President Felipe Calderón said the United States and Mexico should "build bridges and not fences" on "Good Morning America" this morning. He told Diane Sawyer the U.S. government's plan to build a 700-mile fence, which would cost billions of dollars, would cripple the U.S. economy by creating a labor shortage.
Calderón mentioned farmers in Washington, whose apples have not been harvested because there aren't enough laborers. New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg and the Wisconsin secretary of agriculture both said industries in their regions would "collapse" without Mexican immigrants.
According to "Good Morning America," the White House is rewriting legislation that placed limits on employers who hire immigrants in order to save the season's harvest.
Though Calderón criticized U.S. immigration policy, he told Sawyer he appreciated Bush's failed efforts to reform the immigration policy last year. He also said he expects the Mexican economy to improve within a decade, greatly decreasing the number of people crossing the border for jobs.
"Speaking With Mexico's President" video
"Mexicans in America" video
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Photo courtesy of ABC
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