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At first glance, two articles on the front page of The Times last Saturday might seem unrelated. But they suggest a wrong way and a right way for this country to deal with the Mexicans, and other Latin Americans, who are here illegally.
One article dealt with the summit meeting between President Reagan and President Miguel de la Madrid in Mexicali. It focused on the issues that they discussed in four hours of meetings-including Mexico's economic troubles, international drug trafficking, the crisis in Central America and environmental problems along the border.
Only at the end did the article note that "immigration problems" also came up. And that passing reference is an accurate reflection of how insignificant the issue was at the summit. In fact, when senior officials of the Reagan Administration briefed the White House press corps concerning the meeting afterward, they did not include immigration on their list of topics. It came up only when a reporter asked about it.
U.S. officials said that they mentioned the immigration-reform bills pending in Congress that would try to stem the flow of immigrant workers by making it illegal to employ them. The Mexicans reportedly replied that any new law should include protection...