Boston Globe Illegal labor hits northeast, working conditions and wages slip The continued influx of illegal alien labor is hitting New England, according to the Boston Globe's Mark Erlich. They also tolerate job- site conditions that are deplorable. Washington State Dept. In a report on the illicit drug situation worldwide, the State Department said Mexican drug cartels remain powerful despite extensive counternarcotics efforts. Fox doesn't like the certification process.
Certification is more than an affront to Mexico and to other countries.
Bush wanted to 'please Fox' and set aside certification of his narco state, but Congress failed to act by today's deadline. The response deadline follows the Feb. 6 decision by a Nafta panel that ruled in favor of Mexico. The original opening for international trucking to border states on both sides was scheduled to begin in December 1995, with a full opening to all states on January 2000. However, President Clinton refused the opening, with the pretext that Mexican trucks were unsafe. Although President Bush has said he supports an open border, some sides have suggested that it should happen gradually, first only to border states.