By Kay Scrimger
February 6, 2006

International Affairs Committee members and speakers discussed immigration, new Department of State initiatives, Sister Cities, and the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative January 25.

Committee Vice Chair San Bernardino Mayor Judith Valles chaired the committee. The committee chair is Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf.

U.S. Department of Labor Deputy Secretary Steven J. Law outlined President Bush’s Temporary Worker Plan (TWP). He was pleased to address the committee, because, “The real frontlines of government are in cities,” he said.

The program matches willing foreign workers with willing American employers, when no Americans can be found to fill the jobs, thus offering legal status as temporary workers to undocumented people now employed in the U.S. Legal status lasts three years and is renewable; however, those who do not remain employed, follow the rules of the program, or obey the law must return home.

“While achieving this goal, we must also make sure that our borders are secure,” he said. During the last year, Law said, “The President and the Department of Homeland Security have been strengthening immigration enforcement, increasing funding for border security, personnel and technology, and working to break the cycle of endless litigation over deportation proceedings."

Valles discussed another aspect in the treatment of immigrants: the consular matricula identification card, recognized by about 80 cities in the United States, including San Bernardino, Atlanta, and Houston. Issued by Mexican consulates, it offers identification that allows immigrants to check out library books, obtain a driver’s license, cash checks, and have similar rights, depending on the jurisdiction in which they live and work.

Portia Palmer, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and the Office of Public Liaison, U.S. Department of State, reviewed Secretary Condoleeza Rice’s new initiative, "Transformational Diplomacy,” which will reposition U.S. diplomatic personnel to better ensure coverage of critical areas in Africa, South and East Asia, and the Middle East.

Palmer noted, “There are nearly 200 cities worldwide with over one million people in which the U.S. has no formal diplomatic presence.” The U.S. Department of State will strengthen and increase regional diplomacy centers, establish more American “presence posts” and create “virtual presence posts,” Internet sites that can be managed by one or more diplomats and reach millions of local citizens.

Sister Cities International (SRI) Executive Director Tim Honey described the fifty year golden anniversary of his association, which will be celebrated this year in a conference in Washington, (DC), July 13-15. Sister Cities works with cities in many areas, including technical assistance for economic development strategies. SRI has also recently launched a new fund-raising tool, available on their web page, www.sister-cities.org.

Burlington (VT) Mayor Peter Clavelle highlighted his city’s innovative Sister City relationships including relationships with Puerto Caberzas, Nicaragua; Yaroslavl, Russia; the Palestinian city of Bethlehem and the Israeli city of Arad; “Sister Lakes” linking municipal officials sharing lakes in common; and his community’s hard work and commitment to Moss Point, (MS) in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Laredo Mayor Elizabeth G. Flores, co-chair of the Cities and Borders Task Force, and Federation of Canadian Municipalities President Gloria Kovach, also city councilor of Guelph, Ontario, discussed the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), scheduled to go into effect in early 2008, requiring U.S. citizens traveling to or from Western Hemisphere countries to have additional identification than presently required. Both Flores and Kovach expressed strong concern about the potentially detrimental impact on trade and citizen movement across Mexican and Canadian borders.