[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 7, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H574-H575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            ADDRESSING THE ROOT CAUSE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 31, 2006, the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, under the leadership of 
our colleagues Jim Kolbe and John Cornyn, a bipartisan, bicameral 
delegation attended the 45th meeting of the U.S.-Mexico Inter-
Parliamentary group that was held in Mexico. The House Members, on 
Saturday, then went to the Mexico-Arizona border. We had the 
opportunity there to meet with local law enforcement officials and 
hospital administrators to discuss the tremendous strain that illegal 
immigration imposes on resources and law and order in our communities.
  As an advocate of greater security at our borders, I have long 
supported addressing the root cause of illegal immigration, and that is 
a lack of economic opportunity that exists at home for the people in 
Mexico. We know that the majority of illegal immigrants come to this 
country for one very simple reason. They are seeking economic 
opportunity. They want to better their lives. They want to feed their 
families. Economic growth, job creation, and higher wages in Mexico are 
special components to a long-term solution to the very serious problem 
of illegal immigration.
  By pursuing an open trade agenda that expands economic engagement in 
this hemisphere, we are not only shoring up our regionally based 
economy, and creating new opportunities for the United States workers, 
we are benefiting workers, the business owners and investors as well.
  Mr. Speaker, we are hoping to drive the economic growth necessary to 
reduce the number of illegal immigrants who are trying to make that 
dangerous trek across the border, doing so simply because of the fact 
that they are wanting, as I said, to feed their families. It was 
therefore with great interest that I read a recent Business Week 
article describing the emergence of a growing middle class in our 
neighbor to the south.
  The success of the North American Free Trade Agreement can be seen in 
the greater economic stability outlined in this Business Week piece. It 
talked

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about steady growth, tame inflation, climbing wages and falling 
interest rates. This increasingly stable and healthy economic 
environment has helped Mexico become, and I quote from the Business 
Week article, a middle-class nation where millions have access to 
mortgages, solid jobs provide security, and a class of strivers saves 
to put its kids through college.
  Mr. Speaker, Mexico's middle class has grown to over 10 million 
families or 40 percent of all the households in Mexico. Business Week 
also credits home ownership as another key factor in the emergence of a 
robust middle class. Strong economic fundamentals have slashed mortgage 
rates in half in just 2 years. The growing ranks of Mexican homeowners 
buttresses middle-class growth by allowing families to build equity, 
plan for their financial futures and move further up the economic 
ladder.
  The middle class has also been able to afford additional consumer 
goods. Last year, auto sales in Mexico were up 33 percent from 2000 as 
a record 1.3 million cars and trucks were purchased. Home appliance 
sales have tripled in the past decade. Even extras like concert tickets 
and sporting events tickets are increasingly accessible to the average 
working family.
  Mr. Speaker, most of us would not consider refrigerators or baseball 
games to be major luxuries. But for a country that has struggled 
greatly with poverty and deep economic crises, these are signs of 
tremendous economic progress. They are proof that our policy of 
economic engagement through agreements like the North American Free 
Trade Agreement are working to bring new opportunities for the people 
in Mexico and also for the people right here in the United States.
  They are an important step forward in ensuring that the swollen ranks 
of illegal immigrants are losing their incentive to come here illegally 
to find opportunity. Mexican officials are demonstrating the fact that 
they recognize the reality of the problem of illegal immigration as 
well. On February 16th, the Mexican Congress adopted a resolution that 
acknowledged the graveness of the illegal immigration issue and 
outlined the principles of its agenda to combat the problem. This 
resolution cited economic opportunity as critical to a successful 
campaign to prevent illegal immigration to the United States and to 
encourage the return of migrants to their homes in Mexico.
  I am encouraged by the Mexican Parliament's bold language in 
accepting responsibility for action, and putting forth the outline of a 
plan. I am heartened that economic growth is central to Mexico's long-
term strategy, because we know a growing Mexican middle class is a 
shrinking illegal immigrant class.
  With greater hope for the future, there is a greater incentive to 
stay and build a life at home. Mexico is pledging to remain committed 
to a pro-growth agenda. We must remain equally committed to an open 
trade agenda that helps our southern neighbor to continue down a path 
of economic growth and greater opportunity.

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