Consul says Bush-Fox talks could aid Nevada

Friday, March 22, 2002 | 9:34 a.m.

Nevada could benefit from the U.S.-Mexico immigration talks, Las Vegas Mexican Consul Berenice Rendon said.

Speaking before President Bush's trip to Mexico -- his first since Sept. 11 -- Rendon said that efforts to legalize millions of undocumented workers could fatten state tax coffers to possibly help ease the nurse shortage.

"The most important thing about Bush and (Mexican President Vicente) Fox meeting on immigration is that it shows that the United States and Mexico are still moving forward on the issue, despite the terrorist attacks," she said.

Bush arrived in Mexico on Thursday and has met with Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. Bush and Fox are scheduled to meet one-on-one tonight.

Bush is expected to speak with his Mexican counterpart on modernizing the U.S.-Mexico border to strengthen security while not hindering commerce, investment in Mexico to help reduce immigration and immigration reform.

"If the meeting helps move forward the legalization of the estimated 3 million to 5 million Mexican workers who are undocumented, then Nevada will see tens of thousands of these people come out of the clandestine lives they are leading," Rendon said.

"The effects of this include that these workers would pay more taxes, which would help the local economy, and they would be able to obtain driver's licenses more easily, which would mean there would be more insured drivers on our roads," she said.

Another issue on the table between the two countries is increasing the number of visas available to workers who come to the United States to work for short periods of time.

Rendon said that Mexico and a growing number of businesses in the United States have said for years that certain industries suffer from an ongoing shortage of workers -- including the tourism and service industries.

Organizations such as the Nevada Restaurant Association and the Nevada Hotel and Lodging Association have said they need immigrant workers to fill their staffs, and that legalization of immigrants who are already here and reforms that would allow more to arrive would help.

Rendon said that a program is being tested in Texas -- where she served as consul from 1997 to 2001 -- that offers visas to Mexican nurses and teachers to work in the United States.

"If reforms are signed in the coming months between our two countries, this sort of program could also be tried in Nevada, where we have a shortage in these same professions," she said.

The consul and immigration and Hispanic organizations have said in recent weeks that moving ahead on immigration talks is also necessary to achieve the heightened security sought after Sept. 11.

"It is abundantly clear that having undocumented workers who are here come out into the light of day and regulating the flow of immigration across the border both serve the security of the United States," said Cecilia Munoz, vice president of La Raza, a Washington-based think tank on Hispanic issues.