VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGT #0534/01 0761616
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 171616Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9184
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 1037
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO PRIORITY 3490
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 0845
RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO PRIORITY 0404

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000534 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PREF PHUM CVIS SMIG GT XK CO DR EC MX
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTERS' DECLARATION ON U.S. IMMIGRATION 
POLICY 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  The Foreign Ministers of Central America, 
Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic met in 
Antigua, Guatemala, on March 15, 2006.  They reiterated their 
call for an hemispheric conference to promote "best 
practices" in temporary worker programs.  They agreed to 
launch information campaigns warning people of the risks 
involved in undocumented migration.  In connection with their 
ongoing desire to reduce the transaction costs of 
remittances, they expressed their concern about proposals to 
levy taxes on remittances.  As for immigration reform in the 
United States, they staked out the following "fundamental 
positions" while acknowledging "every country's sovereign 
right to conduct its own immigration and security policy." 
 
They further stated that: 
 
--  Partial measures that only harden immigration policies 
are not a holistic solution to migration challenges nor do 
they fully take advantage of the opportunities. 
 
--  New transnational threats (terrorism, narcotics 
trafficking, TIP, alien smuggling and other organized crime) 
require dialogue and cooperation among nations. 
 
--  To the extent that receiving countries can guarantee 
legal, safe, and orderly immigration, "benefits will redound 
to all countries involved." 
 
--  That temporary worker programs and the legalization of 
undocumented persons are essential to achieve legal, safe, 
and orderly immigration polices that are respectful of human 
rights.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) The following is an informal translation of the 
declaration issued following the ministerial.  (The original 
Spanish text was faxed to WHA/CEN.) 
 
(Begin translation) 
 
Joint Declaration of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs from 
the MesoAmerican Countries, Dominican Republic, Colombia and 
Ecuador. 
 
Antigua Guatemala, March 15, 2006 
 
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Senior Officials of the 
MesoAmerican Countries, Dominican Republic, Colombia, and 
Ecuador, met in the city of Antigua Guatemala on March 15, 
2006, with the aim of following up the meeting of Cartagena 
de Indias that took place on February 13, relating to joint 
actions in benefit of the migrant population of their 
countries, as well as to collaborate to achieve a better 
management of the migration phenomenon in their own countries 
and other States. 
 
The Ministers praised the results of the Meeting of Experts 
from Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union on 
Migration, held in Cartagena de Indias on March 1 and 2, 
where the following issues were addressed: Treatment, Rights 
and Integration of Migrants; New Approaches to Migration 
Policies; Irregular Migration and the Struggle against 
Trafficking of Persons; and, Remittances. 
 
Considering the importance of the establishment of bilateral 
programs for migrant workers, the Ministers reiterated their 
interest and disposition to hold a Hemispheric Conference to 
promote better practices on the subject.  In this context, 
they agreed to carry out a comparative study about procedures 
and current situation of their respective processes, that 
would allow the setting of guidelines and homogenous 
procedures for the application as well as for the follow-up 
and extension of these projects, so that they could be shared 
with those countries that have not benefited from these 
models for regulation of migration.  The Government of 
Guatemala will be responsible for coordinating the 
elaboration of such a study. 
 
Considering the risks involved for the people undertaking 
undocumented migration, they agreed to strengthen the 
cooperation between States through the means of specific 
information campaigns that have the collaboration of the 
organizations and entities related to this subject. 
 
Acknowledging the positive socio-economic contribution of 
migrants in the receiving countries and with respect to their 
communities of origin, they reiterated the importance of 
developing integral migration policies that include an 
 
ordered, safe, and efficient management of the migratory 
flows in accordance with the labor market demands and with 
respect for the human and labor rights of the migrants.  They 
also expressed the importance of intensifying efforts to 
reduce the cost of sending remittances.  In this sense, the 
Ministers and Senior Officials expressed their concern about 
the possibility that these remittances would be taxed and 
called for reconsideration of such measures. 
 
The Ministers and Senior Officials took note of, and thanked, 
the Technical Work Group on Migration, composed of 
Ambassadors and Senior Officials of the respective Foreign 
Ministries, for the report on the current state of the debate 
about immigration reform in the United States of America and 
acknowledged the importance and transcendence of the current 
debate. 
 
In this sense, they agreed to use all diplomatic and 
political channels to communicate to the relevant actors in 
the United States of America the fundamental positions of 
this group of nations: 
 
--  That, respecting the sovereign right of the countries to 
conduct their migration and security policy, partial measures 
that only consider the strengthening of the immigration 
policies do not represent an integral solution to deal with 
the challenges, nor to take advantage of the opportunities, 
that the migration phenomenon poses. 
 
--  That, in this twenty first century, new threats to the 
security of States, such as terrorism, narcotics trafficking, 
trafficking of persons, and other forms of organized crime, 
can only be addresses properly through dialogue and 
cooperation among nations. 
 
--  That the growing relation between migration, security, 
and frontier problems at the global level is a current 
reality in our relations; in consequence, it is necessary to 
harmonize these three elements when we formulate our policies 
on the migration issue. 
 
--  That the international implications of this phenomenon 
require actions and compromises between regions and  neighbor 
countries that, in the context of international cooperation, 
should be guided by the principle of shared responsibility. 
 
--  That, to the extent that recipient countries have 
adequate mechanisms that guarantee migration that is legal, 
safe, orderly and respectful of persons' human rights, 
dialogue and international cooperation in this matter will 
benefit all the countries involved and, in particular, it 
will contribute to improved attention to the diverse security 
concerns that we share. 
 
--  That, the establishment of schemes for temporary workers, 
along with the regularization of the immigrant status of 
undocumented persons, are essential elements in achieving 
migration processes that are legal, safe, orderly and 
respectful of human rights. 
 
The Ministers instructed their Ambassadors and the Technical 
Work Group on Migration to continue their work and keep their 
Ministries steadfastly informed.  They also agreed to remain 
in steadfast contact in order to continue evaluating progress 
on the migration issue. 
 
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Senior Officials 
expressed to the people and government of Guatemala their 
gratitude for all of courtesies and hospitality rendered 
during the meeting. 
 
Antigua, Guatemala, March 15, 2006. 
 
(End translation) 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Comment:  Although we were pleased with the 
moderate tone set by Guatemalan Foreign Minister Briz as 
host, the press characterized this ministerial's outcome as 
"bland," and immigrant rights' groups criticized the 
ministers for their non-confrontational stance, particularly 
with respect to what they consider to be the most 
objectionable elements of the Sensenbrenner bill (the wall 
and the criminalization of immigration violations). 
DERHAM