like others, Salvadoran Benito Martinez said that “almost everybody” from his family is now living and working in the US .

The pro-migrant movement generated support across the political spectrum from left to right, showing how mass emigration has transformed and influenced the post-Cold War Central American political scene. Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos and Sandinista Front leader Daniel Ortega both spoke out in support of the US immigrant movement, while Rene Figueroa, an interior ministry official from the conservative National Republican Alliance government in El Salvador , gave his verbal support. El Salvador 's largest leftist party, the former guerrilla Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, dedicated its 2006 May Day march to US migrants.

Like their Mexican counterparts, business associations in Central America slammed the boycott. Jose Raul Gonzalez, the vice-president of Central America 's Pepsi bottler, said, "Consumers do not know that this 'gringo' product is as Guatemalan as they are; the only thing gringo is the brand." Gonzalez and other business spokespersons did not disclose how much money Pepsi and other multinational companies earn for the rights of using their name and business structure.

In both Mexico and Central America , many of the pro-immigrant May Day protests also brought up the NAFTA and CAFTA trade agreements, low salaries, high energy costs, and other economic grievances. "CAFTA, as well as the neo-liberal measures imposed by the US and the International Monetary Fund are directly responsible for the unemployment and migrations," declared Honduran opposition leader Carlos Reyes. "Therefore, the US has the obligation not to deport (migrants) but to welcome them, and not to criminalize their migratory status."

May Day's Possible Impacts

US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist dismissed the May Day protests as not carrying any potential weight in the immigration reform legislation debate, but others are confident the echoes of May Day will be heard when the US Senate takes up the stalled legislation this month. Anti-legalization forces are wagering that a backlash to seeing Mexican flags waving in the streets will help forestall any reforms smacking of amnesty.

A CNN poll released this week reported that sympathy for immigrants had dropped from 70 percent of respondents in April to 57 percent in May. Pro-legalization organizations, on the other hand, are betting their newly-displayed strength will produce positive results. How the negotiations between a Senate bill and the Sensenbrenner HR 4437 House legislation pan out in the days ahead is the big question. Still in doubt is whether any legislation at will be approved by both houses of Congress and signed by President Bush in an election year.

Eligibility for green cards, guestworkers and border security provisions will be among the key sticking points. Texas Rep. Silvestre Reyes, a former US Border Patrol chief, said it's almost certain that the massive border wall and undocumented immigrant criminalization aspects of the Sensenbrenner bill are dead. If Reyes is correct, the new pro-immigrant movement can claim a great, first victory.

Analysts will be carefully watching the electoral repercussions of the pro-immigrant movement in the 2006 and 2008 elections. Many of today's protestors are US citizens-and current or potential voters- who turned out to support their relatives and friends. A common slogan in protests across the nation was: "Today We March, Tomorrow We Vote." And with a new generation politicized, May Day's winds of change could well expand beyond the arena of electoral politics.

Jorge Mujica, a leader of Chicago's March 10 Coalition, assessed the mass movement as the beginning of a new international worker movement not just limited to legalization, but one advocating for “better working conditions” as well. On an international scale, May Day 2006 showcased "the first big revolutionary movement of the 21st Century,” Mujica contended.

Arguably, May Day was the third big wave of cross-border movements in recent years. The anti-World Trade Organization protests of the late 1990s and the anti-Iraq war demonstrations of early 2003 could be considered precursors to today's movement because of the way they rapidly leaped across borders in support of the same cause. In another important sense, May Day 2006 is the latest example of the reemergence of civil society as a vital actor on national political stages, a development also witnessed in the French student strikes, the Nepalese pro-democracy movement and the large demonstrations in Puerto Rico that could culminate in a general strike in the coming days in protest of a government fiscal melt-down.

Additional sources: El Paso Times, May 2 and 8, 2006. Articles by Vic Kolenc and Louie Gilot. La Jornada, April 30, 2006 ; May 2, 3, 4, 7, 2006. Articles by Juan Balboa, David Brooks, Alfredo Mendez Ortiz, the DPA news agency, and editorial staff. Latin America Data Base ( UNM ) , May 4, 2006 . Proceso/Apro, May 2, 2006 . Articles by Rodrigo Vera, Gabriela Hernandez and Jose Palacios Tepate. Latino USA/KUNM, May 8, 2006 . Independent Native News/KUNM, May 2, 2006 . CNN, May 2, 2006 . Univision, April 28 and 30, 2006; May 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 2006. El Universal, April 27 and 30, 2006; May 1 and 2, 2006. Articles by Maria Teresa Montano, Rubelio Fernandez, Roberto Aguilar Grimaldo, Francisco Resendiz, Jorge Herrera, Juan Cedillo, and the Notimex news agency. Associated Press, May 1, 2006 . Articles by Mark Stevenson and Michael Kahn. Albuquerque Journal, May 2, 2006 . Article by Debra Dominguez-Lund Frontera, May 1, 2006 . La Cronica, May 1, 2006 . Article by Hugo Ruvalcaba. lapolaka.com, May 1, 2006 . enlineadirecta.info, May 1, 2006 . El Sur, May 2, 2006 . Articles by Karenine Trigo and Zacarias Cervantes. El Diario de Juarez, May 1, 2006 . Articles by Ramon Chaparro.

The Historic Days of May Loom

Millions of people on both sides of the US-Mexico border are expected to take part in an unprecedented May 1 protest in support of the legalization of undocumented immigrants who work and live in El Norte. The cross-border action is the next stage in a surprise mass movement that erupted on US streets last month. But a call to action that was originally billed as a general work and shopping strike in the United States , has evolved into a more varied protest that will manifest different forms in different places. Protest marches, consumer boycotts, public forums, and even work stoppages are being organized in scores of localities.

David McField, a Los Angeles pro-immigrant activist of Nicaraguan-origin, termed as "mean and ungrateful" the treatment of workers who have made the US "bigger and more powerful." Said McField, “Latin Americans have had to come here because we haven't had opportunities in our own countries. The US government, not the US people, has helped perpetuate the conditions of exploitation in our countries..that't why we ask that the North American people support us."

Spreading far and wide, the outcome of the pending May Day protest is as unpredictable as the movement few could have envisioned just a couple months ago. Concerns over the reported firings of some US immigrant workers who participated in earlier work stoppages and protests on April 10 and fears about an anti-immigrant backlash are creating tactical differences within the US movement. In Los Angeles , for instance, two broad coalitions, the March 25 Movement and Somos America , are sponsoring separate marches at different times.

Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahoney and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are urging people to go to work and attend school on May 1, but encouraging participation in a mass rally planned for after-hours. Labor unions, which constitute an important sector of the movement, worry that their involvement in work stoppages could be deemed as promotions of illegal strikes. Also, many activists are suspicious of the timing of this month's Department of Homeland Security raids on IFCO company worksites across the United States, which came just days after the April 10 protests and resulted in the arrests of more than 1,100 undocumented workers.

On the other hand, Los Angeles ' Continental Front is among movement groups that still endorse the tactic of staying home from work and school. Members of the Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana and allied groups of Mexican immigrant clubs support a variety of May Day actions, depending on the individual possibilities and risks. Some employers have agreed to allow their employees a day off on May 1 but others have not.

Nativo Lopez, the president of the Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana said at a recent Los Angeles press conference that he respected students who stage school walkouts, adding the "best education" young people could receive is to march in the streets for their rights and justice. Lopez said the new movement is following in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Pressed by journalists about the possible firings of workers who participate in the protests, Lopez chided some reporters for having a “patronizing” attitude and ignoring the ongoing firings of workers he said his organization has spoken out against for 50 years.

In many ways taken off guard by the mass upsurge of protests, longtime pro-immigrant personalities and organizations now confront backlashes and racist threats from what is appearing to be a systematic campaign of intimidation. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles Police Department are investigating immigration-linked death threats to Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa, California Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and other officials.

In addition, Joel Magallan, the director of the Tepeyac Association, a leading immigrant advocacy organization in New York City , has reported receiving anonymous threats on his cell phone. In San Diego County , a recent fire at a local bar is suspected of being the work of anti-immigrant forces; the FBI reports more than 2,500 hate crimes against Latinos in the United States since 2000.

Mexico Mobilizes

In Mexico , what began as a vague appeal for cross-border solidarity on the Internet is snowballing into a movement as well. In various parts of the country, labor unions, regional and local business groups and ex-bracero associations are supporting a one-day boycott of US products and businesses. "For me, the protest serves a double purpose: I get to support the immigrants and I also get to express my slightly anti-Yankee sentiments," said Mexico City cafe owner Joaquin Garcia Nava.

As in the United States , the Roman Catholic Church is adding legitimacy, voice and presence to the movement. The bishops of the border cities of Ciudad Juarez , Tijuana , Mexicali , Nogales , Reynosa , Nuevo Laredo , and Piedras Negras have all endorsed the May 1 action.

Still, "The Great American Boycott" spotlights class and political differences in Mexico over how to advance the legalization agenda in the United States . Clearly concerned about the impact of mass actions in Washington , the Fox Administration is quietly telling US Latino leaders to take a moderate approach. Sonora Governor Eduardo Bours, the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico City , and the Mexican Franchise Association, an organization that represents Mexican owners of US brand franchises, all oppose a boycott as either misguided or ineffective while the Mexican employers' association, Coparmex, has declared neutrality. "Coparmex will not take any position in reference to the protest," said Coparmex President Alberto Nunez Estrada, "but let each one of our affiliates make the corresponding decision, because there are pros and cons."

Economic statistics hint at the potential impact of a Mexican consumer boycott. McDonald's and Burger King, for example, count 330 and 155 establishments, respectively, in Mexico . Chihuahua consumers are estimated to spend approximately $5 billion dollars every year in neighboring Texas .

Meanwhile, class schisms are also surfacing in the US movement. In Los Angeles , Spanish-language media which were so instrumental in promoting mass protests on March 25 and April 10 are noticeably shying away from boycott actions. One employee of the Los Angeles Univision television affiliate, who preferred to remain anonymous, said supervisors have actually prohibited station employees from using the word "boycott" because it could negatively affect the station's advertisers.

The Minutemen are Back

Hoping not to not politically outflanked, anti-legalization forces in the United States are also mobilizing. In Dallas , the scene of a massive pro-immigrant protest on April 10 that drew perhaps 500,000 people, the city's Citizens for Immigration Reform is asking sympathizers to do extra shopping on May 1. "We're telling our members if you have a big-ticket item that you want to purchase, wait till May 1 to shop," said Jean Towell, a spokeswoman for the group.

The Minuteman Project plans to stage a cross-country caravan commencing on May 3 in California and culminating on May 12 Washington, D.C. Among other stops, the caravan will pass through Phoenix , Albuquerque and Atlanta , cities with large, active pro-immigrant movements. "Congress doesn't want to hear us," contended Minuteman leader Jim Gilchrist. "We're going to have our voice heard." The group picketed outside a southern California hotel where President Bush stayed on his recent visit to the Golden state. Later next month, Minutemen vow to erect double 15-foot high fences flanked by moats on private lands in Arizona .

The May Day actions in Mexico and the United States will happen when the US Senate is expected to revisit immigration legislation proposals after a two-week break. All eyes will then shift to Capitol Hill, where President Bush is likely to weigh in on the debate. Speaking in Irvine , California , President Bush said this week it is not practical to deport millions of people. Leaning toward the immigration reform bill that will be considered in the Senate, President Bush said he supports a guest worker program.

Sources: El Imparcial ( Hermosillo ), April 24, 2006 . Article by Luis Alberto Medina. Proceso/Apro, April 24, 2006 . Article by Enriqueta Cabrera. Univision, April 18, 21 , 24, 25, 2006. El Universal, April 22, 2006 . Article by Aida Ulloa, Humberto Nino and Jose Manuel Arteaga. KUNM-FM/NPR/Latino USA/Democracy Now!, April 21 and 24, 2006. La Jornada, April 21, 22 and 23, 2006. Articles by Ruben Villalpando, Nelda Judith Anzar, Susana Gonzalez G., the Notimex News Agency, and editorial staff. Dallas Morning News, April 21, 2006 . Article by Dianne Solis and Alfredo Cochado. Common Dreams News Center/Financial Times ( London ), April 20, 2006 . Article by Adam Thomson. La Voz de Nuevo Mexico /EFE, April 20, 2006 . El Diario de Juarez/Notimex, April 20, 2006 . Articles by Jose Romero Mata and editorial staff. La Opinion ( Los Angeles ), April 19, 2006 . Article by Yurina Rico.

New Deportation Numbers Quoted

A high-ranking Mexican official has revealed more statistics about the number of Mexicans deported last year from the United States . Speaking at a United Nations sponsored event in Mexico City this week, Lauro Lopez Sanchez, an assistant secretary of the Interior Ministry, said 850,000 Mexicans were deported from the United States in 2005. According to Lopez, 350,000 of the 1,200,000 Mexicans who attempted to illegally cross into the US last year managed to reach their destination. Lopez characterized the migrant flow as a permanent transfer of "labor and talent." Other estimates of the number of undocumented Mexicans who migrate each year to the United States are higher, ranging as high as 600,000 or more.

In 2005, Lopez said Mexican immigration authorities deported 250,000 foreign nationals from Mexican territory, most of whom were Central Americans. The Mexican official said another 100,000 Central Americans slipped through his nation's territory without being detained.

In his presentation at the UN meet, Lopez called for greater international cooperation in curbing human trafficking and regulating labor flows. He proposed updating legal codes, strengthening the fight against criminal organizations and supporting guestworker programs as much as possible. "The Mexican experience has a lot to contribute to the debate about international migration," Lopez said.

Source: Proceso/Apro, April 6, 2006. Article by Jenaro Villamil.

Latin America Border Series: The Century of the Woman Migrant

Families in Mexico and other parts of Latin America once waited for money to arrive from their husbands or sons working in the United States . Nowadays they are more likely to be getting cash from their mothers or daughters. According to Laura Velasco Ortiz, a researcher with Tijuana's Colegio de la Frontera Norte, more than 60 percent of the estimated $20 billion dollars in remittances received by Mexico are now sent by women as opposed to about 39 percent sent by men. The pivotal position of women in the migrant economy is even more important than their numbers suggest. Figures from Mexico 's National Women's Institute report that half of the 600,000 Mexicans who emigrate each year are women. The number is higher than other estimates that place the number of people who leave Mexico each year between 400,000-500,000 individuals.

Enlisting in the undocumented workforce, women are exposed to the dangers of crossing the US-Mexico border illegally. As a coping strategy, Velasco said women who successfully cross the border, some traveling alone, tend to remain longer in the US than men. Mary Galvan, a social worker at the Mother Assunta Migrant House in Tijuana, said in a recent interview that women accounted for 25 percent of the nearly 4,000 migrants who died while attempting to cross the US-Mexico border since the implementation of Operation Guardian in 1994. Galvan said the actual percentage of female victims could be higher because not all bodies of victims are found.

The surge in Mexican women migrants is part of an international trend. According to the Santiago , Chile-based Latin American Center of Demography, women make up 50 percent of international migrants. In Latin America , women crossing borders for new lives is a widespread tendency. While Mexican women head for the US , Central American and Caribbean women seek new homes in Costa Rica . In South America , Chile is a magnet nation for other nationalities. In addition to the United States , Latin American women are relocating to Spain , Japan , Canada and the United Kingdom . Most of the new migrants are young, some are mothers and a majority is poor.

"The incorporation of women into the paid workforce is one of the factors that's contributing to the growing phenomenon of the international feminization of migration," said Patricia Cortes, the author of an immigration study for the Latin American Center of Demography.

Besides fleeing poverty, women migrate to escape sexual and domestic violence, armed conflicts and environmental destruction. Cortes found that the most successful women migrants were young singles with professional preparation who search for "a better future" while desiring to know the world.

Noting that migration frees women from traditional patterns of subordination, Cortes said it also leaves them vulnerable to new forms of exploitation and human rights violations. Cortes contended that the feminization of international migration demands the strengthening of human rights guarantees to address the "double vulnerability" women confront as migrants and women.

Sources: El Universal, March 6, 2006. Articles by Julieta Martinez. El Diario de El Paso/Notimex, February 23, 2006.

Shelters See More Minor Deportees

A Mexican government agency that assists indigent children and families reports a spike in cases of unaccompanied minors deported from the United States in the Sonora-Arizona border region. Flor Ayala Robles Linares, the director of the Integral Family Development (DIF) agency in Sonora , said in a recent interview that shelters in three Sonora border cities took in more than 600 minors last month. The minors were helped at state and municipal shelters located in San Luis Rio Colorado , Nogales and Agua Prieta. Ayala said minor assistance needs are especially great in Sonora and neighboring Baja California .

"There aren't many (minor deportees) in Chihuahua and Coahuila," Ayala said. " Baja California and Sonora account for 80 percent of the repatriations." According to Ayala, getting the children back home frequently poses a challenge. Nonetheless, she said about 98 percent of minors attended by the Sonora DIF last year were successfully placed with relatives.

"We haven't failed in returning them," Ayala said, "due to the assistance of the state DIF, which has helped us find the families of the children. Sometimes it takes us 3 or 4 weeks, but we manage to locate the relatives."

In 2005, the Sonora DIF served 6,700 minors. Ayala said her agency plans to set up a mobile home this year in Agua Prieta in order to better serve minor repatriates.

Source: El Sol del Centro (Aguascalientes)/Cambio Sonora, February 19, 2006.

Legislators Go After Remittance Monies

Targeting the $20 billion-plus dollars in remittances that flow from the United States to Mexico, state legislators in Arizona and Texas are considering taxing electronic money transfers to pay for what they contend are immigration-related border security and social service costs.

In Arizona , a House appropriations committee approved a resolution last week that would slap an 8 percent state tax on electronic money transfers abroad. The tax will be used to pay for a double and triple-walled border fence between Arizona and Mexico . The proposed wall is in addition to the one envisioned in HR 4437, the Sensenbrenner immigration bill, passed by the US House of Representatives late last year.

Arizona State Representative Russell Pearce (R-Mesa) defended HCR 2037 as a necessary tool to stop illegal immigration. Pearce said remittances should be subject to taxation because undocumented workers are "paid under the table" or maximize tax withholdings on their paychecks. Pearce estimated the remittance tax would generate $80 million dollars every year. US citizens and legal residents of Arizona also would be required to pay the tax when sending money abroad.

Opposed by Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano, HCR 2037 must now work its way through both houses of the Republican-controlled Arizona state legislature. The resolution will also appear as a ballot initiative in next November's state election.

Although Mexican media so far haven't given the same amount of attention to HCR 2037 as they did to the Sensenbrenner bill last year, sharp reaction to a remittance tax is already coming from some quarters. Lauro Lopez Sanchez, an assistant secretary in the federal Interior Ministry, called HB a "completely irrational measure." Lopez insisted that Mexican workers in the United States pay taxes from which they do not fully benefit. "(HCR 2037 ) is not going to prosper," Lopez predicted.

In Texas , meanwhile, a bill that taxes remittance monies is under consideration by state legislators. Sponsored by legislators Royce West of Dallas and Vilma Luna of Corpus Christi , HB 2345 would use money from a remittance tax to pay for emergency hospital costs. A similar measure died last year in the Texas state legislature. Spokesmen for Texas state Senator Eliot Shapleigh (D-El Paso), slammed HB 2345 as another "attack on the rights of immigrants."

Sources: El Diario de Juarez, February 18, 2006. Article by Lorena Figueroa. La Jornada, February 18, 2006. Article by Fabiola Martinez. El Financiero, February 17, 2006 . Arizona Daily Star, February 16, 2006 .