Immigration Reform News 2014: What Happens Next After Obama's Meeting With Canadian and Mexican Leaders?
The "Three Amigos" agree on one thing, that border protection should be a major priority.
The "Three Amigos" is not the film with those three comedic actors, these are three very serious world leaders, U.S. President Barack Obama, President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto, and the Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper.
The three world leaders have been meeting, discussing and deliberating at the North American Leader's Summit. During the meeting, the U.S., Mexico, and Canada agreed to streamline trade, travel and border controls between their countries. They also discussed the Keystone XL pipeline project, which is still a thorny issue for Canada.
Border protection has an indirect and direct impact on immigration and migration between these countries.
According to CNN, President Obama has called for a "fast-track" in trade authority from Congress for him to pursue the "Trans-Pacific Partnership." While this might sound like a dry and dull conference to some, timing is everything.
The conference was held on Feb. 19; one week later, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was arrested in a joint operation with Mexico and U.S. While President Nieto excoriated President Obama's deportation of Mexican immigrants, they worked together to bring the most dangerous man to justice.
Just like politics and politicians, everyone appears to disagree on the surface, but for the fundamental good they are willing to work together.
But not all of politicians are in agreement whether it is on the surface or not. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid voiced firm opposition to the massive free trade zone proposed by the "Three Amigos."
The friendly disagreement however, extended to the Keystone XL pipeline. It has been mainly Canada that has grown impatient over the lengthy approval of this deal. The project itself would transport oil from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf of Mexico. The project has been ongoing much to the ire of Democrats.
Democrats are divided over the project because some agree with it, while others are concerned about the environmental impact.
Speaking on immigration and border protection, Duncan Wood, Director of the Mexico Institute, wrote in Forbes that the North American Trusted Traveler Program is a good thing, this is the streamline travel between borders. Wood even suggests that the summit could have perhaps led to the joint arrest of "El Chapo."
Despite the nascent success of the summit, some U.S. Latino groups have criticized President Obama's aggressive deportation policy. Under President Obama's administration, deportations has reached record highs.
Despite the criticism, Obama officials have stated that the president is committed to comprehensive immigration reform that included a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers.
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