Immigration, Drugs Dominate Mexico Leader's U.S. Visit

Mica Rosenberg
Reuters
May 18, 2010

Calderon will be only the second foreign leader, after India's prime minister last November, to be received at the Obama White House with a state dinner, building on ties forged during Obama's two official visits to Mexico.

Trade between the two countries surpasses $1 billion dollars a day, with Mexico sending more than 80 percent of its exports to the United States. The U.S. government is funneling hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to help Mexico equip its security forces to fight powerful drug cartels.

Yet Arizona's new law to tackle illegal immigration, called "discriminatory" and "backward" by Calderon, has strained a bilateral relationship marked by regular ups and downs.

"We are bringing our protest to the United States government, during my state visit and in front of the U.S. Congress," Calderon told Reuters in an interview last week, ahead of his meeting with Obama on Wednesday.

The new Arizona law, which comes into force in July, will require police to check the immigration status of people they suspect are in the country illegally.

Calderon's government has issued a travel warning for the state, signaling Mexicans citizens could be harassed by law enforcement officials there.

Obama has vowed to tackle comprehensive immigration reform. A major overhaul looks unlikely this year as Washington has been bogged down with health care and financial regulation, but the Arizona crackdown has turned attention back to the issue.

"Immigration has exploded back onto the agenda. I don't think, in the context of planning the state visit, that was anticipated," said Eric Farnsworth, vice president at the Council of the Americas in Washington.

"Both governments at the national level agree that (the Arizona law) is not the right approach. You're going to have both presidents stand shoulder to shoulder talking about the need to address immigration," he said.

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