Mexicans Say Bush's Measures Will Do Little to Slow Immigrants

Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Salvador Pena squinted under the glare of a U.S. Border Protection helicopter spotlight, dragged on a cigarette and studied the 10-foot metal fence he planned to hop the next day for his fourth illegal entry from Mexico.

``I've crossed here three times already,'' Pena, 22, said as the helicopter buzzed past him on a routine night round. ``I'm sure I can do this a few more times.''

A week ago, U.S. President George W. Bush said in neighboring Arizona that he would add officers, fences, surveillance planes and sensors to the border to slow the flow of migrants. The plan will do little to deter Pena and the hundreds of thousands of other Mexicans who cross each year because of the lure of jobs that pay at least five times more than in Mexico, said analysts including Arie Hoekman at the United Nations.

``The pull from the U.S. is tremendous,'' Hoekman, the Mexico representative for the UN population fund, said in an interview in Mexico City. ``Cutting that flow off is not going to be an easy task.''

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