[Vision2020] Sali Seeks to Delay Mexican Consulate

[Tom Hansen]

In a statement by Will Rainford (legislative advocate for the Roman 
Catholic Diocese of Boise) in the Idaho Statesman at:

http://www.idahostatesman.com/readersopinion/story/345635.html
 
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Will Rainford: Rep. Sali doesn't understand the purpose of a country's 
consulate

Like Don Quixote, Rep. Bill Sali charges about, fighting dragons where 
there are none. 

Recently, he denounced the creation of a Mexican consulate in Idaho. His 
claim is that, were a Mexican consulate to be established in Idaho, our 
state would be flooded with undocumented immigrants. And so, he has taken 
upon himself the fight against the establishment of the consulate in Boise.

But what may be politically good for Rep. Sali is not good economically 
for the state of Idaho. After all, Idaho and Mexico are strong economic 
partners, with Idaho establishing a trade office in Jalisco, Mexico, our 
sister city south of the border. 

A Mexican Consulate in Idaho would further strengthen this economic 
partnership. Billions of dollars in trade flow back and forth between 
Idaho and Mexico. Annually, Idaho's produce and products earn more than 
$100 million south of the border. That's a whole lot of cheese, potatoes 
and wheat, not to mention hundreds of other commodities sold to Mexico. In 
the Magic Valley alone, farmers enjoyed the sale of more than $1.7 million 
in bean seeds to Mexico. Mexico is Idaho's second largest trade partner. 
Do we really want to stifle that trade as a result of our elected 
congressman's political posturing?

Consulates, Mexico's or others,' are not in the business of breaking the 
laws of the United States. They do not ferret undocumented immigrants in 
under our noses. Too much is at stake for them to do so. 

Rep. Sali seems to believe that Mexico is not to be trusted; that the 
consulate is an agent of the enemy; that the consulate is the haven of 
undocumented immigrants. Nothing could be further from the truth.

What is the truth about the purpose and function of foreign consulates? 
They are intended to assist the citizen of the represented country in 
official relation to the United States and the host state. 

In Idaho, that means the Mexican consulate would facilitate the rights and 
responsibilities of its citizens living here. 

Over 150,000 Latinos, most of whom come from Mexico, now live and work in 
Idaho. Their combined economic contribution to the state well exceeds $10 
billion annually. Less than 2 percent of immigrants from Mexico are 
undocumented. In many cases, the "illegality" of their presence stemmed 
from paperwork that had expired due to the excessive "backlogs" in the 
current immigration process, versus falsification of documentation. And in 
cases where documents were falsified, the immigrant could have made legal 
choices were a representative from the Mexican government available to 
assist.

The Mexican consulate is an official presence of the Mexican government. 
We would be bringing one of our largest trade partners here to help 
facilitate trade and commerce, while ensuring the rights and 
responsibilities of its citizens are upheld. We need such a presence in 
Idaho.

Rep. Sali sees dragons where there are only windmills. Unfortunately, he 
misleads his constituents who need the economic windmills he seeks to 
slay. 

Let us welcome and embrace one of our major trade partners in our state, 
including its thousands of hard working, family-loving immigrants who call 
Idaho home.

Will Rainford is the legislative advocate, Roman Catholic Diocese of 
Boise. 

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Perhaps if Arnold is co concerned about government entities providing safe 
haven for illegal activities, he should look into "career" students 
receiving federally-subsidized financial aid.  Now, THERE is the 
proverbial bucket of worms.

Seeya at the Renaissance Fair, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho


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