Last week's visit to the San Joaquin Valley by Mexico's ambassador to the United States highlighted the many opportunities and challenges that we have in our relationship with our neighbor to the south.
The most contentious issue, of course, is illegal immigration and its tie to the success of the most productive ag region in the world.
That issue was at the forefront as Arturo Sarukhan candidly discussed immigration with farming representatives as well as farmworkers in the Fresno area.
Farmers are concerned about having enough labor to get their crops to market and workers are worried about the growing anti-immigrant feelings in the U.S.
Sarukhan, who has no illusions that the immigration issue will be solved on the U.S. side of the border this year because of presidential election politics, said that Mexico must play a major role in addressing the problem. Greater economic opportunities in Mexico would reduce the need for workers to cross the dangerous border to find work in the U.S.
Sarukhan told The Fresno Bee that he supports a temporary guest-worker program that would give agriculture a reliable supply of labor and require workers to return to their home country. He said the U.S. should enter into a program similar to the successful one that Mexico has with Canada, which would benefit valley farmers who rely on Mexican workers to harvest their crops.
This issue could be resolved, but too many politicians and interest groups would rather demagogue it. A guest-worker program would be a start, along with clarifying the status of the 11 million undocumented people in the U.S.
We have long supported comprehensive immigration reform in our editorials. As we have said in the past, it should include strong border security to limit illegal immigration, as well as making our nation safer from terrorists intent on doing damage in this country.
We also need a fair guest-worker program, and there should be an opportunity for those here illegally to earn legal residency if they meet strict requirements, including paying fines and showing they have had a responsible work history, and have not broken the law beyond their residency issues.
The ambassador's visit to the San Joaquin Valley is evidence that the impact of these issues on our region is being discussed at the highest levels of the Mexican government. And we hope those talks -- as well as others in Washington, D.C. -- lead to much-needed meaningful reform.
Editorials are the opinion of the Merced Sun-Star editorial board. Members of the editorial board include Publisher Eric Johnston, Executive Editor Mike Tharp, Online Editor Brandon Bowers and Guest Editor Jessica Boerner-Grissom.
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