Czar plan bodes well for border

Diana Washington Valdez
El Paso Times
August 20, 2001

The idea of a border czar, someone in the U.S. government to coordinate border issues, is still alive, U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said.

"That is still something the president wants to consider," Reyes said during a recent meeting with the El Paso Times editorial board.

The fact that George W. Bush appears interested in the proposal is encouraging for the border region, considering he seemed clueless on the issue at the start of his administration.

Reyes, former U.S. drug czar Barry McCaffrey and others began pushing the possibility of the president appointing someone, and giving him or her sufficient clout, to address border-related concerns.

Mexico President Vicente Fox, the first president of that country to assign importance to the U.S.-Mexico border, has already appointed his border czar, Ernesto Ruffo Appel.

The initial idea was for Appel and his U.S. counterpart to tackle the borderlands, and report directly to their respective presidents.

Slow going

The Mexico border czar got off to a slow start, mainly because the position was new and had no budget, and Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda did not want to give up any political terrain involving foreign relations.

Bush doesn't have a budget for a U.S. border czar, either, but that will follow once he decides to create the position.

Several Mexican legislators who recently were in El Paso said the Mexico border czar situation likely will improve as lawmakers get a better grasp of his role.

"His office basically serves President Fox, so he's not a part of the congress, but we expect him to have a budget next year to carry out the projects he presented to us," said Alfonso Bravo y Mier, a federal congressman.

Another Mexican lawmaker, Roberto Aguirre, said, "Most of the programs the border czar wants to pursue require the involvement of high-level U.S. officials. I believe he has the backing of our congress, and he will certainly have a budget in the near future."

Immigration hot

Reyes and the Mexican lawmakers say immigration issues continue to be high on the U.S. and Mexico political agendas.

"It's a priority for Mexico," said Bravo, adding that he has never seen such openness on the part of both governments to discuss each other's immigration concerns.

Reyes said a possible amnesty and a proposed guest-worker program are top items on the U.S. legislative agenda.

Whether Mexican trucks are allowed into the interior of the United States is another volatile binational issue. Reyes said he is all for safe trucks and reiterated that, like Bush, that he's opposed to adopting safety standards for Mexican trucks that are stricter than the standards for U.S. or Canadian trucks.

The congressman from El Paso said he got wind that Mexico plans to send all new trucks into the United States, not the rickety kind that we see each day within the border-zone limits. He feels that should silence opponents.

Diana Washington Valdez covers border affairs. Her column appears each Monday. She may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com