At Least They Can Give Us A Reach-around

[IntenseOperator]

yet they still come here in truckloads???


Mexico's economy hums as foreigners pour cash in

February 20, 2008
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's economy grew 3.3 percent in 2007, slightly faster than the government had projected, as foreign investment soared amid a cooling in the United States, the Treasury Department said Tuesday.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced, was boosted by brisk 4.4 percent gains in the service sector, which helped compensate for slowing 2 percent growth in agriculture and 1.4 percent growth in industry, the department said.

Mexico announced that foreign direct investment rose 21 percent in 2007 to $23.2 billion, the second-largest amount in its history.

Half of the total invested went to manufacturing, signaling a supply of ''well-paid jobs, and that there is trust in the administration of President Felipe Calderon,'' Economy Secretary Eduardo Sojo told reporters.

Nearly half of investments came from the United States, while Holland followed with 15 percent and Spain with 10 percent, Sojo said.

 

[AR182]

i always found it amazing that with all of mexicao's resources, the mexican gov't. has gotten away with 'murder" by not taking care of it's own & making it an american problem.

 

[smurphy]

I'm pretty sure that CEO's of our manufacturing firms, clothing and produce companies, and retailers do not think the conditions in Mexico are a problem. ...more like an opportunity. The conditions in the USA are the problem. We have pesky minimum wages, benefits, environmental laws, and other regulations to guarantee reasonable quality of life.

 

[IntenseOperator]

I thought the program was to be "Mexican business friendly" so as to keep the jobs "down there" along with the illegals. Don't know what the relationship is as far as cost of living vs wages. I think the last few administrations were pro propping up Mexican business etc. It would seem going that route has been the wrong thing to do cuz they keep coming here in droves.:shrug: and want want want

 

[IntenseOperator]

'Virtual fence' OKd to guard Mexico border

SECURITY | High-tech barriers aimed at immigrants, smugglers

February 23, 2008
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- A 28-mile ''virtual fence'' that will use radars and surveillance cameras to try to catch people entering the country illegally has gotten final government approval.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced approval of the fence on Friday. The fence, built by the Boeing Co., uses technology the government plans to extend to other areas of the Arizona border, as well as to sections of Texas. The projects could get under way as early as this summer, said department spokeswoman Laura Keehner.

The virtual fence is part of a national plan to secure the southwest border with physical barriers and high-tech detection capabilities intended to stop illegal immigrants on foot and drug smugglers in vehicles. As of Thursday, 302 miles of fencing had been constructed.

Chertoff said the virtual fence already is working.

On Feb. 13, an officer in a Tucson command center -- 70 miles from the border -- noticed a group of about 100 people gathered at the border. The officer notified agents on the ground and in the air. Border Patrol caught 38 of the 100 people who tried to cross illegally, and the others went back into Mexico, said a Homeland Security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he isn't authorized to speak publicly.

The virtual fence system includes 98-foot unmanned surveillance towers that are equipped with an array of sophisticated technology including radar, sensors and cameras capable of distinguishing people from cattle at a distance of about 10 miles. The cameras are powerful enough to tell group sizes and whether people are carrying backpacks that may contain weapons or drugs.

''I have personally witnessed the value of this system,'' Chertoff said.