One small step for immigration reform…

There’s no “perfect” solution for the emigration issue in Mexico. I’ve said before that remittances are not necessarily bad  for either the host or beneficiary country’s economy.  And, while Canadian and U.S. protectionist policies – especially in agriculture – are driving most emigration from Mexico and Central America, they’re not going to end tomorrow. In both Canada and the U.S. are going to need foreign farm — and other — labor for the foreseeable future.

It’s no secret I abjure Bush and all his works. However, to give the Devil his due, some kind of guest worker/bracero program is better than the other idiotic proposals floating around (“close the borders” and then fix the situation seems popular in Springfield, Missouri — and it’s not racist — honest!).

The big issue with border closing is that workers like these farm workers then cannot return home, and care for their families.  Under those conditions, they have no choice but to bring their families north.  And, absent some huge change in the economic system (and the end of subsidies for agribusiness in the U.S. and Canada), there is going to be a need for seasonal workers in both northern countries. 

A labor contract, and working papers are better than nothing.  This isn’t perfect, but it beats all the alternatives.  The Canadian program (small as it is) looks to be moving in the right direction:

At least seventy campesinos from various places in the State of Mexico will leave for Canada in the next few days, under contracts as part of the Federal “Temporary Migrant Workers” program.

Yesterday, the campesinos received economica assistance for various moving expenses from the office of the Secretaría of Labor and Social Planning.

The workers will stay legally in Canada for several months, with salaries of about $8.00 per hour, filling various jobs in rural area.

The waiting list for the program has more than a thousand willing farm workers, but the government is only able to offer less than 100 spaces at this time.

Planned for Flexibility

For her country’s part, Canadian Vice-Minister of International Commerce, Marie-Lucie Morin, said that the Canadian government is creating a mechanism a temporary mobile labor force. y.

Morin said it is important to create flexible policies, which will provide more job opportunities for a temporary, mobile work force in her country. She called on the governments of the three NAFTA countries to identify opportunity areas for private investment in the labor pool.

(my translation: el Universal, 08 Marzo 2007)