Mexican migrants' union demands action after murder
03 May 2007 19:47:41 GMT Source: Reuters
By Noel Randewich MEXICO CITY, May 3 (Reuters) - A union representing Mexican seasonal workers on U.S. farms demanded on Thursday that Mexico's government solve the murder of one of its officials who protected immigrants from con men. Labor representatives said they fear for their safety after 29-year colleague Santiago Rafael Cruz was beaten and killed in the union's office in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey on April 9. Cruz's union, Mexico's Farm Labor Organizing Committee, watches out for the rights of Mexicans who obtain visas to temporarily pick tomatoes and cucumbers on farms in North Carolina and Ohio. In recent years, the union has helped thwart shady middlemen who travel Mexico's countryside charging peasants up to $1,200 to apply for temporary visas, which legally should be free. Union lawyer Alejandra Ancheita told reporters local police have made no progress but that she would soon meet with the federal government to press for better results. "We want an investigation of the murder of Santiago Rafael Cruz, as well as everything that led up to it and the persecution suffered by migrant rights workers," she said. The union, affiliated with the huge AFL-CIO labor federation, advises immigrant workers of their rights in the United States and represents them in negotiations with U.S. employers. Union officials say "facilitators" claiming to be official representatives of U.S. farms illegally made money from thousands of more than 60,000 guest worker visas handed out by the U.S. government last year. "This collection of money is a gold mine for corrupt groups," said Baldemar Velasquez, head of the union and son of Mexican workers who settled in the United States. Union officials said burglars have broken into the Monterrey office twice in two years, stealing computers and files. They want Mexico's government to install a security camera for the office and supply satellite telephones to union advisers who travel to remote rural areas helping potential guest workers. Mexican police are widely seen as corrupt and inept, and convictions for serious crimes are rarely made. U.S. President George W. Bush wants to expand guest worker programs to allow more Latin Americans to work legitimately in the United States. Velasquez warned that increasing the size of temporary worker programs would also create more opportunities for swindlers to take advantage of Mexican farm workers.
