Desert Whispers

Observations about Southern Arizona

President Fox should stay out of debate

Mexican President Vicente Fox wouldn't be a good comedian. His timing is way off.

Weeks after immigration marches and protests, Congress is again talking seriously about passing a comprehensive immigration reform bill. The acrimony, tensions and political posturing of past weeks seem to have subsided, and lawmakers are hard at work trying to hammer out a solution.

Fox is muddying the waters with his four-day, three-state tour in the United States. He was in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, and questions inevitably veered toward immigration.

"We don't set up walls, and that's not the way you're going to fix this situation," Fox said in Spanish, according to The Associated Press. What he's saying is nothing new, and it's an opinion held by many Americans.

Fox's comments are sure to agitate anti-immigration forces who will see him as a foreigner meddling in U.S. affairs. He might also come off as hypocritical following recent reports about the brutal treatment of illegal immigrants in Mexico.

It's in Mexico's interest for the United States to reach a solution on illegal immigration. For the sake of progress, Fox should stay out of the debate.