Embassy Row

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Mexicans in America

Mexican Ambassador Carlos de Icaza declared that no Mexican in the United States is a terrorist, as he defended Mexican migration across the border as healthy for the economies of both nations.

"Mexican migrants are not terrorists," Mr. de Icaza said in San Diego this week.

The ambassador did not distinguish between legal and illegal migration in his address to the Institute of the Americas, run by Jeffrey Davidow, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

An estimated 8 million to 12 million foreigners are in the United States illegally, and 60 to 70 percent of them are Mexican, according to the U.S. government.

Mr. de Icaza said, "Mexican migrants in the United States contribute to both the U.S. and Mexican economies."

Millions of legal and illegal Mexicans here send some portion of their salaries to relatives in Mexico.

The ambassador called on the United States to adopt "immigration reforms that allow us to have order, security and human dignity."

He noted the increasing political clout of Mexicans and other Hispanic immigrants, who now constitute the largest ethnic minority in the United States.

"One of the most important developments ... is the increasing influence of Mexican communities in the United States," he said.