5-20-06, 10:39 am

Ricardo Alarcón, president of the National Assembly of People’s Power, has condemned the xenophobic, racist and fascist anti-immigrant tendencies of the Republican administration of George W. Bush. The Cuban parliamentary leader spoke on May 17 at the international World Population Issues in the 21st Century seminar, which is currently taking place in Havana, and where he also referred to the immigration phenomenon as one of the most crucial in today’s world.

In that sense, he harshly criticized Washington’s most recent escalation against immigrants - who form the basis of labor for important sectors of the U.S. economy -, which is most cruelly expressed in the militarization of the country’s southern border in order to prevent illegal entry into U.S. territory.

On this question, he referred to a study by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which in December 2000 announced its assessment of migration’s impact on the European Union, where profound changes are predicted for that region’s culture by the year 2015, something already evident in U.S. society.

After noting that this is a reality of today’s world that is not addressed in an appropriate manner, or in its political aspect, he said that industrialized nations need immigrants’ labor.

The Prensa Latina news agency reports that the U.S. Senate has approved the construction of a 600-kilometer wall along the country’s border with Mexico.

The bill, passed on a vote of 83-16, also provides for 800 kilometers of barriers being raised to prevent cars from entering.

During the Senate debate, hundreds of demonstrators protested near the Capitol demanding rights for immigrants, other news agencies reported.