Mexico's Fox To Press Schwarzenegger On Immigrants

by Diego Cevallos

Initial contacts with Schwarzenegger and his team will be made this week, sources from Mexico's foreign ministry told IPS on Wednesday.

This swift action has to do with the fact that nearly 10 million of the 33.8 million people in California are of Mexican origin, making it by far the biggest immigrant group in the state.

Schwarzenegger, a Republican, was elected Tuesday in a vote on removing Democratic governor Gray Davis and choosing a replacement.

The bodybuilding actor of Austrian birth, famous for his Hollywood movie roles -- particularly as the indestructible man-robot known as the Terminator -- will be sworn in as governor next month.

Immigrant rights activists in Mexico and California alike have expressed concern about the policies Schwarzenegger might implement.

In the past, the governor-elect has taken positions against immigrants, and in his electoral campaign was advised by Pete Wilson, who in 1994, when he was governor of California, promoted Proposition 187, a law that would deny education and health services to undocumented immigrants.

A California coalition of rights organizations and immigrant groups spoke out against Schwarzenegger during the electoral campaign. Given the results of the vote, its members will begin outlining a strategy to promote and defend immigrants under the new government.

Schwarzenegger's victory should not be interpreted as a setback for efforts on behalf of immigrants, says Jose Espinoza, director of Horizons Unlimited, a non-governmental group that works with Latino youth in the California city of San Francisco.

"But we have to keep up the fight until the economic contribution the immigrant Latino population has made to this country is recognized -- from the planting and harvesting of vegetables to those who serve in the restaurants and the mansions of the 'gringos,'" Espinoza told IPS.

Among the first immigrant-related matters Schwarzenegger will have to deal with is whether to revoke a decree issued by Davis that allows immigrants without resident permits to obtain a driver's licence if they present a registration issued by Mexican consulate offices in the United States and pass the driving test.

Former Mexican foreign minister Jorge Casta–eda said that in the heat of the electoral campaign no-holds-barred attempts were made to establish the new governor as anti-immigrant, but in practice it is highly unlikely that Schwarzenegger would adopt stringent policies because of the economic and political consequences they might have.

Casta–eda noted that the post of lieutenant governor of California will remain in the hands of Democrat Cruz Bustamante, who was also a candidate in the race to replace Davis. Bustamante is the son of Mexican immigrants and promises to defend immigrants.

Commentators have been saying that any of Schwarzenegger's anti-immigrant ideas are likely to be toned down by the influence of his wife, Maria Shriver, a Democrat and niece of President.

The state of California is the world's fifth-largest economy, and one of Mexico's leading trade partners. Furthermore, most of the more than $10 billion that Mexican immigrants send home each year to their relatives in Mexico comes from that state.

There are 15.1 million people on California's electoral rolls and 12.5 percent are of Mexican origin.

During the campaign Schwarzenegger altered his former view on immigrants and said he would respect their rights.

He said he would work with the U.S. federal authorities to resolve the situation of many undocumented immigrants so that they no longer have to live in hiding.

But despite his statements, suspicions persist. Schwarzenegger opponents point out that in 1994 the actor supported Proposition 187, a law that was later frozen by a federal judge.

The anti-Arnold camp also notes that the governor-elect opposed allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.

"Mexico has no choice but to negotiate with Schwarzenegger. Our interests in California are extensive and the presence of our compatriots -- legal and illegal -- is significant," Mexican international expert Graciela Valdez told IPS.

The tally of 10 million Mexicans living in California could rise significantly if thousands of undocumented immigrants overcome their fears and present themselves to be counted in the census conducted in the United States every decade.