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Immigration See other Immigration Articles Title: Mexican Leader Assails Border Fence Plan (11-08) 23:58 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Ahead of a meeting with President Bush, Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon is acknowledging his unhappiness with U.S. border security measures, saying the two countries need "bridges for progress and not walls that isolate and divide." U.S. steps to stem the flow of migrants across the border were expected to dominate Bush's discussions on Thursday with Calderon, who takes office on Dec. 1. Mexico has been highly critical of the U.S. plan to build a 700-mile fence along the border. The law authorizing the fence was signed by Bush on Oct. 26. Calderon noted that barbed wire is also part of the U.S. border control apparatus. The border region "should not be a zone of barbed wire but a zone of opportunities," Calderon said, according to a translation of his remarks. He spoke to a gathering of some 200 Hispanic leaders here. He meets with Bush in early afternoon on Thursday after a breakfast meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Also scheduled to attend the breakfast were Treasury Secretary Paulson, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Calderon acknowledged Wednesday that illegal border-crossings into the United States is an unpleasant issue for both countries. "Migration is not a desirable issue for anybody," he said. "It awakens enormous sensibilities in the United States and was at the center of the debate in the elections. And, he said, "it takes away the most daring part of our population and divides our families." In a statement issued Wednesday from Mexico City, U.S. Ambassador Antonio Garza said Bush and Calderon planned to discuss problems along the border caused by criminals and narco-traffickers. Other possible topics, Garza said, include further reductions in limits to free trade and finding ways to ensure "how both people and goods can cross our border in a legal, orderly, and more efficient way." ___ Associated Press Writer Nestor Ikeda contributed to this report. URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2006/11/08/national/w142704S45.DTL
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