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 News from Around the Americas | November 2006 
Latin Nations Condemn US Over Border Wall with Mexico
 AFP
| | Members of the National Guard drive tractors to an area where a portion of Border fence will be built October 2006 in San Ysidro, California. Spain, Portugal and their former colonies across the Americas roundly condemned the United States for its controversial border fence with Mexico, diplomats said. (AFP/Sandy Huffaker) |
Spain, Portugal and their former colonies across the Americas roundly condemned the United States for its controversial border fence with Mexico, diplomats said.
A special statement on the fence was put forward by Mexico and adopted by diplomats from 22 countries, according to Juan Jose Arteaga, lead organizer of the Ibero-American summit opening in Uruguay's capital Friday. The summit is focusing on migration issues.
President George W. Bush on October 26 signed into law a controversial bill authorizing construction of a fence along the US-Mexico border. Bush said the law -- which allows for the creation of a 1,100-kilometer-long (700-mile-long) fence along a third of the US border with Mexico -- would make the frontier more secure.
Mexico has said the fence was an insult and would not solve migration problems.
On October 4, the US president had signed into law another bill earmarking some 1.2 billion dollars in funding for the barrier, in a bid to stanch the steady flow of illegal immigrants into the United States.
Mexico had warned it would damage bilateral relations.
The 1.2 billion dollars approved by Bush fell well short of estimates to build fencing along the porous southern US border.
The fence's cost has been estimated at up to six billion dollars.
According to a poll by Opinion Research Corp. for CNN, 53 percent of Americans oppose the barrier, while 45 percent support it. |
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