By Andrew L. Jaffee

When the Agence France-Presse is less politically correct than the AP, you have to know something’s afoot. When I first saw the headline that President Bush signed the bill authorizing 700 miles of new fence between the U.S. and Mexico, I thought, “Great; better border security and greater control over immigration.” That’s not quite how the AP saw it, in the first paragraph, no less:

President George W. Bush signed a bill Thursday authorizing 700 miles (1,125 kilometers) of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, hoping to give Republican candidates a pre-election platform for asserting they are tough on illegal immigration.

While I wouldn’t deny there’s politics involved, polls of Americans on immigration consistently show:

…69 percent said it [House Bill 4437] was a good or very good idea when told it tries to make illegals go home by fortifying the border, forcing employer verification, and encouraging greater cooperation with local law enforcement while not increasing legal immigration; 27 percent said it was a bad or very bad idea.

In other words, Bush is representing the American people by building more fencing between the U.S. and Mexico. Er, ah, dear AP: that’s the way it works.

In contrast to the AP, here’s Agence France-Presse:

US President George W. Bush on Thursday signed a law authorizing construction of a fence along the US-Mexico border, shining a spotlight on the issue of illegal immigration some 12 days ahead of US legislative elections.

At a White House signing ceremony for the bill, Bush said the law — which allows for the creation of a 1,100-kilometer (700-mile) fence along a third of the US border with Mexico — would make the frontier more secure.

On October 4, the US president had signed a bill earmarking some $1.2 billion in funding for the fence, in a bid to staunch the steady flow of illegal immigrants into the United States.

Bush approved the fence despite strong opposition from Mexico, whose government has said the barrier would “damage” bilateral relations.

No blatant eulogizing, just basically a news report. And, by the way, who gives a hoot if Mexico is upset? It just wants to solve its economic problems by dumping its unemployed on the U.S.

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Related: United States, Latin America, Immigration

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