JOINT BORDER GOVERNORS CONFERENCE CALLS ON FEDS TO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 005362 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/MEX TREASURY FOR IA MEXICO DESK ALICE FAIBISHENKO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV ECIN ETRD MX SUBJECT: JOINT BORDER GOVERNORS CONFERENCE CALLS ON FEDS TO DO MORE Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Sonora Governor Eduardo Boars sponsored the 25th Annual Border Governor's Conference in Puerto Penasco, Sonora. Eight of the ten U.S. and Mexican border-state governors attended. Mexican President Felipe Calderon called for cross-border labor mobility and cooperation in combating the drug trade in his speech to the opening plenary. DHS Secretary Chertoff discussed the "virtual fence" and SIPDIS combating the drug trade. While a lot of working group time was spent on housekeeping and reviewing last year's accomplishments, some groups did have productive discussions that will likely become requests to the federal government. The conference was also an opportunity for border governors to seek greater involvement from the federal governments, namely the USG. End Summary. Introduction -------------- ¶2. (U) The State of Sonora sponsored the 25th annual Border Governor's Conference, a yearly meeting of the governors of the 10 border states and their representatives to discuss issues affecting the region. The state, in an effort to highlight the burgeoning tourism development of the region, hosted the conference in the seaside resort town of Puerto Penasco. The growing community of 44,000 is known in the U.S. as Rocky Point and is situated approximately four hours south of Phoenix by car. Attendees included: Eduardo Bours - Sonora Jose Reyes Baeza - Chihuahua Jose Natividad Gonzalez - Nuevo Leon Eugenio Elorduy - Baja California Humberto Moreira - Coahuila Eugenio Hernandez - Tamaulipas Arnold Schwarzenegger - California Janet Napolitano - Arizona ¶3. (U) Governors Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Rick Perry of Texas sent representatives. Mexican President Felipe Calderon, U.S. Secretary for Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Patricia Espinosa, Mexican Ambassador to the U.S., Arturo Sarukhan, Governor-Elect of Baja California, Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan, and Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs for North American Affairs, Carlos Rico participated in various sessions. Working Group Highlights -------------- ¶4. (U) Governors and staff members attended a series of working group meetings followed by a plenary session where the governors were able to discuss the issues facing the region. State representatives met during separate working groups covering agriculture, education, environment, economic development, water, energy, tourism, health, science and technology, logistics and international crossings, wildlife, and border security, as well as a special sub-working group specifically tackling emergencies and civilian protection cooperation. Session highlights included: Logistics and International Crossings: ¶5. (SBU) California representatives gave a presentation on WHTI and on the effectiveness of the double-stacked inspection booth concept that has been piloted over the last few months at the San Ysidro port of entry. According to his presentation, the concept of building one booth immediately after the existing inspection booth a la Wal-Mart or Target is an inexpensive though labor intensive way to improve throughput by up to 46 percent. The final declaration by the governors suggested installing double stacked booths widely on the US/Mexico border. Water: ¶6. (SBU) The Governor of Tamaulipas, during his final comments at the plenary session, said that Mexico should comply with its water sharing requirements in accordance with the provisions of the U.S.-Mexico 1944 water treaty. His MEXICO 00005362 002 OF 003 comment appeared directed at the Mexican federal government in support of Tamaulipas farmers who want the water allotted to the U.S. to come from the Conchos River basin and other listed sources further upstream, rather than those river systems that more directly affect Tamaulipas. Conversely, Jose Luis Luege, Director General of the National Water Commission (CONAgua),said during the Water worktable meeting that Mexico would comply with its treaty obligation to fully deliver water in the latest water cycle to the U.S. through a storage transfer using water in Amistad and Falcon reservoirs. WHTI: ¶7. (SBU) Participants in several working groups raised the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). Border States requests that have already been granted include: postponement of the roll out date, the use of a cheaper alternative document to the passport, and a comprehensive study of the economic effects of the WHTI. Border state representatives expressed concern over the lack of information on the pass-cards as a future alternative to passports; however, the rollout's postponement has calmed the states significantly. ¶8. (SBU) According to the USG commissioned economic impact finding summarized during the economic development work group, there will be a small net increase in northbound crossings as document requirements will not change for Mexican travelers. The combined gain from Canadian and Mexican travel across both borders into the U.S. is estimated to be 230 million USD per year. While all the Border States are interested in WHTI implementation plans, the U.S. states appear to have a more active concern as the Mexican states are limited in their ability to lessen its effects. Emergencies and Civilian Protection: ¶9. (SBU) The Emergencies and Civilian Protection group is a special non-standard working group, focuses on bi-national emergency response. This relatively new, but very active group assigned states on each side of the border to take charge of cataloging available first responder training particularly in advance of the possibility of an influenza pandemic. Participants assigned a second team to catalog first responder equipment slated for disposal that might be attractive to other jurisdictions. At least one Mexican state delegate, though, took the Mexican federal civil protection representative to task for the historical reliance on used, donated equipment for civil protection services. Mexican federal officials responded that funding is provided to state governments for civil protection as well as other security needs, but it is often diverted at the state level to police departments rather than civil protection authorities. One attendee suggested allocations be earmarked specifically for civil protect ion to assure adequate resources for the tasks at hand. ¶10. (SBU)The delegates also discussed developing a first responder MOU between adjoining border states as a first step to securing a compact permitting emergency services from any of the ten border states to respond to crises in any other state, addressing liability and other legal issues involved. Some northeastern US states and neighboring Canadian provinces have signed a similar existing compact and are working on a second that could prove a model for US/Mexico border states. Calderon Addresses Migration and Drug Fight -------------- ¶11. (SBU) During his opening session speech, President Calderon emphasized that his government recognized the importance of the recommendations coming out of the conference and that it should be powerful instrument to strengthen the integration between the two nations. On migration he said that the two nations are complementary in that the U.S. has capital and Mexico has the labor force. Mexican workers complement the U.S. work force and should be treated with dignity and respect. He acknowledged that immigration takes the strongest workers and separates families, and the only way to change the status quo is to generate conditions for prosperity in Mexico. However, he said that the region as a whole must be competitive, not just one country, and freedom of capital and labor movement is as MEXICO 00005362 003 OF 003 important to competitiveness as the free movement of goods and service covered by NAFTA. ¶12. (SBU) On combating the drug trade and reestablishing rule of law, Calderon said both countries have separate duties to fight crime and insecurity. He specifically noted that demand reduction was essential to reducing organized crime suppliers. Calderon also addressed the need to stop the flow of money and arms to drug traffickers in order to stop the flow of drugs from traffickers. Chertoff Misses Speech but Talks to Press, Governors -------------- -------------- ¶13. (SBU) Although DHS Secretary Chertoff was scheduled to address the closing session of the conference, flight delays caused him to arrive as Governor Bours was giving the closing remarks and he was unable to make his statement. Nonetheless, he was able to participate in the 30 minute press conference that followed the session. He also had brief private meetings with SRE Undersecretary Rico and Governor Bours. He later met with Governors Napolitano and Schwarzenegger over lunch. ¶14. (SBU) Press coverage focused on Chertoff's defense of the "virtual fence" and statements that the US and Mexico are discussing joint programs to address criminal gangs and drug trafficking. In response to complaints that the federal government is not doing enough to alleviate the bottlenecks at border crossings, Chertoff said that DHS is increasing the number of lanes at ports of entry and looking into high-tech solutions to speed up crossings. Chertoff praised President Calderon's efforts to battle the illegal drug trade and agreed with Calderon's statement on stemming the flow of weapons and money as well as drugs. He mentioned work between the USG and GOM to find partnership activities to fight organized crime. Conclusion -------------- ¶15. (SBU) Many of the working groups spent the majority of the time reviewing the accomplishments made in the year since the previous conference. Some topics, such as water, border security, and international crossings, were deemed federal issues and are thus impossible to solve at the border governor level. Governors from both sides criticized what they saw as unresponsiveness on the side of the U.S. government in dealing with border problems. The Mexican government showed strong support for the border governors, evidenced by President Calderon's attendance at the inauguration ceremony and the federal participation in the working groups. Arizona Governor Napolitano summed up participant sentiments by calling for the U.S. federal government to do more to help tackle the issues facing the border region. She said, "Our federal government can no longer satisfy us simply by coming to a meeting and giving a speech. What we require are resources and dedication and a priority setting that has yet to be seen." The state of California held the vice presidency and, in accordance with tradition, will host next year's conference in Hollywood. Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / BASSETT