Mexican President: Illegals Rescued by Elections

Eying the results so far in the U.S. presidential primary race, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said he is hopeful that the next administration in Washington will usher in reforms that would legalize the status of Mexican immigrants.

“It seems to me that the most radical and anti-immigrant candidates have been left behind and have been put in their place by their own electorate,” Calderon told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday, the day after the Super Tuesday primaries.

“My hope is that whoever the next president is, and whoever is in the new Congress, will have a broader and more comprehensive view” of the immigration problem.

Calderon said he took heart from the Super Tuesday results, but did not mention specific candidates, the Times reported.

Calderon is about to embark on a 5-day U.S. trip that will end in California, where he is scheduled to meet with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and migrant groups.

Calderon said one goal of his U.S. trip would be to generate support for immigration reform that would permit millions of Mexican to work in the U.S.

He also told the Times that Americans would “sooner or later” come to understand that the health of the American economy is linked to integration with Mexico and “greater freedom in labor markets.”