Tancredo to Fox - Mind Your Own Business

January 5, 2006

Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) has condemned Mexico’s President Vicente Fox'is threats against the United States over Congress’ recent actions to secure the border. Tancredo led a coalition of reform advocates in the House of Representatives to pass a bill last week that would, among other things, build a security fence along portions of the U.S.’s southern border, mandate that employers verify the legal status of employees and prevent local governments from harboring illegal aliens. President Fox called the bill “shameful” and his foreign secretary told the Associated Press, “Mexico is not going to bear, it is not going to permit, and it will not allow a stupid thing like this wall.”

“Which United States citizens voted Vicente Fox into office? Vicente Fox was not elected by the American people—how dare he butt into our domestic policies,” said Tancredo. “I, myself, have a bit of advice for Fox: it’s not becoming of a member of the ‘international community’ to lob vague threats at one’s neighbor. No ‘amigo’ of the U.S. threatens our sovereignty, and no good neighbor would entangle itself in our domestic politics.”

Tancredo continued, “Fox’s comments are symptomatic of the disordered relationship between our two countries. Mexico has become addicted to the remittances that Mexicans—both legal and illegal—send back from the United States. Those remittances represent nearly the greatest source of foreign direct investment into the country. Just like any addict, Mexico will do almost anything to get its next fix.”

“Although I continue to be disturbed by Mexico’s intentional, premeditated circumvention of U.S. immigration laws, I am no longer surprised,” concluded Tancredo. “Fox is a known quantity. His former foreign secretary told a Senate committee that Mexico wouldn’t cooperate with the U.S. unless we allowed an ever-increasing flow of laborers into our country. He established a ministry for Mexicans living in the U.S. His government has produced step-by-step guides for entering the U.S. illegally. And, his military routinely crosses onto U.S. soil, which violates every domestic and international law on the books. I’m disturbed but not surprised.”