They think they have a right to veto OUR laws, they ought to be cleaning up THEIR country so their people won't have to flee to the US to earn a living
MEXICOPlans to apply fee on wire transfers denouncedBills in Georgia and Arizona proposing a surcharge on money wire transfers from immigrants have come under fire from the Mexican government.GIOVANNA DELL'ORTO
Associated Press
Mar. 04, 2006
www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/international/14013217.htmATLANTA - The Mexican government has denounced bills in Georgia and Arizona that would tack a surcharge on wire transfers from illegal immigrants, instructing its consulates to consider ''legal actions'' should the proposals become law.
The Mexican Foreign Relations Department's statement is the latest the country has lodged against legislation it deems ``discriminatory toward people of Hispanic origin in general, and Mexican nationality in particular.''
Mexico's Consul in Atlanta, Remedios Gomez-Arnau, said she has spoken to Georgia legislators about the impact the proposed legislation would have on Mexican immigrants -- legal and illegal.
''The Mexican government is very respectful of the legislative process, but that doesn't mean it doesn't follow it and promote dialogue,'' she said.
Mexico's basic stance is that illegal immigration wouldn't be the problem it is if the United States didn't have a strong demand for workers and if more visas existed for the kind of jobs -- in construction, agriculture, hospitality -- that illegal immigrants tend to fill.
Although it's common for governments to advise its citizens living abroad of their rights, election-year politics -- both in the U.S. and Mexico -- translate into more heated rhetoric and more public positions, said Andrew Selee, director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center.
Georgia's ''Illegal Immigrant Fee Act,'' which the state House passed last month and now goes to the Senate, requires wire-transfer customers to show proof that they are in the U.S. legally or be charged a 5 percent fee on transfers.
In Arizona, the busiest illegal entry point along the southern border, a legislative committee has endorsed a plan that, if approved by voters, would use an 8 percent tax on electronic money transfers to pay for building the border wall.