FOREIGN MINISTERS' DECLARATION ON U.S. IMMIGRATION

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000534

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PREF PHUM CVIS SMIG GT XK CO DR EC MX
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTERS' DECLARATION ON U.S. IMMIGRATION
POLICY


1. (SBU) Summary: The Foreign Ministers of Central America,
Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic met in
Antigua, Guatemala, on March 15, 2006. They reiterated their
call for an hemispheric conference to promote "best
practices" in temporary worker programs. They agreed to
launch information campaigns warning people of the risks
involved in undocumented migration. In connection with their
ongoing desire to reduce the transaction costs of
remittances, they expressed their concern about proposals to
levy taxes on remittances. As for immigration reform in the
United States, they staked out the following "fundamental
positions" while acknowledging "every country's sovereign
right to conduct its own immigration and security policy."

They further stated that:

-- Partial measures that only harden immigration policies
are not a holistic solution to migration challenges nor do
they fully take advantage of the opportunities.

-- New transnational threats (terrorism, narcotics
trafficking, TIP, alien smuggling and other organized crime)
require dialogue and cooperation among nations.

-- To the extent that receiving countries can guarantee
legal, safe, and orderly immigration, "benefits will redound
to all countries involved."

-- That temporary worker programs and the legalization of
undocumented persons are essential to achieve legal, safe,
and orderly immigration polices that are respectful of human
rights. End Summary.


2. (U) The following is an informal translation of the
declaration issued following the ministerial. (The original
Spanish text was faxed to WHA/CEN.)

(Begin translation)

Joint Declaration of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs from
the MesoAmerican Countries, Dominican Republic, Colombia and
Ecuador.

Antigua Guatemala, March 15, 2006

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Senior Officials of the
MesoAmerican Countries, Dominican Republic, Colombia, and
Ecuador, met in the city of Antigua Guatemala on March 15,
2006, with the aim of following up the meeting of Cartagena
de Indias that took place on February 13, relating to joint
actions in benefit of the migrant population of their
countries, as well as to collaborate to achieve a better
management of the migration phenomenon in their own countries
and other States.

The Ministers praised the results of the Meeting of Experts
from Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union on
Migration, held in Cartagena de Indias on March 1 and 2,
where the following issues were addressed: Treatment, Rights
and Integration of Migrants; New Approaches to Migration
Policies; Irregular Migration and the Struggle against
Trafficking of Persons; and, Remittances.

Considering the importance of the establishment of bilateral
programs for migrant workers, the Ministers reiterated their
interest and disposition to hold a Hemispheric Conference to
promote better practices on the subject. In this context,
they agreed to carry out a comparative study about procedures
and current situation of their respective processes, that
would allow the setting of guidelines and homogenous
procedures for the application as well as for the follow-up
and extension of these projects, so that they could be shared
with those countries that have not benefited from these
models for regulation of migration. The Government of
Guatemala will be responsible for coordinating the
elaboration of such a study.

Considering the risks involved for the people undertaking
undocumented migration, they agreed to strengthen the
cooperation between States through the means of specific
information campaigns that have the collaboration of the
organizations and entities related to this subject.

Acknowledging the positive socio-economic contribution of
migrants in the receiving countries and with respect to their
communities of origin, they reiterated the importance of
developing integral migration policies that include an

ordered, safe, and efficient management of the migratory
flows in accordance with the labor market demands and with
respect for the human and labor rights of the migrants. They
also expressed the importance of intensifying efforts to
reduce the cost of sending remittances. In this sense, the
Ministers and Senior Officials expressed their concern about
the possibility that these remittances would be taxed and
called for reconsideration of such measures.

The Ministers and Senior Officials took note of, and thanked,
the Technical Work Group on Migration, composed of
Ambassadors and Senior Officials of the respective Foreign
Ministries, for the report on the current state of the debate
about immigration reform in the United States of America and
acknowledged the importance and transcendence of the current
debate.

In this sense, they agreed to use all diplomatic and
political channels to communicate to the relevant actors in
the United States of America the fundamental positions of
this group of nations:

-- That, respecting the sovereign right of the countries to
conduct their migration and security policy, partial measures
that only consider the strengthening of the immigration
policies do not represent an integral solution to deal with
the challenges, nor to take advantage of the opportunities,
that the migration phenomenon poses.

-- That, in this twenty first century, new threats to the
security of States, such as terrorism, narcotics trafficking,
trafficking of persons, and other forms of organized crime,
can only be addresses properly through dialogue and
cooperation among nations.

-- That the growing relation between migration, security,
and frontier problems at the global level is a current
reality in our relations; in consequence, it is necessary to
harmonize these three elements when we formulate our policies
on the migration issue.

-- That the international implications of this phenomenon
require actions and compromises between regions and neighbor
countries that, in the context of international cooperation,
should be guided by the principle of shared responsibility.

-- That, to the extent that recipient countries have
adequate mechanisms that guarantee migration that is legal,
safe, orderly and respectful of persons' human rights,
dialogue and international cooperation in this matter will
benefit all the countries involved and, in particular, it
will contribute to improved attention to the diverse security
concerns that we share.

-- That, the establishment of schemes for temporary workers,
along with the regularization of the immigrant status of
undocumented persons, are essential elements in achieving
migration processes that are legal, safe, orderly and
respectful of human rights.

The Ministers instructed their Ambassadors and the Technical
Work Group on Migration to continue their work and keep their
Ministries steadfastly informed. They also agreed to remain
in steadfast contact in order to continue evaluating progress
on the migration issue.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Senior Officials
expressed to the people and government of Guatemala their
gratitude for all of courtesies and hospitality rendered
during the meeting.

Antigua, Guatemala, March 15, 2006.

(End translation)


3. (SBU) Comment: Although we were pleased with the
moderate tone set by Guatemalan Foreign Minister Briz as
host, the press characterized this ministerial's outcome as
"bland," and immigrant rights' groups criticized the
ministers for their non-confrontational stance, particularly
with respect to what they consider to be the most
objectionable elements of the Sensenbrenner bill (the wall
and the criminalization of immigration violations).
DERHAM